I wish it didn't take an affordability crisis for us to talk about housing, says Nicole Booth of Zillow, kicking off a discussion about hurdles Americans face buying homes and paying their bills. Unfortunately, she says, it's going to get worse before it gets better. #NAREE2026
Iβm going to tell you how much worse it was at the start of the PC Revolution for white collar workers trying to adapt, vs today with AI
Today, presumably every white collar worker has access to a smart phone and/or a PC/laptop.
Back then, a PC cost $4,995 , an off brand was $3,995. 5k in 1984 is about $16k today. It was really expensive.
The only reason I could learn how to code and support software is because my job let me take home a PC to learn. By reading the software manual. Literally. RTFM. Or pay to go to training. Classes that started at hundreds of dollars then. It was expensive. It absolutely limited who could get ahead.
Today, ANYONE can go to their browser, to the AI LLM website of their choice, and type in the words βIβm a novice with zero computer background, teach me how to create an agent that reads my email and β¦β
That concept applies to LEARNING ANYTHING
Think about what this means. Any employee of any company can say β I need to learn how to xyz for my job , which is to do the following: Tell me what more information do you need to help me be more efficient, productive and promotableβ. Or β what new skills can you teach me that will help me reduce my chances of getting laid off β. Or βwhat suggestions do you have for me to communicate to my boss, who I barely know, to help my chances of staying employed β
These arenβt great prompts. But they are a start that anyone can take.
Think about how incredible that is.
Back in the day was so much harder for white collar workers. It was harder for new grads because unless they took comp sci, they probably had never used a PC.
Big Companies are going to cut jobs. No question about it. Small companies is are going to need more and more AI literate thinkers who can help them compete or get an edge
What I tell every entrepreneur, and itβs more crucial today. β when you run with the elephants there are the quick and the dead. Adopt tech quickly , you can out maneuver big companies. β
The new, reimagined Shooters, a Cleveland riverfront mainstay, is set to open next week. A partnership between local developer TurnDev and investors including Colson Baker - otherwise known as MGK - bought the business and took over the lease in 2024. https://t.co/5reQaqUO1h
@mjarboe If they pay their fair share for power and water, we could begin to upgrade our systems which are in need of massive upgrades.
The power grid is severely under-invested and outdated in some cases.
@ahammer__@LeanZubrezki What if this unleashes a huge cohort of former Block employees tackling niche problems that did not make sense for $xyz? A legion of AI-first tools/ advisers/ companies...
Every traditional company that has been trying to add software and/ or AI -aware talent needs to be ready
My honest suggestion for this 4k people, instead of looking for another job. Do:
1- Get the money
2- Group around 10 friends that also was fired, 2 engineers, sales and marketing.
3- Re Create the product that you was working with, but AI First Company
4- Create this new product cutting all unnecessary costs as possible turning it cheaper than product that you are copying.
5- Think about a Business Model that original product canβt switch easily. It is counter positioning.
@mjarboe I'm trying to think of one DT CLE foreclosure that is surprising π€... many were saved by post-pandemic cheap money.
Same goes for some businesses that failed...