What do I and Barack Obama have in common?

 

What do I and Barack Obama have in common?

1. We are both of African descent.

2. We were both born in 1961. That means we are both 50 this year. Today is the president's birthday, so he's one month, almost to the day, older than me (my birthday is on 3 September in case you have not worked it out yet).

In a strange way I feel a very strong affinity with Barack because we were born around the same time.  Maybe the planets that were in alignment and the stars that shone on him at his birth were still around for my birth a month later (admittedly they'd used up all the world leader essence by then, but I feel we still have a lot in common).  

We both grew up in the 60s and we were both subject to visions of an utopian future, heralded by new technologies that would land men on the moon, end all sickness, enable work to become a thing of the past because machines would do everything.  All we'd have to do would be lounge around living the life of Riley. Also, because we would have dispensed with the need for money in this "Brave New World", everyone would benefit.

I loved the promise of smart new technology.  My favourite programs were Star Trek, because they had the sort of gadgets I longed for.  The ability to beam yourself from one location to another in an instant; communicators that enabled you to speak to anyone anywhere on a device you held in your hand and best of all the Tricorder.  An instrument that at the wave of a hand, could provide you with all the information you needed to solve any problem in any field of science.  I wanted that so badly.   

Then there was Tomorrow's World.  I like that because it acted as a barometer, keeping track on how close I was to having my Tricorder.

My love of technology has meant that as an adult I have always been an “early adopter”.  (This is in stark contrast to the Luddite – In today's terms, a Luddite would be someone who is still using a portable CD player!  If that is you, throw it away MP3 is here to stay!)

I had the first PSION handheld PC, which was as big as a house brick.  I migrated through the various PSION upgrades to the HP iPAQ.  I had a voice activated mobile phone when T Mobile was still called 1-2-1 and phones still had pull-out aerials.  I joined 3 within the first three months and had video and movies on my phone when others were still watching black-and-white dot-matrix graphics.  And I got an iPhone six months before my existing contract ran out and paid both contracts just so I could have it.  Discovering the world of apps was like giving a heroin addict crystal –meths.  (Note: I would like to point out that I have no personal experience of taking either drug and base my metaphor on desktop research – and no, this is not a “Clintonism”).  

You won't be at all surprised to know that I have over 300 apps, the majority of which I purchased.  And if you have to ask if I have an iPad, well you simply have not been paying attention.

Technology plays a big part in my life.  I run my life on my iPhone and iPad – all backed up on my PC so I can be up and running again quickly if the worst should happen.  It would be a slight exaggeration to say I couldn't function without them, but it would definitely be a lot less fun, a lot less effortless and a lot less enjoyable without them.

According to Ofcom, I'm not the only one whose life and etiquette is driven by their relationship with technology. Today Ofcom released the findings of a report into how we use smart phones - the ones that do e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, and run apps.  Apparently smart phone users blur the lines between work, social, sleep and recreation/leisure and use their phones to maintain constant contact across the different areas of their lives.  Many (me included) have their phones on 24/7 and sleep with them on the nightstand (mine is under the pillow; presumably cooking my brain with the radiation leakage.  I reckon that’s okay because by the time I noticed the damaged in 15 to 20 years time, it will be difficult to distinguish it from the symptoms of old age).

Worse still, smart phone users think nothing of using their phones when in company i.e. during a meal with friends, at the cinema, a substitute for the “after sex” cigarette etc.  According to Ofcom’s research, smart phone users don't consider this to be rude, rather they see as a natural part of the process of remaining in close proximity to their beloved phone at all times.  The constant checking serves as tactile reinforcement of the bonding between user and phone and also as reassurance that they've not left their precious possession behind somewhere.  What?  You thought we were reading messages!

Are you an early adopter or a Luddite?  If you have a smart phone, how smart are you with it?

 

You do know you can use your smart phone to upload your comments to this blog?  There's an app for that!