Saturday, August 08, 2009

Technology

"Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road." -- Stewart Brand


In one fell swoop, I've indoctrinated myself into the world of Blackberry, mobile e-mail, Twitter, and Twittering to Facebook. I know ... not really a big deal. Most of you are already there. And I'm a computer tech who does this stuff for clients all the time. But, I'm usually the last to adopt the technology for myself. Mostly because of cost.


Having mobile access to my e-mail has become a necessity for my business and will actually make my work easier and could get me more clients. That was reason enough for me to get the Blackberry. All the rest of the stuff (Pandora, much better camera, web access, Facebook and Twitter access, etc.) is just a bonus. Plus, we are now getting a fat 17% discount off the top of every month's bill because Michelle's employer subsidizes anything you spend at certain vendors (in this case, Verizon). So, we got rid of an outdated plan, got a new phone (Blackberry Tour 9630) for about $100, added a new plan with better features, and we will still spend less than we had been each month.

Ultimately, though, the new phone will be just another way for me to waste time and not concentrate on posting to the blog. Perhaps I need to look into mobile blogging. Stay tuned.

6 comments:

wstachour said...

Ah yes, sucked into the vortex of the do-everything smart phone! (At least you knew what you were getting into.)

I'm firmly addicted to my iPhone now, though AT&T is a continual disappointment for me in Wisconsin (well, in Appleton). If I could keep the phone and change carriers, I'd do it in a heartbeat; but I'll grudgingly do whatever the phone requires.

(I still haven't figured out Twitter. I'm on, but I don't grasp its utility. Same with Facebook. I'm on it, but I can see no point in updating it. I guess this is how kids fly the coop and leave their parents behind, cyber-style!)

dbackdad said...

AT&T is a disappointment here too. That's why I'm on Verizon. Though, I understand the attraction of Iphones. I've set up plenty for clients.

I don't necessarily "grasp the utility" of Twitter and Facebook yet either. But I'm going to give it the old college try and run them into the ground until I become sick of them or others become sick of me (the more likely of the two).

wstachour said...

I think the bite-sized update has kinship with the texting kids do--which also eludes me. Like most of my generation (I'm 47), I'm inclined to call someone if I have something to say and not just engage in a pokefest to no end. But I can see that Twitter is like a generic text message to a group.

OK, I still don't get it.

;-)

dbackdad said...

The wife and I are big texters between us and I will occassionally exchange texts with a few of my more common clients. But LOL and OMG, we definitely don't go overboard, IMHO. :-)

John said...

Business wise - Twitter can be used to blast out to your existing customer base on deals and so on, but in general it's pretty well worthless IMHO.

dbackdad said...

John -- I don't doubt you are right. I'm not even sure that I could get a use for it for my business. A large percentage of my clientele is aged and would not know twitter from a hole in their head.