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I’m a progressive by nature. I like to see things move forward, technology advance, people adopt new ideas that can be used to benefit all people. Which is why I’m completely astounded and flabbergasted every time I see people trying to take a new technology and cram it, wholesale, into an old business model.

Now, I understand why they’re doing this: the old way works. It makes money. New products require old timers like me to either come up with new ways to profit from them, or hire somebody younger to come up with those new ways for us. Neither option is attractive when the first fails and the second feels far too much like admitting defeat.

I recently read a post from Charles Day, one of our friends from The Lookinglass Blog, in which he describes an experience that he had with his cell phone provider attempting to provide “customer service.” Honestly, the attempt is laughable and I highly recommend reading the entire transcript.

However, while reading said transcript I couldn’t help but fall into an almost transient state of déjà vu. I remember having the exact same conversation a long time ago, it must have been the mid-90’s, maybe earlier (memory is the first thing to go). It wasn’t in text, but rather over the phone, and I was trying to understand why my phone provider required an extra charge for this thing called “call waiting” when it clearly states on my bill that it is “included.”

It seems that the definition of the word “included” hasn’t changed much, and continues to be “not a part of your plan.” However, the marked similarity with which Verizon is attempting to defraud their customers with antonyms and how my local company did strikes me as an attempt to maintain a business model based on conflicting and confusing terminology. It’s gotten worse over the years (look for a future post on credit card legislation), but the primary function remains unchanged. Couple that with consistent debates on whether to open cell phones to telemarketers or create a “cell phone listing,” and you have comfortable people trying to make the world feel like it did when they were younger and more in control.

It’s time to let go and accept that you’re moving on. There’s nothing wrong with it, and nobody is suggesting that you get on an ice flow and wave goodbye to your friends and family, but if you’re not willing to progress with the market, holding it back artificially is not going to do anything. It’s a losing strategy, and short-term returns will only translate into major long-term losses.