high-tech expert jared lanyar is known as the father of technology. and career expert marty nemko is back with advice for job seekers, i'm susan sikora and that's on bay area focus, next.

welcome to bay area focus, i'm susan sikora. technology has changed the economy, but did it fuel the recession and hurt the middle class? jaran lanyar thinks so. he is known as the father of virtual technology. now he is speaking out against some of the technology he helped to create. he says there's a solution to

the way we use technology. details are in his book, "who owns the future." welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> i dance between i can't follow this because it's deep and high-tech to wow, that's incredible. before we talk about who owns the future, let's back up, who owns the present? >> well, whoever has the largest computers. recently, those who had oil or controlled transportation, things like that, at present, it's the one who has the lanchest computer. -- largest computer. whenever you look, it's someone with a giant financial computer, or social network, those are the people who own the present and if you look at the sort of, the we income is

distributed now with the declining middle class, the top peak are those with some large computer. i am a part of the problem, if you like. >> so, you created some of this technology, is there any one thing that put you on the map or you want to be remembered for? [ laughter ] >> i can't think about that. it's not important. >> or anything that the average user would recognize? >> global reality is something i am linked with. i am connected with the kinect for xbox. >> you make the case in here that we are giving out too much information for free. >> yeah. >> so, what do you think we should charge for it? >> yeah, exactly.

here's a great example of how it works. right now, you can get a free translation of your documents. that's great, but the way that actually works is not that there's some magical electronic brain that we all built that does it. instead, we grabbed the real translations by real translations. without the real translators, we couldn't do that, but the real translations are losing their jobs as what happens with journalists and musicians. i feel like what i am saying is extremely simple. that will help the economy grow, it will help it be more

stable, and by the way, that's the way digital networking started. the idea was by ted nelson who is another bay area resident in 1960, so way early. that was the origin point. i am not saying anything radical, but it seems radical. >> it sounds a little bit wizard of ozish. >> it is, it is. >> how am i going to collect my money? [ laughter ] >> i haven't sorted out every details, but i think there should be a universal account. >> it's like a strike, if everybody doesn't go, it's not going to work. >> like insurance. everyone has to invest. everyone is contributing to the network these days whether they

want to or not. if you want to see how much money you would be making, look at how much money you save by using your safeway card or your frequent flier card. that's money that's being paid to you but it's not really being paid to you because you don't have freedom on how you spend it. if you add up how much it is, it's going up year to year and it will keep ongoing up as long as computers are helping with this. >> if you go online and take part in a survey, is there a place where you should not give them your name, address, what do i do? >> this is so hard. everybody wants, we are so used to the idea of bottom up

action, but this really has to include a top down component or it doesn't make sense. >> it feels like that right now. >> you can't even turn on your tablet without giving away, we have given into a regime where everyone has to give up information. the moment you turn on your tablet as opposed to your old fashioned pc where you owned your data, you are entering this system. we have to change the overall systemic thing. what i always taught students is don't approach this idea logically. getting off facebook because it's bad is not necessary.

be experiment tamm. >> you talked about the things that finance go in the wrong way. >> exactly, the great recession is another example of one of those things where whenever had the biggest -- whoever had the biggest computer was able to build on that and become incredibly wealthy by spreading risks out to everybody else, exactly the on sit of what finances are supposed to do. that's the way you make the money is having the biggest computer. >> i read a very fine print footnoted, i am jumping around here, you don't use social media or you didn't when you wrote this book? >> i don't. for me personally, i have no reason to use it. if i were young right now, i

might want to use it. when you are young, you feel like you need that. >> yeah, but if you started tweeting, you would get it started? >> this old fashioned book seems to get some traction. it's getting arnold a lot. there are a lot of ways to communicate in the world. the world is bigger and richer than it seem sometimes. sometimes you feel like there are fewer options and everything gets tied into this and how many times are you followed? all of that is pretty narrow. the problem is that everyone else is doing it and it makes you feel like you are special when you are not. it's fake. [ laughter ] >> i have to go.

this is complicated, but i couldn't put it down. very interesting ideas. thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you for coming. stay with us, don't go away.

welcome back. marty nemco is here. if you are looking forwork, you will want to hear what he has

to say. job growth is still slow. marty counsels clients on landing the right job or new opportunities. his latest book is "how to do life, what they didn't teach you in school." [ laughter ] welcome back. >> my pleasure to be here. >> are the jobs coming? we are assuming we have to go back to school. >> there is good news for those who are tech phobic. they are not going to go and offer you a job in the criminal justice system. everything from the person you have to pay your parking ticket to, to the bailiff in the court to the judge, to the person who runs the jail. to the parol officer. they are certainly jobs that are not going away. >> you have aligned with a wife that is an education expert.

a college education is? >> over rated. >> over rated. the evidence is ever clearer that higher education often results in inefficient learning to growth and employ ability. you standby that? >> especially now, we are sending a high percentage of high school graduates to college. at the same time, those high level jobs are expensive. most employers are reducing the number of college educated jobs that they hire for and they automate. especially if you are not learning a lot. the studies are showing that a third, more than a third of all students at college don't grow at all in writing, critical

thinking skills and if they are not getting a better job, and you are not learning a lot, is it really worth $200,000? >> what would you tell me cousin frank who just sent his daughter to college? what would you tell parents now who are juniors and seniors in high school and they are ready to go down that path. where would you tell them to go? >> we are in a tidal wave where the public is focused on college. i'm not going to say don't go to college, but think about it this way. there's no comparison with the cost of the college and the money. start with the community college. the dorm life is also overrated. it's sex, drugs and rock and roll. live at home for a couple of

years and then transfer to a brand named school. we live in a brand named society and great your degree. and make sure with every course you take, think career preparation. go the portfolio. >> do you like internships? >> sure. pick a professor who is connected to the work world. ask the professor if you could write a paper that is related to a topic, but how it would relate to the environment or health care. make projects that are career regulated and you will have a better chance. >> talk to the student who has already graduated. what do they do?

>> most importantly when you have the degree, all of the people who have spent the time and the money feel a kinship. use your alumni network. >> oh. >> go to the alumni events. go look at the alumni database that you have access to. go do the interviews. you have to know folks. >> if a kid wants to get an informational interview. they want to go work at macy's who do they ask to see? do they ask to see the top person? >> no, you are not going to get to somebody that high. you want to see somebody in middle management. they get a lot of requests. you realize when you are making

that request it's show time. it is the time to show that you are not just another entitled graduate who learned nothing in school. write a very thoughtful letter about what you bring to the table. how you are not expecting to have everything handed to you, you are willing to work hard. >> that's the informational interview, that's to get it. >> you are not entitled just because you have a bachelor's degree. >> i assume you want to have questions ready. >> exactly, but you don't want to seem phony. do you mind to tell me about your background. listen, lean forward, nod, that kind of stuff. then say what should i know? what's your best piece of advice as to how i should train so i am really employable and

how i can move up. what should i know about macy's to help? >> and what is the best way to follow up? >> these days is e-mail. remember the subtilin is the most important thing. i would say, thank you so much. >> in the subtilin? >> in the subject line. people love to be thanked. >> we are going to come back and talk about older workers who may be out of work when we return.

welcome back. you have a job about -- if you a question about a job or a career change, he is the one to ask. he does a radio show on npr every sunday morning and his book, is it a classic now? >> three editions, can't complain. >> and the other one as well. let's talk about older workers. first of all, let's go to what's going on around the country, we talked about it in the first segment. that is the affordable health care act. the health care business is going to be there. >> we are going to have 50 million more people covered. the 30 million that's talked about plus, at least 11.5 illegal immigrants who when

they become legal are going to be covered. the following jobs are going to be absolutely open. there are going to be physician jobs, physician assistants, i.t., people to create medical electronic systems. better doctor diagnosis tools. a lot of technology jobs are going to be there and technicians to see if you have blocked arteries or whatever. we are going to be unfortunately down playing the quality of health care we are going to be getter. >> talk about the crowd that feelings no one is going to hire me because i am older or perhaps this person has been out of work for a while. >> older people always seem to wear their age as a badge of

shame. i want you to wear it as a badge of honor. they can't ask you about your age or whatever. >> yeah, but they know. >> you must, in your cover letter, or in your interview explain why your age is a plus. >> why would that be? >> because you shall seen it all. you are -- because you have seen it all. you have been there. people in their 50s do not have higher absentee rates compared to young people. young people are more likely to pull all nighters, people in their 50s are likely to show up for work. you have to look inward, too. are you too afraid of technology? do you recent having a younger plus? when you are 50-plus, you are not as resilient. do you need to look at your

drinking or your overeating. you have to get your sleep. >> those physical things that you thought you would put off are now more important than ever. >> correct. >> you had this on your site. you say there are things you might have not thought of if you are a boomer. support for cosmetic surgery clinic. fashion models, i have seen some nice stores, it begins with an n, but they have people with physical disabilities, women in wheelchairs models. >> exactly. >> the fix it person. it's like when something breaks, it's like i will grab the credit card. >> again, older people, the

kind who were tinkering when they were children and their father or mother fixed things around the house. they are more reliable. my friends when i tell them i have a great handyman, they are like, tell him my name. >> esl for corporations, you are not going to go in and teach kid ins a class a second language, you are going in a profession. >> asia has a culture that has long valued the system, but they don't speak clear english. they need access, not just the vocabulary so they can say the words clearly. >> drivers, wedding planners,

piano tuners. i have a cousin who does that. will any of those make you money? >> piano tuners are not going to get rich. i want to help your viewers get rich. older people are in a position to donate money. younger people don't have money to give. insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance are high profit care items. there are many people in their 50s who are scared they have not saved enough money for retirement. they need to be thinking about ways to make money. >> a lot of people are saying we are coming up on the holiday season right now and maybe i should wait until january or february. >> most people say, oh, it's time for the holidays.

most employers are most available in the couple of weeks before the holidays. they are more accessible and you are more likely to seeing a human being. they are more likely to say yes. the best two weeks of the year to look for a job are the week before and the week after christmas. everybody else is not there but the boss has to show up in the weeks between christmas and new years. >> this book is called "how to do life and cool careers for dummies." it's always a pleasure. >> it's always my pleasure, really. >> and we leave you with the latest from crosby steels and nash. i'm susan sikora, thank you for

watching. ♪[ music ] getting to the point where i'm no fun anymore. i am sorry. sometimes it hurts so badly i must cry out loud. that i am lonely. i am yours. you are mine. you are what you are. remember what we've said and done and felt about each other. oh, babe have mercy. don't let the past remind us of

what we are not now. ♪[ music ]

starting to make more progr as the death toll from typhoon contin coming up, aid to the fill pins starting to -- philippines starting to make progress. a car fire shuts down a bay area highway. we will explain why it took hours to reopen. and is the bay area about to experience another strike? thank you for joining us. we have a lot of news to cover in the next hour. first up, of course, is bart. >> more drama with the contract. we thought this was all said and done. si fact, it's already been