Recently I met with the CEO of «PicsArt» social networking and photo editing app Hovhannes Avoyan. Once again, I made sure that the IT sector enterprises are the forerunners of the new work-culture and even of the modern perception of life. There is no doubt that this area will become the locomotive not only in economy but also in education, health, energy and, most importantly, in war industry. And this will inevitably lead to other social changes.
Let me bring a simple example. Individual taxi drivers complain about taxi services operating via internet and web navigator. Who is to win in this fight regardless the political position each of them is interpreting the conflict from? Of course, the services that will broaden and compete. Unshaven, and smoking taxi drivers who listen to poor quality music, and who discuss political gossips with their customers will fail. Afterwards, they will either shave and try to provide normal service too, or they will move to another sphere, where new skills are also required.
You cannot beat the progress. No matter how hard people fought against the machines, complaining that handicraftsmen would become unemployed, still machines are beneficial tools. Now the beneficial tool is the Internet. Or another example, although local and international oligarchs sell oil and gas on us, people will start heating and lighting their houses, and even recharging their car batteries with solar and wind power soon. This, in fact, will bring to the overthrow of the despotic “oil regime”.
Recently my friend Tigran Hakobyan published an article in “Mediamax”. As far as I understood the main idea of the article was that it is impossible to combine an enterprise such as “Aurora” with bureaucratic practices and social mores stagnated within 25 years inheriting the worst “Soviet” traditions. It is certainly true. But why only “Aurora”? Over the last 5-6 years I have been noticing some phenomena in Armenia that are incompatible with the “post-Soviet” logic. This refers not only to the IT industry companies. There are people among our officials and deputies who are not “post-Soviet” either. Sooner or later, they will replace this “swamp”.
A few days ago, during a debate, the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili countered Russian deputy Nikonov, who called Georgia a “post-Soviet” country. The Prime Minister called to refuse the “post” prefix, stating that Georgia is an East-European country. Whether it’s true or not, it is a path we need to take too.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
