If there's one thing my mom taught me, it was the power of communication. Back in the day we used a blackboard to communicate where we were. Quite often you'd see a note saying "Gone to the store," or "Blythe called". It was simple: no cables, hardware or batteries required. We didn't need special software to erase messages. In fact, the only erasing we did was an occasional swipe at the blackboard's surface to keep track of current news.
Today, technology has taken over. I know there are some time-saving qualities to having all these techno bells and whistles. You can Skype someone from around the world, check in at the office while enjoying the beach, listen to your favorite music while pounding the pavement for your health. It's all well and good. But where does it leave us?
This morning, for instance, I had a planned interview for a major US women's magazine. The writer is in
India, so I was unaccustomed to actually having to think at 8 am. Nonetheless, I mustered courage, downloaded the latest version of Skype, donned my headset, and realized our technology wasn't working (and neither was the reporter's phone). So we postponed the interview to a later time. But only after we Twittered, instant messaged and emailed one another. Connection without conversation. A strange thing, indeed!
Cursed headset! An hour later I had it working again. The problem? A little button hadn't been activated. It's moments such as these when I wonder if our lives wouldn't be simpler if we went back to the drawing board...with chalk.
What does my sage mother think? She recently replaced her blackboard with a BlackBerry. I'm still not over it.
