Frank Ogden demonstrates an "electric ink" book during the Vancouver seminar.

Ogden, author of "The Last Book You'll Ever Read" and "Navigation in Cyberspace" and consultant to governments and businesses, gave the opening address at the Technological Developments Conference organized by British Columbia 525M. 

Nicknamed "Dr. Tomorrow," Ogden also broadcasts Saturday mornings at 8 A.M. Pacific Coast time the webcam "video-streaming" Radio With a Face show (www.mediaontap.com or www.drtomorrow.com). 

Ogden said that, in the "third millennium," computer literacy and knowledge are the keys to success. "It's far more important today to be computer literate than it was to be literate in the old sense – reading and writing – in the industrial age," Ogden said. 

Addressing his audience of print industry professionals, Ogden said: "If you get continual learning, you'll be doing very well. I would say anybody in your trade in the next five years – if you're up to date – will be getting paid at least $100,000 a year. 

Ogden urged GCIU members who lack computer skills to "demand retraining," and make the point to employers that the training will pay for itself as members expand on their existing knowledge and skills to produce high quality work. 

One of the newest digital media demonstrated by Ogden was "every book" an electronic device that can hold 2,000 books in digital memory. 

Ogden urged conference participants not to fear this technology because it's related to printing but with "electric ink." Similar technology is being used for billboards and signs, he said. 

The Internet and World Wide Web technology also can be considered a form of electric ink, Ogden said. Digital cameras allow photos and video to be instantly fed to a web format, he added. Ogden noted that the Internet is so versatile as a carrier of information, it is fast replacing books, newspapers, radio, television and classrooms. 

"You have good knowledge of your industry," Ogden said. "All of this electronic ink is going to have a dramatic effect on your industry. I advise you to look into it. If you don't, a guy in Karachi [Pakistan] is and he's going to be eating your lunch."