I go to meet people, hear about their products.. but I shake of leg humpers immediately
I just finished watching The Postman, a post-apocalyptic film based on the novel by David Brin.
I won’t say much about the film.. movie reviews abound for this type of Costner saga and frankly, they are not usually my first choice
What did strike me was the central theme of the film… In a screwed up world, people get hope from the simpliest of messages.. a found letter from a long lost relative or a few words from a man with a mission. I suppose Kevin Costner is somewhat like The Postman.. I’m told he gets a vision for a project and never lets go, inspiration to us all to keep at it and share our gifts.
Just a couple of years ago, I might have dismissed this as nothing more than theatrical license. Today, I know what happens when I listen to my online network and feedback a very short message of hope and love. Sometimes this message rings out louder than any bullhorn or 50,000 watt transmitter and touches the hearts of someone.
We really don’t know what all is going on in the life of those we come in contact with. Out of the thousands that see my tweets on Twitter there are bound to be a few that resonate with just about anything I say. Once they reply, it only takes a moment to acknowledge them and who knows.. maybe make their day. 
For me, this started on Twitter. Like everyone, I wondered if it was going to take too much time.. fortunately I had the excuse of counting some of it a research for my book.. but the more I got to think of it, I knew I had to make it my goal to answer every tweet that was directed to me.
Doing this with the idea that each tweet reply was addressing at least one real human being that had connected to me soon wasn’t a chore, it became a passion. Further it actually improved my connections off Twitter as well. I find I write more from the heart, have an easier time getting past the “empty paper” stage of starting a project and always have a lot more fun.
When a dark day occurs, I think of the the lives changed when one person stops to smile or share a kind word, rededicate myself to giving more and look for a few tweets in the stream where I can add value to the conversation.
Do you have a story of a short message, tweet, text or idea that changed your world? Please share in the comments.
I’ve been talking with David Greschler and his team at Microsoft about their mission to bring virtualization and cloud computing to us all. Some of my friends on Twitter have asked what all the fuss is about, so I”ll explain here.
Computing “in the cloud” is using computer power that is outside your own machine. Essentially, you are doing this everytime you access a web site, view your email online or join a social network.
Virtualization is a breakthrough that allows companies to use just the computing power they need. This will lower costs, save energy and bring a lot more service to you where and when you need them.
If you have questions about cloud computing, virtualization or how to create a vision for your enterprise, just TWEET to my friend David Greschler (@DGreschler on Twitter) or post a comment here.
A new study shows that adoption of this technology is the next big thing in computing and will affect us all. You may not need to know HOW it work.. but do take a moment and watch this video for an overview.
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Just in case you are still wondring if social media is just a fad…
Sure, Twitter as we are using it today may not always be there.. but that’s not the point. The REVOLUTION is just begun.
Note: The photo here is NOT my Palm PRE. It is the must have soap replica from TwoEggplansIt’s been 2 months since I started the endurance test that is the Sprint Palm PRE.. here’s some observations that may help you understand my plight, and why you may want to upgrade your phone
First off, the PRE rocks. I tried hard to hate it exclaimed “this thing is going back before the 30 days is up” at least 27 times.. but the truth is that I love the multitasking, gps tools and promise of more cool apps to come.
I’m on my 2nd PRE now. After fighting with an incredibly slow response, I swapped for a new phone a couple of weeks back. I had outstanding service from the Buford GA Sprint repair center. Rayna told us she has not been given authority to fix the PRE. I guess Palm won’t let Sprint people open the phone. So we tried a new one.
I’m not out of the woods yet. The new PRE doesn’t require a reboot every day, but once the import of my thousands of contacts from Gmail was done, the searches were slower. Might be me, but they appear to get slower over time.
So, I have trouble looking through past calls, finding a contact when I want to make a call.. just about anything to do with finding people. The Twitter app works so much better than my last phone and I’m still hoping that APPS make a difference.
I’m tempted to compare the Palm PRE to that other device that sells millions. But their customer prevention department has done a good job. (I’m not mentioning their names because I’d like to think there will be someone looking for a review by searching for Palm PRE without the A names)
So why did I keep the PRE?
I’ve been buying and using leading edge technology for decades. I’ve been burned many times, but generally feel that it’s a small price to pay for the productivity gains I can get from understanding the tech and implementing it’s features.
My fantasy is that I’ll find an hour to erase the contacts and upload a smaller list. I don’t call 8,000 of the contacts in there, no sense bogging done gmail and the phone with it. Of course, that will mean spending some time cleaning up my contact list.
Two really dumb moves by Palm as far as I can see.
- They have an excellent OS and some history with apps yet they delayed the hottest trend by crippling the app developers and app store at release.
- Google and Palm must have worked together to put the gmail interface on the PRE.. but no SEARCH. This is a GOOGLE app with no search? These guys need to google “clue”
The keyboard is tiny, but I prefer it to typing on a touch screen. I assume future models will allow for a side keyboard and apps that switch orientation when you use it.. but this one is very usable. Would be nice if they added in keyboard options for more of the commands.
The Palm PRE has many innovations. Sprint and Palm were in trouble, bet the farm with on PRE and gave us a phone that tries a little bit too hard. Will they hit a home run? I’m waiting to see.