Unintended certainties

On my way to work I cross a very major intersection - most mornings I get caught by the traffic lights at this specific intersection and have to make a stop. Most mornings this stop is also the highlight of the morning and results in the first smile on my face for the day.

This stop is the domain of a certain toothless newspaper salesman. Dressed in red, a stack of morning papers under this arm, he makes a point of zooming past the line of cars greeting everybody with a "hello boss, enjoy your day boss" greeting, this typically shouted at the top of his lungs. Since we are in peak hour traffic, at a very busy intersection, people have their doors locked and windows up (you wouldn't have it any other way in Jo'burg) and each car most probably has a radio blasting at full volume, the shouting at full volume can be understood. I like this guy.

However, I have yet to buy a paper from him. I have not seen anybody else buying a paper from him either. Still he goes about his business, giving toothless smiles to all those that are interested and he seems happy. Why not? He has a job, he has a purpose and even though his morning session no doubt leaves him breathless and with a sore throat some days, he can see the stack of paper getting smaller under his arm, can see the effect he has on people (hopefully he does) and he makes some small change from each and every artifact of the previous era that he gets rid of.

We all know that traditional print media is in deep trouble. We know it, they know it. Why get a messy paper when you can get all the info online - fresh, up to date, as it happens. Why pay when you can get all this (and so much more) for free. No reason. Although I found one... My toothless paper salesman.

He is probably my age, although he looks at least 10 years older. I'm not sure he has heard of the Internet before, apart from what he has read in the paper. I'm almost certain that apart from making my day and his abilities to sell in a cut throat environment while dodging traffic, he has no real marketable skills. Well, not marketable skills in the new era. The era where information begs to be free. Where privacy is something you've once read about in a magazine - when you still had them. The era of being friends with people you've only talked to online.

South Africa has it's share of problems - education and unemployment (coincidence?) being some of them. From a media mogul perspective we are not in a bad position, Naspers seems to be at least one of the international media companies that "gets it" and will no doubt be around for a long time. However the way in which we are moving will hurt the little guy on the street. The one who will find it difficult to pivot when his already small income becomes even smaller and finally disappears.

On Monday I'll buy a paper. They day after and the day after that I'll probably do the same. Chances that I'll read it in it's paper form is quite slim. I have an iPad, I have Internet access following me wherever I am and I read all my news online. However, I'll gladly pay for an extra smile every day.