Technology expert Scott Koslosky used the keynote address at the Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at the University of Virginia – Wise to encourage attendees to move toward earlier adoption of technologies in an effort to bring economic growth to the region.
“Humans and technology are integrating in a way we’ve never seen.” Koslosky said. “It will completely change the economy.” New connections have the ability to revolutionize the economy just as the connectedness brought by the Internet did years ago. “If you understand this model, you can make a lot of money building businesses because you understand that connections can be incredibly valuable.”
The key for a region such as Southwest Virginia, Koslosky said, would be to “get really good at two different things.” Lots of communities are good at one thing – networking, cybersecurity, etc., Koslosky said, but it’s those that leverage two different areas of technology that will prosper most.
Koslosky advocated for “high beam thinking,” a term for thinking farther down the road than one’s peers. Those companies that think two years ahead will prosper while those that wait for others to establish best practices before moving into new technologies will be taking a “we go seventh” approach.
