Surprisingly, it looks like I’ll continue the thought I started two weeks ago. If you didn’t read that post, go back so you can catch up with the class. The delay in this follow-up post was caused by a combination of work, travel, laziness, and a general “where was I going with this” mentality. While I’m not entirely sure of that I’ll transition smoothly from post to post, I’ll try to make it as seamless as possible.
So we’ve established that I’m a relatively impatient person. I certainly don’t think that is a great characteristic, but it’s one that I’ve been conditioned with, so I might as well try to make sense of it … or at least attribute some blame.
It’s the Internet’s fault.
Well, it might not be entirely the Internet’s fault, but it has certainly empowered me to expect immediacy. First, it was IRC, Email (even if it was dial-up AOL), a beeper, and WebCrawler search. I moved on to Instant Messaging, DSL, a cell phone, and Yahoo search. Since then, there have been a few more key iterations, but now I’ve got blogs, GMail, wireless, an iPhone, and Google search. Each change made it progressively easier to access information, stay in touch with people, and get content on demand. It seems like you can learn more about a person from their Facebook page or a MySpace account than you could by meeting them and talking to them for hours. The information is out there, and that thought is intimidating and invigorating at the same time. You can search the web for Kevin Hazard and find what I’ve said at Web Hosting Talk, and you can use my email address to track me down in a given online community.
Maybe I shouldn’t think about it that way, though. Maybe that’s supposed to be the elephant in the room that nobody’s talking about. It’s interesting to see differing perspectives on the functionality of the Internet and its usefulness in a given situation … my grandmother considers it an “email box” and a “solitaire machine,” I have friends who take every opportunity to avoid cyber-involvement, and I get paid to play a role in the evolution of the Internet (even in my limited capacity and reach).
The old rules shouldn’t apply anymore.
Why isn’t everything instant and automated? It’s probably a snobby perspective, but why doesn’t the Pony Express handle trans-continental mail any more? … Because FedEx can do it 100x more efficiently and 20x faster. A system can only be as effective as its adoption, so if everyone realizes the potential and wants the same results, the results will come (Field of Dreams, anyone?). This responsiveness is not a universal desire, so I think I’ll just hang out in my own little world over here and cynically snipe at the processes that take too long and are unnecessarily complicated.
I’d try to pioneer the change myself, but I’m far too impatient to wait for the change to be fully realized. :-)
