如今的消费者什么都想越快越好，从来没变过。

    “你连烤马铃薯都不能等吗？”

    这是我奶奶对我父亲说的话，时间大概是在1984或1985年。父亲一直想说服奶奶买一台微波炉来用，但奶奶当时并没有被说服，不是因为害怕辐射，而是因为她觉得烤马铃薯就应该在传统烤箱中烤一小时。不过最终她还是让步了，还给电视配了一个遥控器。

    我想起这件事，是因为今天读到了利兹•加恩斯探讨“即时满足经济”（又称“Uber for X”现象）的文章。“随叫随到”的概念从虚拟变成了现实。加恩斯在想，到底这只是旧金山湾区的泡沫，还是普通美国人也正处在手机引发的生活方式变革的边缘。

    过去数月发生的各种不同的故事，都折射出我们的集体惰性，或者是注意力难以持久，又或者是千禧世代的自我放纵。

    不过在我看来，今天的“即时满足”技术和以前的微波炉或遥控器没有什么分别，更别提飞机、汽车、洗衣机、燃气烤架、麦当劳、文字处理软件，或者是其它无数的创新。这些创新已经成了几乎所有人日常生活的一部分。

    最有渗透力的的消费者技术进步总是与速度和效率有关。在富达投资（Fidelity Investments）向Uber注资数亿美元之前约20年，Uber就创建了提供黑色轿车服务的波士顿轿车（Boston Coach）公司。出发点和创建的依据都一样，只是实施方式不同。在波士顿轿车成立时，有人担心过我们太懒，连在机场外等出租车都不愿意，或者是我们太孤僻，没有朋友或家人愿意来接我们吗？即便如此，现在还会有人谴责机场预约接机服务吗？

    随着时间成为越来越宝贵的商品——尤其是在技术已经将很多家庭和工作界线变得模糊不清时——不断让技术替我们承担更多的日常事务（特别是在技术可以创造出新的服务岗位时），也就不足为怪了。没错，自己亲手做些事情可能有其内在价值，但是腾出额外15分钟来工作、陪孩子玩耍或者睡觉，可能更有价值。去干洗店取衣服和学习钓鱼完全是两码事。

    又回到我奶奶的例子，准确的说应该是我爷爷。在20世纪30年代，我爷爷是第一代在美国出生的青少年。他在他父亲的小杂货店工作，工作任务之一就是从客户那里接收电话订单，然后走路（也可能是骑车）按订单送货上门。世事总在变化，但这变化并非总是像我们想象的那样巨大……（财富中文网）

     Today’s consumers want everything faster. Just like they always have.

    “Why can’t you just wait for a baked potato?”

    That was my grandmother speaking to my father, probably in 1984 or 1985. He had been trying to convince her to purchase (and use) a microwave oven. She wasn’t having it. Not so much because of radiation fears, but rather because a baked potato was supposed to take nearly one hour to cook in a conventional oven. She eventually relented. Got a remote control for the TV too.

    I was reminded of this today when reading Liz Gannes’ discussion of the instant gratification economy, otherwise known as the “Uber for X” phenomenon. The notion of ‘on-demand’ shifting from the virtual to the physical. She wonders if it’s just a Bay Area bubble, or if ordinary America is on the verge of a mobile-induced lifestyle change.

    There also have been various stories over the past few months about how all of this is a reflection of our collective laziness. Or of short attention spans. Or of millennial self-indulgence.

    But it doesn’t seem to me that today’s ‘instant gratification’ technologies are scratching any different itch than did that microwave oven or remote control. Let alone the airplane, automobile, dishwasher, gas grills, McDonald’s, word processing software or countless other innovations that have become part of almost everyone’s daily lives.

    The most pervasive consumer tech advancements always have been about speed and efficiency. Nearly two decades before Fidelity Investments pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Uber, the firm created black car service Boston Coach. Same pain point and founding rationale, just executed differently. Did people worry when Boston Coach launched that we were too lazy to wait for a taxi outside of the airport, or so isolated that no friends or family were willing to pick us up? And, if so, is there anyone today who still would decry call-ahead airport pickup services?

    As time becomes a more and more precious commodity — particularly with technology blurring many of our home/work lines of demarcation — it isn’t surprising that we continue to ask technology to take over some of our more mundane tasks (particularly if that technology creates new service jobs). Yes, there can be inherent value in doing things for yourself, but there also can be more value in spending 15 extra minutes in the office or playing with your kid or sleeping. Picking up your own dry-cleaning isn’t exactly the same as learning to fish.

    Which brings us back to my grandmother. Or actually my grandfather, in this case. When he was a first-generation American teenager in the 1930’s, he worked in his dad’s small grocery store. One of his jobs was to take telephone orders from customers, and then walk (or possibly bike) the orders to customer homes. Things are changing. But not quite so much as we might all think…