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With the decline in manufacturing in Western countries in the past twenty years, many of us now work in service industries. Free flow of information has proved to be one of the main benefits of the dramatic rise in internet usage. But following the creeping automation of many service industries, is the internet now a threat to those of us who work in them? And as online consumers, are we now having to do for ourselves tasks which once fell to the provider of a service?

Charles Handy, the noted academic, talks about the trend towards ‘portfolio careers’, as people move away from the single industry, ‘job for life’ mentality, towards a series of jobs in different sectors. But even he cannot have imagined the ‘multi-tasking’ demands being placed on the modern online consumer.

In the last two months, from the comfort of my own home, I have found myself trying my hand online at being: photo editor, publisher, journalist, accountant, travel agent, insurance broker, computer programmer, DJ, greetings card designer and event organiser.

I am qualified to do precisely none of these jobs, and usually find myself reaching for the manual, or the help function. Eventually I have made progress, and got more in touch with my creative side.  But I’ve also recognised the limit of my own skills, and gained new found respect for the real pros in that sector. So where does all this self-service effort leave us in terms of the future direction of the internet?

Service automation is here to stay and we can expect more developments, and even more opportunity to do jobs for which we are not qualified. But in some cases this will be a real advantage, as in the emergence of online insurance shops. These offer a much quicker and more efficient way to end up with a handful of comparative quotes and can save hours spent on the phone repeating the same information. Where such consumer benefits are obvious, we can expect take-up of online services to be rapid and those sectors to change for good.

In other areas, such as photography and music, the changes may be slower, as we continue to buy CDs and take traditional pictures, alongside the digital alternative, reluctant to ditch our investment in traditional technology. But the mainstream mushrooming of digital downloads and file-sharing technologies mean there’s no going back.

Real skills and knowledge in professional services will continue to be in demand. But more and more consumers will be looking for opinion and insight (for instance on medical matters), rather than simply information, much of which is now available on the web for free.

The future of the internet’s role in service industries lies in segmentation and prioritisation. Consumers will determine where it is useful for them to do tasks themselves, whilst continuing to rely on service companies to meet other needs, though incentives such as online discounts will sometimes determine the extent of their self-service zeal.

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