Posts Tagged ‘social networking’
What would I do with an iPad?
I have discovered that the longer I am alive, the less I “know”.
We all have our opinions about everything and everybody. Yet most of what we “know” is actually our accepted definition of the world around us.
I like to think of myself as a computer geek, someone who has worked hard to stay abreast of hardware, software and system usage patterns. Many people see me as that person and until recently I managed to convince myself that there was no generation gap between me (think “old computer pioneer with far too much technology information in his head”) and the new social media user (think “young person with the ability to consume a Gigabyte of bandwidth a night, just chatting to friends online”).
Video talking on Skype, taking notes in Word, checking emails and drinking coffee “all at the same time” used to make me feel proud and almost geeky, until I discovered these power-users lurking in their bedrooms.
It seems that a whole new breed of person has evolved around me without my knowledge. They have developed skills that I do not wish to master, skills that allow them to connect with similar beings, using multiple forms of social media communication. They surf the internet, chat on 3-4 video calls, respond to instant text messages, watch TV, text each other, play online computer games and watch youtube movies, all simultaneously.
If this concept makes your head spin, then welcome to the new generation gap. Kids who are fourteen years old have already mastered this multi tasking technology dance.
My experience (think “knowledge + mistakes”) tells me that this social trend is going to continue. Organisations need to consider Social Networking as an important part of their online strategy and they need to think very carefully before making their move into this online three dimensional maze. Some companies have succeeded in their deployment, others have failed miserably.
So I have decided to enter the social media world, but the thought of regularly entering text into my tiny mobile phone is too much to bear, hence the iPad evaluation.
A solid state device slim enough to fit into my tired briefcase, a keypad large enough to see, e-books to read and a battery life long enough to make it worthwhile taking on a business trip.
“Keith Lightfoot becomes Apple user!” Steve Jobs has probably been waiting for this day.
