On my first trip to Hanoi in 2000, I was struck by the scene of female farm workers toiling in the field on my ride to town.
The cone hats, the buffalo and miles and miles of unexploited suburban land.
I saw occasional bill boards advertising industrial companies, but not yet ubiquitous in pushing consumer staples.
Ten years later, we read about Apple I phone, 4-generation prototype, made a sudden appearance at a shop in town.
An agrarian society is leapfrogging to knowledge-driven society.
Vietnam is included among top countries for tech outsourcing. Countries such as India, Egypt and Ireland.
When I spent four weeks in Hanoi last year, I enjoyed seeing young students buying used books, seeing people read in cafes ….
And the book fair is now an annual event which draws a large crowd. So are its tech expo, complete with model and muse.
The marketing machine has finally arrived on scene, taking over what was once a “green field”.
That field now has potential for both good and evil. Just like our mythological garden of Eden.
As soon as Adam gave in to that temptation (biting the apple), there is no turning back.
Modernity “creatively disrupts” the traditional. And we start reading about 14-year-old model (not Brook Shields).
And I suspect if you asked, she would say when she won, she would like to text, and not just from any phone.
It has to be a 4-gen I phone.
that 14-year old, if we can turn back the clock, would have to work extra on the field, after school, to earn her keeps.
I suspect, her contemporaries still do. It’s just a stroke of luck for a few, but important few, who made it.
It only takes a few drops for us to know the rain is coming. Intended or not, Apple I phone was there, marking its territory.
Some people just got to start young and early. Especially Apple, who is known to lead its market, and not be a follower.
Thang Nguyen 555 