Five years ago I used this elaborate timeline to illustrate where I saw myself in relation to others in terms of technology awareness. A little out front (at the time) of most of our company… waaay behind the Smart Kids.
For much of the past 15 years I’ve been annoying people (mostly at work) with the latest gadget or –more recently– app. There were early adopters like me; others who would get on board once they clearly saw some proven value to their current job; and still others who jammed their fingers in their ears, chanting “la la la la la la I can’t HEAR you!”
This group always referred to “the Internet thing,” and to this day think Twitter is about what you had for lunch.
But something has changed. People are starting stop by my office or my table at the Coffee Zone and ask for a crash course in all this stuff I’ve been yapping about. It’s as though they woke up one morning and realized, “Shit! I’m way behind!”
Let me hasten to add, there is NOTHING I know that any reasonably intelligent person can’t pick up. But just as you can learn to speek Italian from a series of CD’s, you won’t really understand the language until you live in Genoa for a few years. It’s a cultural thing.
If I had to guess at what has brought this on –if, indeed, something has changed– I’d say it’s the iPhone and the iPad. The web has moved from your desktop (which you leave behind every night at 5 o’clock) to your pocket.
These latter day Luddites are hearing more and more expressions (from customers!) the meaning of which they have only the vaguest idea.
I’m doing my best to purge any “I told you so” from my thinking, but the simple truth is, a lot of these folks won’t catch up. They’re trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide. By the time they scramble up and over… everyone will have moved on.
Ehi, aspetta per me voi ragazzi!
By “smart” I was referring to brain surgeons and nuclear physisists.
If “smarter” means the ability to ignore certain communications, then yes, I agree.
You, annoying ??? Won’t her from it Apart from yous smug “Apple knows best” atttitude.
Steve is unique in that he is cutting edge tech, but he can have a conversation in person about important stuff unrelated to tech. I think he understands that tech is a means to an end. That combo is kinda rare, at least around these parts.
I think people want “smarter” connections, not necessarily less. And we’re seeing that. As our tech learns more about us as individuals, it will do more of the filtering for us. Email is not very smart. If someone has my email address, they can put something in my in-box (unless I filter). Newer technologies will handle this for me.
Do you think a backlash is due? Where people actually start to desire LESS connectivity and communication? Or has that happened already?