Vitamin T

To Tweet or not to Tweet...

That is the question! Micro-blogging has gone Twitter-pitch (get it?) over the last few months thanks to the massive amounts of media coverage it has received from celebrities that have become Tweet freaks overnight. From actor Ashton Kutcher’s video tweet ranting about his noisy neighbor to Lance Armstrong’s mundane updates over his bike rides and training. Twitter is not limited to celebrities, however, with more and more companies, publications and politicians jumping on the micro-blogging bandwagon.

 

U.S. Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra came under fire recently after sending a string of tweets from his Blackberry announcing his whereabouts, including brief updates about his recent visit to Iraq. Some claim that the updates revealed ‘classified information’ that endangered the safety of members of the delegation he was traveling with but his reps say that the trip was already public knowledge.

 

In an age when anyone can look up information about anything online, it’s pretty hard to draw the line between what’s private or public. One thing’s for sure, Twitter has created a unique platform for everyone to share information and communicate in real time with colleagues, customers and other constituents. Now it's just up to us to manage what to say, when and how.

 

- Sylvie Tongco, Reichert Communications, LLC

Placeshifting Is Here to Stay

A few months ago, my husband couldn’t stop talking about something called the ‘Slingbox.’ He said that this cool new gear would allow him to watch live television on a mobile phone.  For weeks he talked about this new invention as if it would change his life!  He said we would be able to watch all the cable programs that we received on our home television – also on a mobile phone.

In order for it to work, he needed a phone that used the Microsoft's Windows Mobile Pocket PC operating system and the Slingbox Mobile.  Within days he had bought a new phone.  I decided that if you can’t fight it, embrace it – and a week later I bought the Slingbox Mobile for his birthday.

I was skeptical that the video quality would be too poor to watch, but I was curious to see how well the technology has evolved and whether watching TV on a tiny device is practical once the novice wears off.

I have been pleasantly surprised with the video quality.  It’s definitely watchable and not so jerky that it’s distracting.  But the audio quality could be better.  If you’re at the airport or in a restaurant with background noise, it’s difficult to hear every word.

But the coolest thing to me was that it was free!  Well, sort of.  Once you buy a Windows phone ($500), the Slingbox ($250) and if you have an unlimited mobile data plan, there is no additional cost to watch television 24x7 – wherever you are.

This is exactly how it should work!  I should only pay for television service once…and if I choose to watch it with different devices, it shouldn’t cost more.  I recently found out that this capability is called ‘placeshifting.’

(Pretty Sci-Fi, huh?)

But not everyone agrees with the ‘pay once’ philosophy – especially the carriers.  And it’s unknown if the wireless infrastructure can handle a significant amount of simultaneous Slingbox use. This year’s World Cup Soccer tournament is expected to test the Slingbox’s effects on wireless carriers in the UK.

The Slingbox has not changed my husband’s life and it can be annoying at times.  But it is handy to have access to live television programming wherever you are.  My bet is that placeshifting is here to stay.

-Barbara Reichert, Reichert Communications, LLC

Technology & Multi-tasking

Technology and schools, great combination right? According to some law schools that is a big NO. The Christian Science Monitor recently ran a piece about how the University of Michigan Law School is one of many graduate schools to ban the use of laptops in the classroom. The reason given is that students are too distracted by internet shopping, text messaging, or even legitimate note-taking to fully absorb classroom discussions.

The problem professors face is "continuous partial attention," an expression coined by Linda Stone, a former Microsoft executive, to describe how people check e-mail and try to listen to someone at the same time.

Following this line of reasoning to its conclusion, multi-tasking negatively impacts a person's classroom experience. If multi-tasking is a negative in the graduate school environment, doesn't it also follow that multi-tasking is a negative in business environment as well?

--Madge Miller, Reichert Communications, LLC

…and the Billy Goats Gruff

Two weeks ago I spent some time at EclipseCon.  It was great to see such an enthusiastic crowd of Open Source developers and commercial companies supporting the Eclipse Foundation.  My client Actuate is the steward of the BIRT project.

The event brought to mind the fact that this vibrant community is the exact opposite of the ongoing frenzy of Patent disputes (see my previous entry "The Insidious Patent Trolls...").  As technology mash-ups, such as AJAX, and ‘co-opertition’ communities, such as Eclipse, become the norm, perhaps companies that adopt a hybrid commercial/Open Source approach to innovation will move beyond the capital draining Patent disputes so prevalent in today’s technology industry.

Perhaps Patents will be eliminated from the technology arena altogether?  The idea being that no one would be competing at the level of the most basic technology, the things that have all been figured out, encouraging rapid standardization and leaving more room for innovation.

-Madge Miller, Reichert Communications

The Insidious Patent Troll...

I've been watching the story of NTP vs. RIM and the slightly lesser known case of MercExchange vs. eBay.  What I find curious is that Patents, which were created to drive and reward innovation, have now become a means to stifle it. 

There are many varied pro and con issues surrounding patents.  The one I’d like to address is the one that puzzles me the most—Patent Holding companies that exist solely to collect royalties on patents bought at the equivalent of ‘fire sales’ without any intention of actually producing anything with the technology.  The U.S. courts treat these patent holding companies as equal to the original inventor or a company actually using the technology it has patented.  By holding a technology advancement hostage—they aren’t using it and no one else can—these holding companies are accomplishing the opposite of the Patent's original intention.

If the spirit of the law was to spur innovation and the letter of the law now hinders it, shouldn’t we change things so that the spirit and the letter are once again the same?

-Madge Miller, Reichert Communications

See No eGadgets, Hear No eGadgets

As far as tech enthusiasts go, I’m a bit more reluctant than most.  That’s because when I’m not rallying excitement for a client’s revolutionary new product as a public relations professional, I’m busy explaining the inner-workings of pronoun agreement to college freshmen.  My “extracurricular” job as an English instructor has provided me with a unique technology perspective.  I have seen the dark side. 

Teachers are on the front lines of the fight to preserve face-to-face, human-to-human interaction.  Last semester, one student in particular—a lump of blond hair, baggy clothes and sulking facade—tested my patience.  She always sat in the back row of my class, looking down and smiling at her lap.  In the past, this type of unusual behavior might have been construed as an unintentional plea for psychological assistance.  But today’s tortured teacher knows that laps are seldom empty anymore.  There’s usually a gadget of some sort competing against you for the student’s attention.  Sure enough, I spent the entire semester trying to pry her reluctant hands from the type pad on her text-enabled cell phone. 

Sometimes you win; sometimes the gadget wins.  But as more and more, smaller and smaller tech toys surface, the more treacherous the battlefield becomes for us—the human society soldiers.  I have lost my share of battles—when a student enters my class with one ear plugged into a mobile phone headset, the other ear plugged into a tiny MP3 device, a hand clenching a Palm Pilot, and a web of indistinguishable wires spilling out from the slightly opened zipper of his backpack, I start to imagine how Napoleon must have felt at Waterloo.

So when Time Magazine describes a new gadget like the Oakley Thump MP3 Sunglasses as possibly being the “tuxedo shirt of the tech-generation,” pardon my sigh.  Now, in addition to covering your eyes, the windows to your soul, you can also, at the same time, keep people out of your ears, the highway to your brain. 

Technology is supposed to improve life.  And more often than not, it does.  But we’ve also seen what it can take from us.  Viewers don’t have the patience to watch more than a 5-second sound byte on cable news screens crowded with scrolls, charts and logos.  Second graders are playing with computers rather than each other.  You have to pay to talk to a human at your bank. The guy sitting next to you on the train pollutes your commute with his loud, tireless chorus of, “Can you here me now?”

I love new technology—my portable DVD player, my MP3 device, my camera phone.  I’d have an easier time giving up a kidney.  But I realize what many of my students do not: sometimes you have to unplug to be plugged in. 

The text-obsessed blond student with the baggy clothes failed my class, and ultimately flunked out of college.  I couldn’t get through to her.  There was too much tech in the way.

--Craig Kaufman, Reichert Communications LLC

CPUs and Monitors and Mainframes, Oh My!

If you’re like me you’ve got at least one old cellphone, computer monitor, or CPU moldering away in a dark corner somewhere.  There are many ways to dispose of these electronics beyond endless storage or dumping. 

Collectables

Some of those old tech gadgets you’ve been storing for twenty years are actually worth quite a bit.  If you happen to have an old Mainframe taking up all the space in your home like an electronic Godzilla, a collector might be willing to take it off your hands in order to preserve a bit of technology history.  In the BusinessWeek article “That’s Not Junk That’s Early Tech” Thane Peterson discusses some collectible technology.  Even Christie's is now auctioning computer memorabilia.  The most expensive item in its sale is a 1946 business plan for Electronic Control Co of Philadelphia, the predecessor to Unisys.  I wonder if anyone would like to collect that still working IBM PC Jr. circa 1984 or perhaps the Atari 5200 with assorted games?

Donations & Art

Many schools and individuals are willing to extend the working life of computers that are only a few years old.  In San Francisco people post on Craigslist both asking for and offering old computers.  Sometimes these computers also end-up broken down into their component parts and turned into notebook covers, pencil holders, or abstract art projects.

Recycle

If you aren’t lucky enough to own an early tech collectible, a potential piece of modern art, or a donation worthy computer; you can always locate a recycling center and pay to have your electronics disposed of responsibly.  In some cases this is actually a bit trickier than it sounds.  For instance, California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Law has been in effect since January 1, 2005 so you’d think it would be very easy to find an electronics recycling center in this state.   They are indeed easy to find through a state agency website (once you figure out which link to click.. see if you can figure it out) but, according to Karl Schoenberger, there are 212 state approved ewaste collectors and all of them have a different collection policy.  This results in hours spent calling around to the local ewaste collectors to determine what they take and how much it costs.  This seems very odd considering there is now a $10 fee attached to the purchase of new electronics which is supposed to help pay to recycle the old.  Schoenberger’s May 5^th, 2005 article “Glitches in e-waste law still being worked out” details the convoluted process by which the collectors and recyclers get compensated.

--Madge Miller, Reichert Communications

Social Networking Services – Are They Safe?

At some point in time I’m sure you’ve been asked to fill out a Plaxo card, join Friendster.com or been contacted to fill out some sort of information form to join a group or provide someone with your contact information. Participating in these activities may be a great away to organize your contacts or build social or profession networks, but is there a cost to your own privacy?

Some of the services, such as LinkedIn try to develop a chain of trust. Everyone is related by degrees. A friend who invites you into her network is one degree from you in your network - you know her directly. All of her first-degree contacts are two degrees from you, and you can request introductions to those second-degree contacts via your friend. Your personal network within LinkedIn extends all the way out to those with whom you have fourth-degree relationships, but introductions can only be made, requested, or passed along via first-degree relationships. Anyone can decline to make an introduction to anyone else along the way. But even via this chain of trust, your information can get disseminated very quickly.

As the social networking software market heats up, there continues to be privacy issues surrounding these services. Drummond Reed, CTO of Seattle-based Cordance Corp. is quoted in a NewsForge article by Roger Smith as saying, “There can't be a social Web without ensuring that every user can effectively control the dissemination and use of their personal data. The social networking sites all agree to that -- they take great pains to let every user control their links. Now what we need is an open protocol for doing this everywhere, just like IP and the Web."

Alan T. Saracevic mentions push back from friends concerned about privacy in his article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Are these networks doomed to fail if people are hesitant about sharing personal information? This does not seem to be the case as these companies offering social networking software are flourishing, but who knows what the future holds.

Are you willing to join these networks to build up your contacts or are you fearful of the privacy risks? Share your thoughts.

- Pamela Klores, Reichert Communications

Etiquette? That's So 19th Century

Technology has constantly changed the way people communicate; from the Telegraph to the invention of the Telephone, technology made communication faster. Now technology allows that fast communication in a variety of different formats--Instant Messenger, Email, as well as the Phone. Business has adapted to these technologies and, whether you know it or not, when you use these communications tools you behave in a different manner for each.

Instant Messenger (IM) – Short, quick, informal. When using this method of communication the response is immediate and there is no expectation of formality. This is also the biggest drawback as you can’t expect to have a long detailed conversation over IM, even if you can type so fast that your keyboard smokes. IM is best used to for securing small bits of information quickly. Take a look at CNET to see a review of the most used IM products.

Email—Formal, detailed, easily archived. Email is the most formal method of communication. Even if you’re heavily into emoticons :) conveying tone of voice in an email is impossible, as a result, communication over email is very formal and neutral. It is also easily retrievable, even by a computer novice, for reference at a later date.

Phone – Personal, formal. This tried and true technology is the most personal of the three and in many ways the most time consuming. When you reach the person live there is a ritual to phone communication with business colleagues involving asking how they are, taking a moment for chit-chat, and only then getting to the point of the call. If you don’t take the time to observe the formalities you risk alienating the person on the other end.

Pay attention the next time you send an email or IM or call someone. Do you find yourself falling into these same patterns?

- Madge Miller, Reichert Communications

Does Outsourcing Help Rural America?

From business publications to talk shows, board rooms to server rooms there’s been a lot of talk about outsourcing. Hidden within the controversy and the hype is an interesting bit of information that, as a former small town girl and now long-time resident of San Francisco, really hits home for me--how the issue at the heart of outsourcing, reducing costs by finding a workforce with a low cost of living, is causing businesses to take a new look at rural America.

Small and mid-size businesses are discovering that moving the company’s operations to a small town in the mid-west or south means cheap property, less expensive workers, less crime, and the bonus ‘warm fuzzy’ of being able to revitalize a town.  In Stephanie Simon of the LA Times’ recent story, “Real Estate Hunters Go Old School” She follows a couple from Seattle who move their small business to a dying town in Kansas.  The couple expects their small business to have a payroll of about 15 in just a couple of years.  The presence of this type of business is a huge opportunity for towns that average 300 people, not just for the jobs and tax dollars provided but also for the fact that the companies often revitalize large abandoned buildings (i.e. schools) that have become town eyesores.

What about tech outsourcing you might ask?  That’s what’s been causing all the controversy in Silicon Valley.  Companies need cheap educated tech workers to fill outsourced positions.  You might think that kind of educated workforce wouldn’t be found in those small towns of the mid-west and south.  If you thought that, you’re wrong. In Scott Cohn of MSN Money’s story “Forget India; Outsource Jobs to Arkansas”,  Kathy Brittain White, who grew up in Arkansas, saw an opportunity to take back tech jobs that would normally be outsourced to India and bring that money to Arkansas.  In that state the cost of living is about half that of big cities and there’s an educated tech workforce thanks to programs at Arkansas State and other state colleges.  State officials hoped that tech jobs would replace job losses on the farm.  Those hopes were dashed when tech outsourcing overseas picked up, but Kathy Brittain White and her company Rural Sourcing hope to change all that.

These signposts of change are the best hope in years that revitalization is heading to rural America.

- Madge Miller, Reichert Communications