From downtown Orange County, CA to the Big Apple there is one comparison which holds true. Everyone is so busy checking emails, tweeting, and playing on their mobile personal tech devices that no one is watching where the hell they are going these days. On the sidewalks people are bumping into each other while continuously computing, and pedestrians are getting run over while jaywalking and texting, as an SUV driver doing the same never saw them before the big splat!
The other day there was a very good article in the Wall Street Journal titled "In and Out of the Office: Putting iPads to Work" by Walter S. Mossberg and on the follow-up page was an interesting subtitle; "The iPad as a Productivity Tool" and the article gave examples of all the things you could do on your iPad and how that would help in business."
Yes, absolutely correct, in fact, although I am retired now, I can see perfectly how great it would have been to have such a tool 15-years ago in my company. As a franchisor, I would have made it mandatory that all franchisees had a Tablet or iPad II considering the many attributes. Just as it speeds up our personal productivity businesses are making it pay - but who is going to end up paying in the end I wonder.
As these Smart Phones, iPhones, iPads, and Tablets get more and more robust with features, apps, and uses thus, allowing everyone to be connected all the time with the Cloud and the Corporation - with GPS, and instant location based information such as coupons, data, and advertising alerts for the user - is anyone walking the streets of the Big Apple going to be paying attention to where they are going?
Doubtful.
And if you thought it was bad enough with drivers in New York City using such mobile computing devices, it's not just there, it's everywhere. Consider if you will a recent feature on WLFI TV in West Lafayette, IN on March 8-9, 2011 titled; "Survey: 1 in 5 Surfs the Web and Drives" by Kristin Maiorano - and I guess the news segment title and the pretty gal reporter says it all.
What we have here are weapons of mass distraction indeed.
In Boston it's basically the same difference on the streets, and Boston (dot) com (The Globe Newspaper) had a recent piece "Red Light, Green Light - Why No One Pays Attention to Traffic Signals [when crossing the streets]" by Jospeh P. Kahn (March 12, 2011) who captured the essence of the problem, before we take into consideration these mobile devices; folks just don't care, or follow the "suggested" rules when walking in the city.
Okay so, what happens as more and more people keep crashing into each other while on their Tablets and iPhones on the sidewalk? In New York it's busy enough as it is, you have to pay attention to get through the crowd, and if no one is watching where they are going, it's getting a little nuts out there as one Big Apple is fighting another Apple. Perhaps, someone needs to invent a pedestrian radar to display in the corner of the screen to alert you that another user is about to collide with you and rock your world.
Such a system might even display the height and weight of the incoming target and let you know if by Green, Yellow, or Red code whether you need to move, dodge, or JUMP out of the way. Please consider all this and have a safe day.
Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.
