The Tablet PC is Mightier than the Sword
COMMENT, Global – A couple of months ago I was in San Francisco at a business event. The topic was citizen journalism. The women next to me was writing paper notes.
However, every single person, almost in that room was writing on a laptop.
The wireless internet crashed in the first 15 minutes. A few people were asked to turn off ‘Bit-torrent’ a heavy duty file downloader/sharer. Napster-ish.
We’ll contrast that later with an event in Australia last week.
And by the way, we’re talking ‘big-pipe’ US broadband here. I was never without broadband in 8 days in San Francisco and the Bay Area. That is itself a contrast.
People were blogging in real time about the event, and twittering, powncing and who knows what else. The audience were a mix of techies, new media types and a broad range of people who fit under the category of writers.
In the US, new media is happening.
Many of the attendees accounts of the event, formed part of the news coverage.
3 out of 5 people were using laptops. More had laptops with them, but didn’t have access to a powerpoint, although powerboards were strewn underneath the rows of chairs.
One woman next to me, a professionally trained writer, was writing notes on paper. She was very much the odd one out.
A contrast in Australia
Last week, one afternoon I was at a business function and there were around 500 business people.
By the by, I have a Fujitsu Lifebook tablet PC that had the sound off, with screen set to dim.
My neighbor was writing copious amounts of paper notes. With paper the notes have to be transcribed and carried. Which she will likely lose, and then never access again. My laptop notes are right here…
In any case, there was only one other laptop I could see in 500 people.
Not the real issue - paperless thinking
Paper-less office? Efficiency? Yes and no. There are instances where paper is more efficient. But look long-term, paper-less technology has opportunities for corporate efficiency gains.
Efficiency and strategic use of technology means profits, and where there are profits to be had, companies will follow. There are also instances where paper is better.
Eventually, a workflow of data stored in a network will be de rigeur for the networked organization.
Learning organizations don’t lose their notes! They share and collaborate. It’s started in the USA.
And since I stopped carrying all but the most necessary paper files, and switched back to a tablet PC, my bag is down around 3-4kg, which is much better than my old 8-15 Kg paper-laden bag.
For me a tablet PC is a tactical advantage in most instances. Occasionally strategic.
And wireless releases benefits and challenges for our organizations. Real-time commentary on events in a Web 2.0 environment raises challenges that we all have to deal with. It’s happening anyway.
The benefit of a technology is not the same for everyone, and the value as a technology has to be assessed relative to our personal or business strategy.
Take care
Christopher
Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.
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