Robert Safuto

The decade that just passed (2000-2009) was quite something. Speaking for myself I have to say that it truly was the best of times and the worst of times. The year 2000 was one of hope, possibility and a bit of fear that all the world's computers would should down. The computer thing (aka Y2K) never happened but a plot to blow up the L.A. airport was foiled.

I rang in that New Year on the street in New Orleans with friends. We had a great time. I got the news the next morning that my Grandfather, who was terribly ill at the time, had died. I guess that's how life goes, some high, some low, always changes. A lot has changed for me since then. Then single and childless, I'm now married with two children. Then I was living in Texas now I'm in Upstate New York having moved house no less than five times during that period. That's a lot of moving if you ask me. Hopefully there will be no more moving house for us in the next decade.

In early 2001 I took a wonderful six week sabbatical to the South Pacific countries of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. I traveled on a budget and used hard earned frequent flyer miles to get me there, back and around. At the time it was the trip of a lifetime for me. I saw amazing places, did lots of scuba diving, met new friends and soaked in worlds that were different from the one I was living in. Everyone should take such a trip if they have the opportunity.

Me on the Sydney Harbor Bridge in 2001Later in 2001 9/11 rocked my world. Having grown up in New York City I knew a lot of people who were police and firefighters. I had friends and family working in the towers that day. Most made it out, some didn't and I knew New York would never be the same. It still isn't as we enter 2010 there's still a big hole in the ground at the World Trade Center with construction of something new held up by the usual bureaucracy and infighting. It's a shame because I think that in a way the terrorists have had a victory in keeping that spot bare. I hope the powers that be can make the WTC come alive again in this decade.

My family life has changed immensely in the past decade. I met Juliet in the fall of 2001. As the rubble burned at ground zero love blossomed. That's how it goes. Even amongst destruction there is renewal. We married in 2003, had our first daugther Mia in 2005 and our second daughter Rosetta in 2008. It's amazing how you can go from a small apartment, living alone to a house full of people in just a few years. It certainly has been good for me.

Juliet and I Speaking Our Wedding VowsProfessionally I've only changed jobs once since then which is something of a minor miracle. In the previous decade I was just finding my footing, having graduated from college in 1991. My choice to serve in the military for four and a half years was definitely a pivot point in my career and my life. It helped to shape my opinions and my values. Times have changed from my father's days. You don't stay at a company for twenty years anymore. You've got to do what's right for you. And now I also have to do what's right for the whole family. So here we are, in upstate New York. Personally I'm happy not to be travelling all the time anymore.

Learning continues and so does free expression. I started my Masters of Business in the last decade and I will finish it soon in this decade. Whatever decade we have to keep learning. There's always something new to learn, especially now when technology moves so fast. Speaking of technology oh how it has changed in the last decade. The free expression part refers to how I've used technology to create and distribute music, my writings, blogs, podcasts and more. The embrace of web technology has opened me up to new ideas, experiences and personal relationships. Truth be told I've always loved computers and tech. The advancements of the last decade have really helped me to truly experience the opporunties that technology has to offer.

Let's muse a little more on technology. My how the cell phone has changed. That little black chunk of plastic in your pocket has morphed into a sleek mini computer with internet access, entertainment, games, video and lots more. Where Nokia once ruled the marketplace Apple's iPhone and the Blackberry now dominate with Google's Android phones gaining ground on them. The computers on our desks are supremely powerful. In 2000 1gigabyte of hard drive space was still a lot for a computer. I just bought a computer with 640 gigabytes of hard drive space at half the price of my 2000 era computer. And my internet access has just been upgraded to 25 megabytes per second down. That's fast and leads me to the final observation for the decade that was.

Can you believe how much video has changed? Seriously, I never thought that citizens would be sharing video in the ways that they are today. We have cameras that fit in the palm of the hand, cost less than $200 and shoot high definition video. Before that could happen we had to have YouTube though. YouTube is definitely one of the great innovations of the 00s. Many other types of devices have followed suit, especially the iPhone, which shoots something just short of HD video but can get that video up to the web in minutes. The changes in video have been driven by the falling costs of hard drive space and the increase in internet speeds. The 00s was just the beginning with video. People are just getting their feet wet with it. I expect things to accelerate with respect to online video and entertainment in the 10s. Its going to be an exciting decade in that sense. On that note I'll leave you with one of those aforementioned HD videos that I've shot with one of those sub $200 cameras.