Sunday, February 20, 2011

Technology Trifecta

I'm the first to admit that I'm not the most technologically advanced gal. My first computer, iPod, and cell phone were all gifts and I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't received them, I would have convinced myself that they were passing fads. I still happily buy CDs, just found out how to listen to a podcast and I remember being baffled by RSS feed in library school. Whatever. RSS is definitely a passing fad. Trust me.


I also occasionally tend to resist change or get a little anxious by it. Yep, yep, I'm a pretty 'with it' chick. So you can imagine my panic when in the course of one week I got a new cell phone, hooked up Internet service at my house and joined Facebook. Even as I type it, I'm feeling short of breath. Let's break it down.

Cell Phone:

This was my cell phone from 2004 until a week ago. 2004 - do you even remember what 2004 was like:


Now, for the record, I didn't see anything that wrong with it. Sure, it's as thick as a cheeseburger, makes that *click* noise when you open it (according to Susan - it's like fingernails on a chalkboard), still has an antenna and was a litte dinged up. But, it was still kicking. Sort of. Its ego was a bit bruised though. A sampling of the ridicule it received in recent years:

- Does that have a camera? Do you have to take it in to Black's overnight to get the pictures developed?
- Zack Morris called. He wants his phone back.
- Does that take film?

(Two of those were said to me by guys that I was on a first date with...)

Well, let me tell you about this sad little phone - it did pretty good for 'ole Winnie Cooper in the last 6 years. When I think of all the fun, friends and 3am texts it facilitated, well, it's been hard to let go. The clincher for me was when I was sitting in the freezing cold car trying to charge the phone (it no longer recognized the wall charger) while trying to talk over the incessant beeping. Plus, the antenna fell out under the seat. It was time for a change.

I got a Blackberry. I am one of the Blackberry nation now. It was quite a shock - there's so much on there! And I mistakenly linked it to nearly everything so every 30 seconds it was bing-bonging until I nearly lost my mind. Now, I'm a slave to that little red blinking light. And I have to check work email at home. But the upside is that the teasing has stopped. Except for those damn iPhoners. They think they're so superior.

Internet:

Doing all my emailing/blogging/judging of celebrities/trivia research at the office was becoming a problem; work really cut into that time for me. I was no longer able to "borrow" the service from the tenants so I thought I should bite the bullet.
It's glorious.

Facebook:

This was a surprise. I was a staunch hold-out...or so I thought. The recent conference I attended kept going on and on about social media. Once I learned that this was not simply seeing a movie with friends, I realized that I should probably get involved. My original plan was to join in order to create a profile for my work. Uh, yeah, I haven't done this yet. Instead, I got sucked in to the initial rush of everyone wanting to be my 'friend' and seeing how people from high school look now. That faded pretty quickly and I'm now left with a constant stream of information that doesn't seem to improve my life.

Sure, I got to creep some people and that was mildly entertaining. I also heard from some blasts from the pasts, but most of them have my regular contact information - why not just email me the old fashioned way? I've tried to be pretty stringent with my friend list but I did accept a couple people from high school that I haven't seen since then. I blame this on being in the throes of a 'friend' count competition with someone.

The technology trifecta has taken some time to get used to, but I have a feeling it's all here to stay. You heard it here first.

No comments:

Post a Comment