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!!

The Ubiquity of Social Media

Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that smart phones became the rage? And only really since that time that Facebook and twitter have achieved household status, now everyone is posting blogs. It is amazing just how quickly our vernacular has changed. And it is even more amazing the lack of uniform understanding of these new words in our vocabulary.

Many believe social media simply means keeping your status updated on Facebook or making catty remarks on Twitter. What so few truly understand is that social media is not only much more than that, it is the basis for a new generation of communication.

Forget about Facebook for a minute--as that site is mostly for recreational networking--start thinking about Twitter. My first thought was that Twitter was simply an outlet for people with too much time on their hands to shout to the world their opinions on everything, anything and nothing.

Clearly I was just following the wrong tweets. Personally, I follow the NPR tweet as news is often released there before it is announced anywhere else. I also follow tweets from authors and researchers in the field of learning and technology, sales and marketing and other areas of interest to me. These tweets are informative. They tell me where I can find additional information. They lead me to other sites of great interest to me. So for those of you who thought tweeting a waste of time, why don't you tweet yourself and see first hand?

Blogging is another social media tool people often fail to understand. First among whom are the bloggers themselves. A recent discussion thread on a social media sub-group of Linked-in, someone asked the question, why do people blog?  They may as well have asked why do people speak? For those on the blog bandwagon, many have found it to be an excellent creative outlet for their thoughts and reflections. It also does something no other mass media tool has been able to do. And that is to give voice to the man (or woman) on the street. Before Web 2.0 and blogging technology became available, there were few opportunities to really be heard outside your own small social network. But through the power of blogger, my voice is heard all over the world. Granted my audience is small, yet they hail from six different countries and three continents. And of these, most are regular readers, showing up as page views multiple times in my stats page. Not so shabby for a lil ol' gal in Iowa.

Finally, I have to mention Linked In. This may be one of the most valuable tools of all. This site which is designed for career networking has little patience for the type of postings one might see on Facebook. People on Linked In are pretty serious about their involvement and most join multiple groups related to their career, area of expertise, or research interests. Within these groups one can participate in discussion threads that again involve people from all across the globe. This morning I had a great conversation with a gentleman from Dubai for example on social media trends.

Am I naive to be so excited about these tools? Part of me will allow that I have all the enthusiasm of a newbie, the other part recognizes that these tools and others we have not yet discovered are fundamentally changing our world, making it smaller, more collaborative and hopefully more peaceful in the long run.

Until next time

Technology: Do we use it just because we can? Does it matter if it's useful?

The country is atwitter regarding the new screening machines that show a person's skin and body parts...the debate as I see it is two-fold. First, there is some evidence that the advanced imaging technology does nothing to prevent attacks. With this evidence in mind, is it an appropriate use of time and resources to even be using the technology.

The second part of the debate revolves around privacy issues vs. Public safety. Just how much are we willing to undergo in order to ensure the highest level of airplane safety.

Chris Mathews brings up a good point...one he has made before; if we get hit again (with a terrorist attack) the level of airport security will become more intrusive than we can even imagine today. So what do we do? Err on the side of personal privacy (an entirely western concept by the way)? What happens if we do suffer an attack? Who will we then blame?

Something to think about as we plan our holiday travel in this brave new world with such people in it...

Another dinosaur bites the dust

Let your fingers do the walking.  Anyone who grew up in the '70s and '80s has heard that tag-line originally introduced by Ma Bell. Well it looks like the phone book will be the next medium to travel the way of all flesh as phone companies announce they will no longer be printing residential phone books.
According to the Associated Press, in the past month alone, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania approved Verizon Communications request to quit distributing residential white pages.

With telephone companies now arguing that consumers are more likely to check the internet rather than flip through the phonebook, they are not acknowledging the same is true of yellow pages.

But take it from this career advertising guru...it won't be long before the business model for hard copies of yellow pages follow the trend already set by the newspaper industry.  If people would rather check the internet for residential listings, why in the world would they prefer flipping through yellow page ads rather than performing an internet search--which can actually yield more relevant information, faster.

Reach out and touch someone

New web 2.0 technologies have given me the opportunity to stay close to my family in ways I never thought possible.
Last night I enjoyed a long catch up with 2 of my nieces and one of my nephews on tokbox.com.
For those of you clinging to 20th century modes of communication, tokbox.com offers free on-line video conferencing. So armed with a laptop with a camera, several people can participate with each person represented on the screen along with the caller. Clarity is good, only occasional "freezes". And of course, in line with web 2.0 guidleines, it is free!

I was able to use even more free technology to video capture our conversation using Jing. Jing allows for free video and/or audio capture of your computer screen. It is limited to five minute increments but that is no problem...just do five minute sections!

Today I had a skype conversation with my brother-in-law that I was also able to capture on Jing. Then I was able to upload these videos to my Any Video Converter program I had downloaded free from the Internet to convert them to .avi files so I can edit them with Windows Movie Maker--another essentially free program.

So now, armed with interviews and old video I converted from VHS, along with 100's of pictures that I will edit on piknic.com--you guessed it a free online photo editor--I will combine these elements for a mashup video of my family story. It should be interesting!!!

Until next time!!

Going viral

With the speed with which technology is changing these days it's no wonder that we went from the first iPhone only about 3 years ago (yes, I know, eons in the digital world!) to affordable smart tablets like the iPad achieving ubiquity in it's first 9 months on the market!
I have previously remarked on the brilliance of the negotiation between iPad and CBS television network where Ipads can be found in every storyline that makes sense...essentially any storyline that is.
Now the e-trade baby can be found secretly checking his stocks on his iPad during a "timeout"!
In both of these case a, iPad is not mentioned, simply used has one would use any other communication tool...creating a culture in which it's natural to pull out one's iPad to face life's daily challenges! Somewhere around 9 million of them have been sold since April 2010--that may not seem like a lot but it took DVR devices more than 10 years to achieve that level of US penetration.
When technology fundamentally changes how we communicate, adoption is rapid. For technology that is simply cool, it can take much longer. Herein,lay the fundamental challenge facing new technological development in the 20th century. Technology must be cool, affordable, and fundamentally change critical methods of communication in order to go viral! If it has these three elements it's destined for success!