Shutting It Out or Letting It In

A favorite selective ignorance excuse when it comes to fear of social media is, "Hey!  I'm too busy to chit chat online with strangers." Or some form like that.  Translation:  "I'm busy yes; I don't understand social media, yes; I'm so insecure, I won't admit I don't like learning new tech things, yes; Let me put down those who do, and try to make myself feel better by belittling their burgeoning interest."  And most tech-friendlies just roll with that kind of statement (and the meta statement) and smile.  We are confident in the knowledge that the day will come, as it did w/ "killer app." email, when the ubiquitiousness of social media will make online connections too tempting to pass up for anyone, anywhere, on the tech spectrum.

True, many of us reject social media using selective ignorance because of social media's irrelevance. After all, we've made it this far with out it.  Not all of us reject social media in tandem with disdain for it. Emotionally and intellectually secure individuals come to mind.  However. it won't be long now, before social media's network effects  kick in. Some of us will be readier than others.  Author and Longshoreman Eric Hoffer wrote, "In times of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." 

And so it goes--my low-tech/hi-tech rant since leaving Silicon Valley seven years ago for High Altitude Heaven / Low-Tech Hell (Los Alamos, NM).  While the world's fastest computer (the IBM Roadrunner at one quadrillion calculations/second) lives at Los Alamos National Laboratory along with some of the world's fastest, best tech brains  (many who commute in from Santa Fe and environs); across the bridge at the Townsite, many residents would think "workflow" was the name of a nearby creek or river, not a business process map with human, mechanical and logical touchpoints, subject to optimization via application of the latest software and implementation methodologies.  Hey, I'm not complaining here!  On so many other fronts, Los Alamos rocks.  Just describing the whole "Land O' Contrasts" thing.

As a side note on this blog's infrequency....I suppose one must post more than twice every five years to have their blog be considered a blog.  But Hey!  I'm just  a slow starter...or would that be late bloomer.  Anyway, Kudos to Google, Blogspot, Blogger whatever my host is calling itself now, for storing away my ancient writings, and enabling me to re-access the same site.  How cool is that!?  Great user interface design and continuity through what must have been the usual rattle of priorities when M&A activity happens.