It's That Time of Year Again....

Well, Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, and we are now ready to begin the homestretch to the remainder of the holiday season for 2008. The year has gone quickly, and with it the end of one political era, and the start of another. But that's all I'm going to say about that for now....

Anyway, this shopping season, and the looming economic situation make me wonder how much people are actually going to spend this year. Even more interesting is the question: Are they going to buy much of what they get online?

In recent years we have seen a significant number of people buying online, and I must admit, my family rarely buys anything for Christmas in the stores. We have been online for many years, and see no reason to stop now. But with the economic situation, there are advantages to buying in the store.

I read a number of articles about the deals retailers like Walmart and Best Buy were offering, and how people waited in line 12-24 hours in order to get one of these lost-leaders. But this doesn't come without a price, as one Walmart store clerk was killed when eager shoppers rushed the store. Wouldn't have happen online....

I'm not trying to make light of this horrible death, been am trying to point out the ignorance of it. Have we gotten to the point in our society where buying little Johnny that $350 laptop is so important that we would kill for it? It's not like caveman days when fighting for food meant living or dying. Now we are fighting over laptops in a digital age...maybe that is just as important...but I doubt it.

Come on people, technology is more important than I ever imagined and offers a wealth of possibilities. Yet, we still cling to the old Black Friday rituals of getting up at 4am in the morning, being rude to fellow shoppers, and fighting over dolls and other toys to get the spoiled little one whatever he or she wants. Strange society.....

Wow, it's been a little while

Sorry it has taken me a little while to get back to blogging, but I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas where I gave a presentation, went to a conference, and generally had a good time. Yes, good....not great. It was a little different this time. Service people weren't nearly as friendly, and the casinos were about half full. When I enquired about this the person at the front desk informed me that the economy has taken a real toll on jobs and real estate in the town. Fewer people are visiting "Sin City" and those that are just aren't spending what they use to...I know I wasn't.

It got me to thinking about technology and the economy....yes, it really did. As I sat in the sports bar watching the Chiefs lose again and enjoying an adult beverage I got to thinking about technology, and if all this neat stuff we can do with mass collaboration has cost our country too many jobs?

I know that due to technology some of the customer service jobs that use to be done here are now in countries like India. So are some of the tax preparation, drafting, and other jobs that require more science than art. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining...just making an observation.

We're being out done by countries that can do the business faster, cheaper, and smarter. Daniel Pink noted this in the book "A Whole New Mind" and although he wasn't right about everything (who ever is?), he was right about many things. Regardless, globaliztion is here to stay, and our economy and businesses must learn to embrass it or die.

Second Life?

When I first heard that a site like Second Life existed, I have to be honest in saying I thought it sounded like a big waste of time. I'm one of those parents who tells his son two or three times a night to "Get off the computer, and get outside and meet people." Now he can do both....

I don't advocate he spend his entire night on the computer in Second Life, but at least his time spent there would be interacting with "real" people...sort-of. Second Life is a site where you can actually live and interact as a different person. You create a vitual person that walks, runs, flies, or is magically teleported from one location to the next.

You can buy property, build homes, hold a job, get married, buy clothes, furniture, or anything you have enough money to afford...just as in real life. The implication in education and training are endless, and for me begin with the idea that an instructor, school, trainer, etc. can reach non-traditional students who are spending their time in Second Life.

Any organization can set-up a virtual classroom to hold classes or provide training for those unwilling or unable to attend in the traditional format. For me, I enjoy the personal interaction that comes with attending classes in-person, but for others, it might be the perfect solution to get additional knowledge without the need to leave their home.

Let's Talk About Something Else...For A Little Bit Anyway

I have spent a considerable amount of time on this blog discussing the election and politics over the last several weeks. Occasionally I have pointed out the worth of the technology I am learning in the Emerging Technologies class at Drake University, but want to spend a little more time on that in the next several posts.

I did not avoid writing on the issue of technology because I fail to see value in this learning, but rather because I am not very good at self-reflection. Don't get me wrong, I am a strong supporter of its use. I just have the same excuse as everyone else...I have a lot to do, and writing on a familiar topic is easier than reflecting on the use of technology in my life.

That being said, I would like to focus on what new technologies I have learned, and the uses I see for them them in my personal, business, and educational career. The first such learning is on the use of collaborative tools such as Wiki's, and Google Docs.

In past jobs I was required to manage employees who did not work in the same office, and on one occasion, the same state. For this reason it was often difficult to collaborate on projects within the team. Many times we would pass documents from one person to another via email, and would have to appoint one individual to be the "point person". The "point person" would be the one to receive revised documents from team members, and combine these revisions into a "master" copy.

This way of collecting feedback was time consuming, and often led to errors in the final product. The collaboration tools I have learned and used will allow me to better communicate in a business setting by providing a way to share documents without the need to email them. The documents can be stored in one place and each team member can view, download, and edit them.

From an educational perspective I have been able to use this technology recently by creating a wiki site for another class. The input from class members during our sessions are inputed onto the wiki, and access is given to all members. They can view and revise this material at anytime, and provides them materials that would not otherwise be available to them. It also acts as a place members can go to add information or comments they feel is valuable.

In all, the usefulness of these tools could be documented in far greater detail than what I have been able to do here. The important thing to remember is that these tools are free, and their use opens up a greater level of collaboration with people than was ever thought possible just a few years ago. Gone are the days when individuals could only collaborate with those in their circle (e.g. coworkers, friends, classmate, etc.). Now with the use of these tools, individuals can collaborate with people all over the world...even with those they do not know.

Technology can be a wonderful thing....

What Now?

I was surprised to hear Obama's speech on Tuesday night. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for change, but it just seemed like he was lowering the expectations for his first term within an hour of being elected president. He ran on the platform of positive change, and I think hearing that our problems might not be solved in his first term came as a surprise to a lot of people.

Unfortunately, the problems facing this country may take more than two terms to solve. The amount of money for the bailout alone will take ten to twenty years...or longer to recover from. We may never get it back. The days of easy money are over, and to the "want it now" generation this may be a big problem. The new generation is use to having everything now, and it's going to be hard for them to understand that they will no longer be able to get everything they want, when they want it.

We are looking at a big social adjustment, and maybe that was what Obama was really talking about? Maybe the ideals of our fathers: hard work, stable job, conservative financial investments, etc. was not so wrong after all?

Election Day!

It’s Election Day and we are on the verge of the most important point in our history. Yes, we have been through difficult times before, and it can be argued that this election is no more important than the ones during the great depression, but in the end we have so many different issues facing us that it all blends into one great big noise. Because of this, I believe this election is by far the most important.

We have the various economic problems (mortgage loans, bank bailouts, credit card crisis); the issues with education (no child left behind, affordable college, tuition loans, private schools); the national debt; the issues with healthcare (affordable care for all); the issues with the environment (relatively unnoticed due to other problems); and let’s not forget the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Do I believe we can turn this around…yes, but it’s going to take a long time and will take more than just money to solve the issues we face. The citizens of this country have lost confidence in our system, and we need is someone who can restore our faith. That is truly the stabilizing force in our system…not money, and whether any of the two candidates running for president can do this remains to be seen.

My parents often told me when I was growing up that nice people don’t run for president. That the person in that job must be willing to get dirty and step on toes. I think there is some truth to that, and the reason many qualified people do not run for president anymore. The media coverage is just too much to hide from, and the dirty laundry of the past eventually is found.

Do I advocate criminals in office…of course not! We need someone who has kicked ass and taken names to get things done; a true leader. Instead we get the people that follow polls and have no clear vision for the future. Those are not the people I want in office. Don’t tell me what I want to hear, tell me what I need to hear and why...that’s what I want.