In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman listed the people who don’t have to worry about unemployment in the new labor market. On that list were people whose jobs must be done in situ. You can’t get a haircut online, you can’t download a meal, and — with current technology — you can’t perform surgery from any serious distance.
Lawyers might have thought they were in that in situ group, but that may not be true in the future. We’re getting ready to launch a new website that allows attorneys to test their court cases in a virtual courtroom. Chris Lucas, the mastermind behind the idea, thinks that overcrowded courtrooms can be a thing of the past once attorneys get used to presenting their cases to virtual jurors. Knowing what the outcome will probably be, they can negotiate a settlement for the case and keep it out of court.
There are many more possible uses for YurJurY, but saving IRL jury trials for cases that really need it would be beneficial for a lot of people, including jurors who can fit their civic duty into their lives by deliberating online.
Think about your own field of work. Could some of the work you do be accomplished online instead? What about the forms you have patients fill out before you see them — could those be done online before the patients come in? Could you take orders for your artisan vegetable crops online and deliver them from the farm to the buyers? Could you book appointments online and free up some time in your office?
The days when a website was just like a brochure are long gone. You might be amazed at how many of your common tasks could now be done online. If you haven’t had a website update in a few years, call Julianne at 479.966.9761 and find out how much harder your website could work for you.
Leave a Reply