I just started playing with Microsoft’s latest answer to Google Search, Bing (www.bing.com). Microsoft has quietly decided to once again stand up to Google and meet it on its own turf. Bing is fast, has some very cool features and is surely raising the bar for search technology. It got me thinking about the impact on my life of Internet Search.

Thinking of all the tools that the computer revolution has delivered it is difficult to decide which ones have the biggest impact on our lives. The leading candidates must surely be the PC, SmartPhone, email, and yes, Internet Search. What may be a bit easier to identify and, ultimately more useful as one gazes ahead trying to judge where technology is taking us, is to determine which technologies are the most indispensible.

While we think that the personal computer has been at the heart of all technological advancement, and your PC is the most crucial piece in your technology tool belt, I think we need to look at how we use technology rather than what we use to really understand its impact.

A few quick questions:

What did we do for entertainment before the computer?

I often hear the lament from people I meet that they feel left behind by technology; they are struggling to keep up and fear that they are losing touch. Good for them, I acknowledge that fear. If we are not careful we will see a chasm form between the technically literate and the rest. The problem is we are looking at a moving target to be considered technically literate these days; being able to program the clock on your VCR does not certify you as a card-carrying member of the digital age, in fact the very presence of a VCR puts you at risk!

So, consider me your personal trainer making sure you keep up with the rest of the technical world, and here are 3 things you can do to start your journey:

The more time we spend on line and the more we rely on the technology, the more opportunity there is for the darker side of our society to take advantage.
Nowhere is it more evident than the growing problem of cyber bullying.
We can, however, turn the tables. There are a myriad of online resources about cyber bullying to help us become a little more prepared, more supportive and more educated on what can happen and what to do if bullying raises it’s ugly head in our lives.

A great place to begin is http://www.bullying.org/. One of the oldest sites, Bullying.org was started in response to the Taber, Alberta tragedy, in which a young man, the victim of relentless bullying, went on a shooting rampage in 1999. The site is dedicated to education and prevention; it’s a terrific resource for both youth and adults.

As we see technology changing the very face of society there can be no doubt that some of the changes are about as welcome as an outbreak of diphtheria. There is a tremendous backlash to the increasing popularity of texting. Much of the backlash comes from those who are concerned about the effect texting is having on the written word, while others are concerned about the social aspect of texting, feeling it and other of the newer communications tools (instant messaging, social networking, blogging) are somehow diminished forms of communication.
Let’s deal with these two concerns; first up, how can the structure and beauty of our written word survive in the shorthand, contracted world of SMS?
When we send text messages, grammar, spelling and composition go out the window in favour of brevity. We shorten everything possible: “see you later” becomes “C U l8r”. I can hear the question being asked now: this is a good thing?

What are you doing right now? What are you thinking; what has caught your attention? We have an increasing nosiness about us; thanks to blogs and FaceBook we now know more about each other, and share more than ever before. This has merely whetted our appetite for sharing.

One of the best features in FaceBook is the update, where you post what you are thinking and doing. It gives your friends an instant snapshop into your day. There is a micro-blogging phenomenon, www.twitter.com, in which users can post short thoughts, as benign as “I am having a coffee with Greg” to the sublime “I just discovered the meaning of life!” and everything in-between; as long as it fits in 140 characters or less.

Not to make too fine a point of it, but we are really making a mess of the world. One of the real frustrations I feel in my day to day job is the incredible waste cycle I am a contributing member of.

E- waste is the dirty little secret of the high tech world. We are on a constant journey seeking out the latest and greatest; anything even remotely out of date is dropped as quickly as Christian Bale drop’s the “F” bomb.

There is one group who has taken on a big part of the responsibility of ensuring we reduce our impact on the environment from our serial overconsumption.

Free Geek is the brainchild of some very concerned environmentalists in Portland Oregon who felt that a dedicated network of concerned volunteers was just what the world needed to deal with the mounting problem of techno-waste.

Being connected at all times is as important in our personal lives as it is in our business lives. Fortunately there are a ton of public WiFi access points. Everywhere from free Wifi at the Vancouver Airport to almost every coffee shop in the Lower Mainland, you can usually find wireless if you need it. 

But there are holes in the coverage map, and even when you find public WiFi it is not always free. So if you are a person who needs to be connected, then one of newHigh Speed Wireless cards is probably an investment worth considering. I have been playing with one of the high speed wireless connection devices from TELUS, it is the Sierra Wireless Compass 597 USB. The card  connects customers to the Telus wireless high speed EVDO data network. This is a wickedly fast network, and carrying this card means you can have your cake and eat it too. Full high speed access to the Internet at any time from pretty much any location.

We have had the promise of the paperless office or home for a very long time. Alas we seem no closer to achieving this dream, in fact we produce more paper than ever.

Business still runs on paper. And for a small business person we can easily drown under the avalanche of paper we need to wade through and store. I have seven years worth of receipts, tax returns and corporate resolutions stored in my garage. I know it is required, but what a pain.

When you add what I need to keep to what I want to keep, you are talking a serious amount of paper to organize, file and store, with the hope that I can find it again when the time comes.

As usual, the computer represents hope for a better solution and there are several ways we can easily reduce our paper consumption, clutter and waste, while making ourselves a wee bit more efficient.

I have spoken a lot about social networking sites and at length about some of the dangers they represent, especially to our kids. I hope at the same time that I have outlined some of the profound benefits found in many of these sites; Facebook for example has reconnected millions of people with long lost friends.

Social Networking is changing the social face of our lives; this is neither good nor bad, it just is. One of the new cultures being born of social networking is a completely new dating metaphor. Where singles used to hook up in bars, or at social events, now the overriding preference is online. In a bar there are distractions and competition, and often impaired judgement, and limited candidates to choose from. On-line dating offers virtually unlimited candidates; you aren’t shoulder to shoulder with the someone younger, better looking, someone with all their hair, and there is no need for alcohol to be impeding your judgement (although there is no guarantee on this front).

For some people the online dating world is a boon, for others it is a waste of time and source of more frustration.