The times they are a changin'

I was talking with an old friend last night about social media, web 2.0, and the various tools and devices that are out there to help manage and add value to our lives.
She is somewhat of a newbie when it comes to these issues,but her eagerness to learn as much as she can was palpable.
She mentioned that despite having had a computer for a number of years, she really wasn't connected due to her home being in a rural area with no broadband. But recently (at last!) broadband has come to her area and she can now truly be connected.
The most interesting thing is that despite our different backgrounds and experience with computers, her excitement and interest in connectivity at least equals my own. Of course this gets back to our human need to connect to people outside our immediate environment.
As I mentioned in a much earlier post, surfing the net used to be more of a screen watching activity than interactive platform we now enjoy. My friend spoke of this in our conversation. I think she said, that despite being online for a number of years, she had never really found any aspect of the web to be particularly compelling and simply used it as I once did which was to search out specific information.
But today web 2.0 offers so much more. And she is seeing that too. We discussed our mutual fascination with forums such as linkedIn. Finally there is an offering on he web that is compelling enough to not only draw interest but sustain interest for web users across the continuum from newbie to the completely tech savvy.
The ability to interact with people all over the world on subjects of mutual interest is not only a great experience, but one that also provides insight and best practices on the topic of interest to the users. It seems there is a linked in group for just about any topic area one
can think of.
It appears now that both of us are hooked! Each for different reasons, but the bottom line for both of us is that web 2.0 technology is fundamentally changing the way we work, learn, and communicate.
I have long posited that new technologies only enjoy rapid adoption rates when they do in fact fundamentally change the way we behave. Take the VCR for example. VCRs were on the scene in the early 1980's yet it was another 20 years for it to reach high household penetration levels. Similarly the DVR and the ability to time-shift viewing has been available in one form or another since roughly 1999 or so. Today only about 25% of households have a DVR and even fewer people use it frequently. In fact the TVB reported in 2010 that the average adult spends 5 and 1/2 hours watching live television every day but less tha. 30 minutes per day watching DVR'd programming.
Neither of these technologies fundamentally changes our behavior. But guess what did? You got it--the smart phone and the Ipad. Both of these devices are in fact fundamentally changing our behavior and how we communicate. More than 13 million ipads have been sold since April 2010. By this time next year, it is likely that figure will substantially more than double. Or at least that is my own humble opinion!

Until next time!

How the Ipad changed my life!

Photo credit picasaweb.google.com/alexindigo.com

Early this year, when first confronted with advertising for the Ipad, I predicted it would be a big hit;  now CNN is reporting that it is the most desired christmas present for 2010 and is already in the hands of 13 million plus users.

I first purchased an Ipad in September and was immediately enthralled. While notebooks have been out for a while, none match the Ipad so far in terms of ease of use and applications. Once I began using it, I found it so much easier to keep track of my RSS feed, my Linked In discussion threads, Facebook and of course my own blog stats.

In this world of instant gratification, I have found myself less willing to turn on my laptop and wait several minutes while it boots up and becomes functional, yet I can be on-line in mere seconds with my Ipad.  With it I can scan blogs, RSS feeds, discussion threads etc in between commercials while enjoying the comfort of my sofa, armchair or even my bed! If I get a sudden thought or idea I want to check out...the answer is truly seconds away.

Now comes the real question. Is this immediacy and our human need for immediacy a good thing? I mean really...nothing good comes easy they say. Which is why, probably, one must remain ever more vigilant against on-line predators of all kinds. Those who would prey on us for financial or personal satisfaction are not just across the street anymore. You could in fact be inviting them into your home. So like all things, perhaps a bit of caution and moderation goes a long way!!

Until next time

Connections and Getting Connected

Photo Credit: Flickr.com

Among the many joys of our web 2.0 technologies is an incredible professional networking site called  Linked In. For those not familiar with linked in, let me help!

I have had a Linked In account for several years now but until recently did not recognize its power--power that has certainly been enhanced through the capability of web 2.0. The basic premise of Linked In is to provide a professional networking platform that has some degree of exclusivity (you cannot link with someone you do not know for example), an opportunity for members to interact with each other, a credible job site, and most importantly allow those with similar interests to participate in discussion threads on any number of topics that include participants quite literally from all over the globe.

Joining groups within Linked In allows one to align themselves with people within the same industry; some located just next door, others more than half a world away. The opportunity to gain insight into best practices in industries from neurosurgery to marketing to higher education is simply enormous. On the other side of the coin, it can be quite easy to get "sucked in" to a discussion thread and the debate can be quite heated. I have witnessed alleged professionals make some very unprofessional statements on what are supposed to be professional groups with limited membership. I have also had the dubious honor of being personally insulted by a fellow commenter! Perhaps that might be the mark of a virgin in this virtual reality. Unless you have been officially and personally insulted, you really aren't linked!

Fortunately group members exist to "police" the conversation, but given that some threads can generate more than 2000 comments, it can be difficult to stay vigilant against those who would cause harm. After following a particular thread for the past week that generates an average of 50 comments per day, I am mystified, stupefied and down right brain-fried! The thread related to the weight that should be given a lie in the hiring process on the part of the applicant.

2200 comments later, people are bickering back and forth about topics like "the nature of a lie" and "when a lie doesn't really count". Many think the lie is a predictor of future performance, the rest say the latter have no heart. Which is the correct view? While I don't know the answer, there are 100's of people on Linked In that do!!!

Take my advice, Get Linked!!