Embracing Technology 2009: A Work in Progress

I told myself last year that I'd try to do better with technology adoption. And, although I'm not really fond of New Year's resolutions (in part, because of fear of failure), I promised myself that I'd continue down that road and "embrace technology" in 2009. So here's a status report....


It's not that I'm a technology hater. Perhaps I'm just a late adopter. Not a technophobe, but more a dinosaur, I suppose. Even in the remote past, I can remember being excited about the family's electric typewriter, the Texas Instruments "computer," the dot matrix printer, etc. But family and friends in recent years will know what I'm talking about. I'm the last person to get wireless broadband or cable TV at home....and I still make out an index card each day with the day's schedule and "to do" list.


I think that my love of "athletic electronics" has helped me see the light. I can remember how silly it sounded when my running friends were first describing their GPS watches and how important it was to get them synchronized with the satellites before an out-of-town marathon. At the time, I couldn't imagine ANYTHING less important for a good run than a GPS watch! But of course, now I can't imagine leaving home for a run without the Garmin. Or the iPod. Or a bike ride without a Garmin AND a PowerTap computer....and so on. And now all of the files need to be downloaded for post-workout analysis on the computer. If only there were electronics for swimming!


In the past year or so, I've embraced everything Mac. I now have a virtual museum of iPod's....the Classic, the video iPod, the Nano, the Touch....each for certain, very specific uses, I told myself. And again, I remember how silly it sounded when the first person suggested that I needed an mp3 player. Who, me? I've also taken a liking to the AppleTV for home theater (movies, podcasts, music, slideshows) and Apple Airport Express/iTunes for whole-home audio. Perhaps I'll need to trade in the Dell computers for Macs.



So, here's what's happening on the technology front in 2009....


The iPhone (another Mac item!) must be the single best new item of technology that I've come across in recent years. A few years ago, I had a PDA (in fact, it's sitting on the corner of my back credenza at the office....like I might actually use it!), but it wasn't very useful. The way that the iPhone combines cell phone, email, various apps, and calendar is awesome. Now I don't go anywhere without it. If I get to work on better arranging the music collection on iTunes, I'll probably ditch the iPods....and just use the iPhone.


Twitter. For the past few weeks, I've been a part of the Twitter community, TwitterSphere, Twitteropolis, etc. This, too, sounded silly, but a few other athletes coached by Endurance Corner wanted to exchange Tweets about their workouts. And that's what got me started. And it's easy to use with the iPhone....a touch of a button and there are the updated Tweets! For the past 6 weeks, I've dutifully shared info about my workouts....and even a little info about my professional and personal life in general. I've actually "met" a couple people with similar interests and I've enjoyed hearing from them from time to time. I've also enjoyed the voyeuristic aspect of listening in on the Tweets from famous people that you wouldn't ordinarily hear from (e.g., Lance Armstrong) and from businesses/organizations that are of interest (e.g., USA Triathlon). But it seems to me that, without a critical mass of family and friends who are also embracing Twitter, one eventually becomes more of a "listener" rather than an active participant. After just 6 weeks, I'm headed that way.


Facebook. It seems that many friends and co-workers use Facebook as their primary social networking site. I have a growing inventory of "Friends," but it seems just a bit weird to hear from high school classmates from nearly 30 years ago (that I haven't seen or heard from since). And I get the sense that some people spend an awful lot of time posting comments, photos, etc. IMHO, anybody spending more than an hour a day on Facebook ought to get out more....and live a "real" life. I'll go to my home page occasionally to see what the Friends have posted, but I don't see myself really embracing Facebook in 2009. Twitter seems so much simpler.


And, lastly, the blog. In recent times, several people have told me that they had a blog....and they'd invite me to have a look. I'm not ordinarily fond of reading at the computer...and I don't think I'd ever be online searching for just the right blog. But some folks with a blog really do have useful things to say....to teach, remind us, etc. My sense is that this is most useful for collecting information about hobbies (for me, think triathlon). And from my standpoint, the blog may be the perfect place to sharie the stories that my group of friends may want to hear. That's what motivated my last post about the Endurance Corner training camp. I think I'll have a go at periodic posts here at the blog and see how it goes. I'm intrigued that the little gadget at the bottom of my blog tells me that people have actually tuned in. And I don't know anybody in Mexico or Hong Kong! Go figure.


Like I say, I'm working hard to embrace technology this year. I think that my closest friends are in disbelief. I'm not sure where things will end up, though, and I fully expect to reach New Year's Day in 2010 having been successful in some ways and unsuccessful in others. Embracing technology....a work in progress.