November 4, 2019

The phrase “in your own backyard” has changed

Geographically, it used to mean something near you and accessible within a short travel distance. Modern transportation changed that. It used to mean your own, neighborhood, town, city or state, then the car came along and it expanded the borders of what “in your own backyard” means.

In communications, it meant we connected with anyone we could walk or travel to within a short time period. The telegraph came along and expanded the meaning. Then came the telephone, the radio, television, and the internet. In the world of communications, “in your own backyard”, is now the world.

There was a time that selling as a business meant finding customers who were geographically nearby. Then came the motor vehicle, roads, trains, plains, and eventually the internet, and it opened up the entire country, then the continent, and finally the world. Everyone’s backyard expanded and now you can reach people across the oceans and timezones in real-time.

We use to explore only the seas,  jungles, and new continents. Then the backyard borders changed and today humans explore the solar system through robots and satellites.

Our backyard is not as small as we thought it was and it’s still expanding.