Book 2.0

Anytime there is a technology discussion that includes words like reliable, killer user interface, revolution, or instant-anything eyebrows begin to raise, or you wonder what Apple is up to now.

Steven Levy's article in Newsweek about Amazon's new ebook reader is certainly interesting. I agree this "will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish" (p. 57), but the jury is still out if this is a revolution.

The attractiveness of this latest entrant into digital books includes the long battery life, independence from a personal computer, and wireless capability. But it is the many other content capabilities beyond books that make this intriguing; like access to newspapers and magazines, ability to connect to Wikipedia, Google, blogs, other web pages, and even other business documents in PDF format. Together these capabilities do make this device the "iPod of reading" (p. 58).

Books and reading in general has been a social activity for centuries, but the question remains: will people want to hold a digital book in their hands or curl up in their favorite spot to journey with the author? Will the limitations of sharing, loaning, or shelving books hold this gadget back or will the overwhelming mass of content take us there eventually?

From a business perspective, Kindle is very efficient. What are your thoughts about the pros and cons from a social interaction perspective?

SOURCE: Levy, S. (2007 November 26). The Future of Reading. Newsweek, pp. 57-64.

Do You See Me Now?

Facebook allows users to upload and tag photos of anyone in their network. Once tagged, you anyone in your network can see these photos. There has been some concern about how this "feature" will impact job searchers as Human Resource (HR) organizations become more connected to social networking sites.

This tagging process on Facebook is manual, however, there is new start-up on the scene, Polar Rose, that dynamically tags photos using face-recognition software. This takes the HR concern to new levels as photos are uploaded by friends and foes alike and you may (or likely) may not be aware that photos of you have been uploaded.

With the growing concern for privacy as well as international security and the beginning stages of HR groups incorporating social networking technologies into their recruiting practices, what are the pros and cons of something like this?

Schenker, J.L. (2007, December 24). Finding Faces in the e-Crowd. Businessweek, p. 70.

Who's Really In Control?

I came across a fascinating quote recently in Wired Magazine. Spencer Reiss was interviewing Nicholas Carr about the future of technology. They covered the idea of dummy computers, privacy, the global network, and how we interact with computers, but the most fascinating quote was:

We're beginning to process information as if we're nodes; it's all about the speed of locating and reading data. We're transferring our intelligence into the machine, and the machine is transferring its way of thinking into us.

How are you seeing this in your business?

SOURCE: Reiss, S. (2008, JAN). Do You Trust Google? Wired, p. 42.

MIM

I have never really connected with the idea of Instant Messaging. Not sure if it was the crazy abbreviations, being in a mobile job, or not being fond of interruptions. So, needless-to-say, I was not really surprised when I read the Steven Levy story about Jack Dorsey's new startup Twitter which is a service that allows you to update all your friends and family what you are doing, even when you are mobile (MIM=Mobile Instant Messaging). Not sure I want people to know where I am or what I am doing 24x7, and I would have concerns for my daughters or anyone who may turn from friend to stalker. Like any new technology, there will be flashes in the pan, evolutions and innovations that will find their way into our behavior as second nature.

Source: Levy, Steven (2007, April 9). Twitter: Is Brevity The Next Big Thing? Newsweek, 26

Network (really) TV

Funny how words have a way of evolving. We have all understood "network" television to mean the major networks delivered over satellite or cable to our homes. With the many innovations happening on the internet, Steven Levy with Emily Flynn Vencat have introduced us to a new idea in Network TV: Joost which turns your computer into the delivery device which threatens the future of the traditional TV set. Joost does for copyrighted content what YouTube has done for individual/amateur content: provided a mechanism for people to tailor content to their needs. Considered "peer-to-peer" and "on-demand" this technology adds rich content to our social networks and provides another way for people to connect around shared interests.

Source: Levy, Steven (2007, May 14). Trashing the Tube. Newsweek, 48