Why didn't I think of that!

Some students and I were talking about technology the other day.  I made the statement that radio was the first mobile medium. Then I thought to myself, wait, scratch that. Books were the first mobile medium.

So, trying to sound intelligent. I thought “oh, I’ve got it… radio was the first real-time, updateable mobile medium.” I was reminded that, no…troubadours and the oral storytelling tradition were real-time and updateable well before radio was invented.

Aha…Radio was the first real-time, updateable mass mobile medium, right?

Maybe, but before we get ahead of ourselves and I really muddle things up with an extended analogy…the point I am trying to get across is that everything old is new again.

Still confused? How about this? The smart phone is being touted as the be-all and end-all of mobile technology. 24/7 connectivity, not just via the phone but also through the phone technologies that allow internet usage, geolocating, social media connection, video and audio capture and manipulation…..you get the idea.

I see smartphones as just the latest in a long line of technological advances that allows an individual to connect with the world around them.  Books did it. Newspapers did it. The telegraph and telephone did it. Radio and TV, too. Wearable media – smart watches and google-ish glasses - are already losing traction as the next big thing. They just offer another option for doing the connecting. I can't wait for the next big thing!

Honestly, this isn’t a rant against annoying, intrusive smart phones. This is me, kicking myself for not inventing the apps that forcibly lock a person out their phone for a specified amount of time. In effect, these apps force a person to not be connected. There’s “SelfControl”, “Freedom For Mac” and “Anti-Social”, among many others.

An article from the School of Information Studies of the University of Syracuse gives you the low-down on each. You can set the duration of your media blackout, specific programs to pause, even specific people to lock out. All in an effort to give people a way to disconnect from the constant interruptions of today’s social media maelstrom.

But wait! Eureka! There is already a built-in method to disconnect completely. Every electronic device has one. It’s called the on-off button.

Boom. Crash (SFX -  microphone dropping to the floor) We’re done here.