Try Not to be Always Amazed

One of the easiest ways to spot a digital immigrant is their ongoing sense of amazement at ever evolving technology. If you wish to blend in, never, ever, start a conversation with, “I remember when,” or “Back in my day.” What you say next is no more valid to a digital native than how far your parents had to walk to school through drifts of snow bigger than any seen in modern times.

Moore's Law guarantees you will be more and more amazed. Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, asserted in 1965 that the number of transistors on integrated circuits would double every two years.

An overly simplistic interpretation is that computers become twice as powerful at half the cost every two years.

(Note to computer engineers who may have stumbled upon my humble blog, yes I realize I am evoking an overly simplistic explanation of the complexities and permutations of Moore's Law. Before you flame me, I'll even admit it is a grossly simplistic view. Okay?)

Miniaturization is limited to a human being's data input ability, not the device. Here's a tip for digital immigrants, practice texting. Nothing tags you faster as an oldster than the inability to text with speed. Digital natives grew up with using only their thumbs to input data; we learned data input typing with all 10 fingers.

Since a theme of this blog is trying to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving business world, my advice is to let go the impulse to assert your personal technology evolution as a measure of your relevance.

Every time I forget myself and let loose with a story about moving from a pager to a brick phone to a flip phone to a smart phone, I see the natives' eyes gloss over. My intentions are true. I want these kids to appreciate what they have. A full-fledged computer, camera, video camera, data communication device that fits in your pocket and also makes phone calls? They should appreciate how far we've come. But that's exactly what Dad said about the school bus.

I understand it's hard to resist.

When I had my own ad agency, Influential Communications, my designer and I went through a series of storage devices at a frightening pace far faster than every other year. One advantage of working in marketing is that you are always forced to be at the leading edge of technology.

Each leap in computer technology allowed us to do more, especially in graphic design. Each time we did more, file sizes grew. Getting the file to the printer required a seemingly endless evolution of devices and standard upgrades. I could open a museum of removable media.

We stared with the 5.25 inch floppy discs, then the 3.5 floppy discs. (Remember how you could tape over the lockout on the back and reformat those free AOL discs?) Next came a rather expensive optical-magnetic drive. Then we followed Syquest as it leapt through ever-increasing capacity drives and their attendant cartridges. Next we had to switch to Zip Drives and they then ran the same race of ever bigger capacity drives and cartridges. Finally we thought CDs were our salvation. The cost dropped significantly and every new computer came with a built-in drive. But then DVDs appeared with even greater capacity. Having lived through all this, you'll forgive my shock when I see you can now carry a terrabyte of information in your pocket on a thumb drive that costs less than $100.

Now as Marketing Director at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, I am still driving changes and upgrades. We moved the web site to content management, Joomla. (It's overdue for upgrading to the next version.) We're trying to keep up with Social Media. Just this past week we added two new webcams. And we are working to introduce a new digital interface for one of the exhibits by July. I'm spending more of my free time with my GoPro and Adobe Premier. It seems video editing is an inherent skill for most digital natives. You can see some of my attempts on my YouTube channel. My motorcycle skills video sent my wife Cynthia into paroxysms.

There is no end to the upgrading. (That will perhaps be my next blog post.) Get over it.

Having been in at the beginning earns you no chops either.

I remember stacking punch cards to run primitive programs. My first work computer, a Compugraphic, saved to paper tape. My portable writing device at the time was a manual typewriter in a fiberglass case. When we cut and pasted, we really cut and pasted, with scissors, tape and waxed cold type. I loved my Radio Shack Model 100. I could program a bit in Basic. I've owned most every version of Windows. I once memorized 30-some function key combinations for WordPerfect. I am fairly fluent on both PC and Mac.

Nobody cares.

I have a coffee mug decorated with this Dilbert cartoon on my desk. It reminds me to stay fresh and to keep my digital war stories to myself.

Your Direct Report in Footie Pajamas

My work e-mail is banned from Facebook forever.

The Maritime Aquarium's first foray into Facebook was led by a summer intern. Although our MySpace page was working well, everyone said we had to move to Facebook. A young, digitally native, summer intern assured me she knew how.

It all went swimmingly until Facebook sent a nasty e-mail and suspended our account that fall.

Turns out our intern had set the Aquarium up as though it was a person, not an entity.

I finally got it all straightened out. Ever try to reach someone at Facebook on the telephone? Fortunately, all was forgiven. We created a page, not a person. Facebook even migrated our followers, converting them from friends into fans. Only my work e-mail could not be reset.

Facebook has pursued this policy in ensuing years. And the upshot is that you can manage a page for your company, but only from your personal Facebook space.

Commingling business and personal personalities creates consternation.

I knew my Facebook personal profile was no longer personal when my first board member sent a friend request.

There is an awkward moment or two when you and your direct reports “like” each other on Facebook. This post's title comes from such an instance. There was an awkward moment when I chose not to “like” a photo of one of my workers in her pajamas.

With a uniquely spelled, and therefore eminently Googleable, last name, I have been cognizant from the start of my world wide web involvement that my personal postings were essentially public and must therefore jibe with my professional goals. (You will find only two Chris Loynds in your search, me and a psychiatrist in East Saint Louis.)

Digital natives sometimes need more caution in their postings.

When I was hiring a new social media person, in the job posting I requested links to each applicant's Facebook. Linkedin, Twitter and other feeds.

You can be sure I snooped the finalists. Anyone with lots of posts about how glad they were it was Friday and how much they hated Mondays went to the bottom of the pile. Likewise I looked for any lack of discretion in posts, especially in photos or in statements. Curse words? Inappropriate innuendo?

One of my interview questions was, “What can you tell me about me?” I was disappointed at how few applicants had taken the time to investigate me online before their interview.

Perhaps most pilloried is JustineSacco. Just prior to boarding a plane to South Africa she tweeted a racist comment to her 174 followers. Her comment was picked up by digital media outlets and spread like wildfire. While Sacco flew unawares, without an Internet connection, on her 12 hour flight, the rest of the digital world speculated how such a tweet would surely cost a PR professional her job. Soon #HasJustineLandedYet was trending on Twitter as the worldwide digital crowd anticipated Sacco's sacking.

Upon landing, Sacco deleted her Internet presence, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram included. She issued a public apology. But screen shots last forever. She lost her job.

For better and worse, shared media is just that, shared, worldwide, and sometimes with incredible speed.

I do acknowledge that morals change with the passage of time. The second George Bush likely would have gotten away with saying “kick ass,” but his father had to scramble to explain himself for saying, “We tried to kick a little ass last night,” after the 1980 presidential debates. I still bristle at use of “suck,” but acknowledge nowadays it really isn't seen as anything more than vernacular.

One key fact for digital natives to remember is that many people higher up the corporate ladder came from earlier times and have a different sense of what is, and is not, appropriate. Whether you think them prudish or not, they're still deciding upon your career and future.

So go gently into that next post. Think twice before sharing that photo or tweet with the whole world. It may be your personal life, but could reflect on your professional life as well.

Digital Expatriate My Answer to Digital Natives

On my birthday I pondered how none of us chooses the circumstances of our beginning. It's not my fault I was born before personal computers, cell phones and cable television. It is only my fault if I fail to adapt to these.

Way back in 2001 game designer MarcPrensky coined the term “digital natives” to describe a generation that grew up after the introduction of personal computing. His premise is that this younger generation thinks differently. Exposure to computers, video games and cell phones means their brains are hardwired differently, Prensky theorizes.

Those born in a time of analog television and slide rules he characterized as “digital immigrants.” While this older generation may learn to use e-mail, Google and texting, Prenksy suggested those over 20 will never be quite as adept, will always "speak" technology with an "accent."

It's a fun and clever way to demarcate the generations.

I propose to take Prensky's metaphor one step further. I declare myself a “digital expatriate.”

Some immigrants never truly adopt their new nation. They barely learn to speak the language. They hold tightly to their old country's culture. They prefer the food of their homeland.

However other immigrants embrace their new nation. They work hard to learn the language, embrace the culture and acquire new tastes.

While I cannot turn the clock back 30 years, I can learn, adapt, evolve. I take pride in being an early adopter. I love the digital country, couldn't wait to get my hands on a personal computer, was in at the beginning. I happily started with a Radio Shack TRS80, moved through any number of PCs, IBM and otherwise, and finally a Mac, migrating from TRS DOS through DOS, Windows and Macintosh. (I loved that Radio Shack Model 100; it ran on AA batteries!) I started with a pager, graduated to a car phone, then a flip and now a smart and never looked back.

Working in marketing requires an open perspective. You keep looking ahead to stay ahead.

When I had my own shot at an ad agency, Influential Communications, I declared marketing metamorphosis and accented the point with this image.

I love technology. I can't wait for what comes next. I declare myself a digital expatriate.