One of my colleagues at Fathom wrote a blog post, “Yield to the Tablets!”, that provides his look at how we got to the current generation of tablet computers and where they might take us.
So why all the buzz now? What has changed? And what does this onslaught of tablet PC’s mean?
What has changed:
Our expectations. Our ever deeper entanglement with the web for our business and personal lives demands omnipresent connectivity to the internet. Smart phones were just the start. They allow us connectivity to the web, but is the experience desirable on such a small screen? No. These new tablets are designed to be incredible windows into the internet, with a size, weight and form factor ideal to hold and carry.
Bandwidth. To be truly mobile and wire-free demands wireless internet. Because of smart phones, the cellular data networks have been forced to upgrade their infrastructure to appeal to the demand for bandwidth which allows for unprecedented speed and access for these new devices.
Purpose. We are no longer looking for high-horsepower miniature versions of our full sized workstation. What we want to do with these devices is different. Because of social media and other online environments, the web has become the catalog of our personal lives, a multimedia diary if you will. We want to take all that makes us who we are, everywhere we go. This includes our photos, videos, books (thanks Amazon), magazines, music, contacts, profiles, friends, our connection to our networks and soon, our personal AI powered assistants that gather information for us based on our interests and personalities.
Here’s my comment:
Brent, I hear everything you’re saying and agree that the possibilities are exciting especially in ed and med but (not to be a downer) there is also a scary side to this.
So far as I can tell, advances in this kind of technology have done nothing to simplify life – in fact, just the opposite is true. In your second paragraph you use the term “deeper entanglement”. This is a perfect description of any teenager’s (the next generation of professionals) daily existence. Have you seen them clutching their phones to their chest no matter where they go? Consuming media at a rate of 10.5 hours per every seven hours of media consumption time each day!? (Source: Jan 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm)
Some studies suggest that they can handle this level of “entanglement” just fine and their brains are being quickly rewired to do so. Great (read sarcastically) they can accomplish tasks, maybe even memorize/study at the same time as they text and update and listen. (Other studies reveal less desirable side effects.) Is this good? Is this creating linchpins or robots?
What about actual thinking? Actual alone with their thoughts time? Where they consider a subject uninterrupted for a significant length of time. Where they learn about and become comfortable with themselves as individuals – with a brain and an identity separate from their technology enabled network of distractions. When will they do the hard work needed to understand and love themselves for who they are? And, of course, it’s not just teens.
My fear is that we are heading toward a world of mass psycho-interdependency where, because we are so connected, our inner individual selves get pushed farther and farther down and become indistinguishable from the group’s. Maybe we’re already there.
Any thoughts? Examples that support or allay my concerns? Bring it on, people.
So I link up with Shawn McBurnie of Rumgumption. Somehow (can’t remember quite how, but that’s how Twitter works sometimes) he led me to this great little website called Sixty Seven Music, “Home of the 67 Music Celtic Broadcast”. The weekly broadcast is hosted by Scot Cranmore, a guy based in Portland and dedicated to broadening the awareness of Celtic music and the musicians who play it.
Finding Sixty Seven Music was great enough – I often listen to the broadcast as I work – but this week I decided to click on the link for one of the artists featured, Solas, a staple in the Celtic music scene. Did a little navigating and found this recently posted video of their performance at the Dent Folk Festival (now the Sedbugh FolkFest) in the UK last June. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Solas live, but after seeing this (and the other two videos on the page) I hope to.
That’s why I love Twitter.
The Turning Tide is their new album – due out on February 16th.
On Thursday I tweeted about the Irish music band, Grada, and posted a link to a video of them playing a live show in 2007. Within the hour a musician by the name of Shawn McBurnie had followed me. I always visit the website that followers list in their bio before following them back – it’s an easy way to determine their actual motive for following. The link listed for Mr. McBurnie took me to the website for his band, Rumgumption, a traditional Irish/Scots music group. After listening to one of their streaming songs I followed him without hesitation and sent him a direct message complimenting the song. He immediately messaged me back with a link to the Bandcamp page for the group’s new album, Crossing the Roaring Main, that is due out on December 12 – which is now on my music short list.
A win for me and win for the band.
That’s why I love Twitter.
A little more about the band in their own words: “We play traditional Irish and Scots music with origins ranging from ancient to sometime last week, and have amazed and enthralled literally dozens of people at a time.”
Rumgumption is Adam Modares (djembe, Uillean pipes), Jason Novak (cittern, flute), Chad McAnally (hammered dulcimer, Gaelic harp, assorted whistlage), and Shawn McBurnie (vocals, bodhrán).
Here is a holiday gift idea for the Irish music lovers in your life. Grada’s last CD, Cloudy Day Navigation, has been in regular rotation on my commute since I bought it at a live show a few years ago. Their musicianship is something to behold but their ability to create atmosphere and a sense of place with every piece they play is what keeps me coming back for more. You can hear a few cuts here. Their website has a little more about them and a new CD, Natural Angle, is on the way. Here’s hoping they come back to Southern New England in 2010.
Found this presentation here, originally published by David Gillespie here.
No intro of mine is needed. From the creator:
The deck covers a lot of ground, mainly from the point of view of where we are right now in the evolution of the Internet and culture, and where I think we’re going. I welcome feedback of all kinds, from bursts of agreement to arguments against each and every slide.
If I have moved the conversation along in even the slightest way, I have succeeded. As always, thanks for reading, I really appreciate your time.
If you live in the US anywhere outside New York and LA, go to New York or LA!
First Paranormal Activity exhorting us to demand the movie for our towns, and now this? Are we going to have to plead for movies from now on? Is that the new marketing model from Hollywood?
Don’t get me wrong, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus looks good enough to beg for. I just don’t want to have to work so hard for my entertainment. Next thing you know they’ll be making us beg for the over priced popcorn and soda.
Anyway, in case it never gets here…
Thanks to @instantam on Twitter for the heads up on this one.
Here is an eye-opening piece of research from the Pew Research Center. Despite what Republicans want us to believe (as evidenced by their disciple-like repetition of the talking point) only 15% of us believe that “America has the best health care in the world.” (See first line of chart) In fact a clear majority, 59%, rate it as average or below.
So maybe, Mr. GOP, just maybe, before you get up and start yammering on about how America has the best health care in the world, you should actually check to see if your claims match what real people are experiencing. And hey, one other thing to remember: saying something over and over does not make it true. Ask any 4th grader.
This weekend my daughter and I participated in a Walk for Water to raise money for the purchase of a well for a village in Africa. The walk wasn’t long, just two miles, but at the one mile mark we filled the buckets we had been carrying with water. Where the first mile was breezy and full of conversation, the second was marked by grunts and groans, spilled water and fatigued arms. It was just a small taste of what over a billion people have to do every day to have clean water.
The well will be purchased and installed through World Vision which shares these facts on the Water & Sanitation page of their website.
Every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
When a community gains access to clean water, its child mortality rate drops by half.
In many regions, women and girls walk for hours every day to collect water that often isn’t even clean.
In partnership with other organizations, World Vision has plans to drill 825 deep wells in rural West Africa that will bring the gift of health and clean water to nearly 500,000 people over a six-year period.
The well we walked for will provide water for 100 villagers for their whole lives. The total cost will be $5,400. That’s just $54 per person. We spend that and then some on a mediocre dinner out. I’m not asking you to donate to the well I am working toward. All I’m asking is that you consider donating to World Vision’s quest to provide clean water to rural West Africa. This is their donation page specific to providing clean water.
Access to clean water is one of the most pressing problems our world faces. As the earth’s population grows demand for water increases but supply does not – at least not without our help.
We’ve all been there. Mired in the muck. Working to solve or move or create only to feel like every effort lands us right back in the same tar pit. New ideas don’t come because our thinking patterns don’t change. Our brains form habits. We use the same logic, make the same assumptions and take the same path time after time. Here are some ways to stay open and fluid.
1. Read. Read.
2. Read about a subject that challenges you intellectually. We all want to feel smart so it’s natural to choose reading material that reinforces the intellectual picture we have of ourselves. But where does that get you? Put yourself back in school. Read something that makes your brain hurt.
3. Try to understand a point-of-view that differs from your own. Are you a conservative? Talk to, listen to and don’t argue with a liberal about a subject you are both passionate about. Then attempt to argue the others side. You already know how you think, and it’s not working. Assimilating another person’s thought process can help you approach your problem differently.
4. Read up on a subject that is distinctly different from what you are working on. Are you trying to optimize your manufacturing? Read about painting techniques. Are you trying to change your study habits? Read a book about the space program. The pathway that your work needs to take can often be found in the techniques of other disciplines.
5. Have a conversation about a subject you’ve been writing or thinking about. Talk with a trusted colleague or friend. Don’t edit – let the stream-of-consciousness just happen. Don’t dismiss what your conversation mate might interject. Accept it all to keep your mind open and let the conversation go where it goes.
What techniques do you use to stimulating new thinking when you’re stuck? Share them in the comments and I’ll combine them all in a new post at a later date.
Wal-Mart’s “Packaging Scorecard” has also applied pressure from the world’s largest retailer to over 66,000 suppliers to reduce packaging. Wal-Mart is pushing to become “packaging neutral” by 2025. No small feat. The impact of this decision has had profound ramifications in the entire consumer product industry.
Now if only Wal-Mart would make the same committment to reducing the number of obesity inducing foods they stack on their end aisle displays. The impact of that decision would have profound impact on the entire consumer.
