May 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

Tech – The New Frontier
May 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 9
Musings on luxury and leisure, post annus horribilis
There was a time when computer geeks were actually geeks, and
computers were sci-fi imaginings, before they became the things
that sat on the desk near the server room.
LUXURY & LIFESTYLE
> BY ALAN NEBEN
Alan Neben is a Mount Maunganui local and experienced
New Zealand publisher. He now regularly works from home.
alan@bopbusinessnews.co.nz
The word geek (derived
from the word Greek
without the ’r’) was then
used as an insult, but now it’s
pretty much a neutral term, if
not a compliment: If you’re a
geek now, you’re a little odd,
really smart and on the verge
of being very rich (if you so
choose).
“Becoming a tech geek
isn’t such a bad career path,” I
tell my kids.
But tech isn’t just a “computer
thing”. It has infected all
our lives.
To illustrate the impact of
tech on our lives, let’s compare
a day in the life of ‘me’ with
a day in the life of ‘my dad’ –
should be fairly similar (loathe
though I am to admit it).
Dad would wake at 5.30am,
when the hideous bell on his
alarm clock woke the entire
house. He would turn on the
transistor for the morning
news, make his lunch and head
off to work – always took a
while to get the car started in
the winter, which usually woke
us all a second time.
That’s the last we’d hear of
dad until he arrived back home
that night. He’d eat dinner,
watch the news on telly, and
head off to bed after reading
the paper.
He always had cash in his
wallet, though he seemed to
have extreme difficulty opening
the wallet to remove any of
its contents.
Although we had a car,
whenever I asked, “Can you
pick me up?”, he would reply,
“You’ll have to walk.”
Fast forward
Fast forward 40 years … I’m
woken at 7am by the alarm on
my phone. I quickly check my
notifications and emails then
my online calendar and sendoff
a couple of quick replies.
Yup FB has reminded me,
it’s mum’s birthday today –
DAMN! Fortunately my phone
has also miraculously provided
me the perfect gift suggestion
– quelle surprise.
Heater’s already on so the
house is warm as toast. Thank
goodness I set the temperature
in advance from my phone last
night when I received a notification
from my weather app
that today was going to be a
nippy… note any temperature
near 10 degrees C is considered
nippy in the Bay.
I’ve got to get the kids up,
fed and dropped off to school –
I’m working from home today.
My Dad doesn’t really
get the whole ‘working from
home’ thing – in his world it’s
not really working, is it?
We’re out of Weetbix, but
our groceries should be delivered
this morning – stress – did
I order Weetbix? I better check
that. I’ll put it on my to do list.
And so my day’s set: I’ll
Facetime my wife in her lunch
break, the kids are going to
text me when they’re ready
for pick-up after school – they
may need to Uber if I’m not
off my 3pm Zoom. I’ve transferred
some cash to their cards
so they can buy lunch.
Has tech made life better? I
reckon it has, maybe, but I’m
not sure dad agrees.
According to a recent
tweet I saw, 85% of Boomers
don’t value 67 percent of tech
advances to the same extent as
Millennials (that’s going on
Reddit r/OldiesDontGetTech).
As far as dad’s concerned,
we are talking a different
language.
Pffffft, what would he
know? Tech has made life
sooooo much easier.
Commercial, corporate and projects
expert joins Sharp Tudhope Lawyers
Sharp Tudhope is delighted to announce the appointment of James Dow to our
commercial team as special counsel. James will join the firm’s partnership once
he has fulfilled the NZ Law Society’s regulatory requirements.
James’ career to date has been at top tier law firms in Auckland and several years at
a global law firm in London. James has advised on several of New Zealand’s leading
transactions in recent years and he is bringing a wealth of experience to the region.
He says, “The Bay of Plenty is home to many thriving industries and continues to
experience huge growth. I’m very excited about joining the great business community
here and thrilled to have joined Sharp Tudhope with its long and illustrious reputation
in the Bay of Plenty.”
Partner Richard Hoare says, “We are always looking to the future and we are
delighted that James has chosen to join Sharp Tudhope. We consider him a great
fit to further strengthen our team and service our clients.”
At Sharp Tudhope we are proud to be both celebrating our 125th anniversary and
maintaining our focus on upholding legal excellence with strategic appointments that
ensure we continue to strengthen our relationships. It’s about recruiting the right people
with the right expertise and James Dow’s appointment will add immeasurably to that.
Get the best advice from the most experienced team of commercial lawyers in the Bay.
Talk to James today on 07 928 0788 or jamesd@st.co.nz.
Level 4, 152 Devonport Road
Tauranga 3110
07 928 2000
lawyers@st.co.nz
www.sharptudhope.co.nz
James Dow