Technology autobiography

I am too old to technically be considered a digital native; I would however feel comfortable being called a digital immigrate. For me the difference between these two groups is if you experienced a time in your life without the use of digital technology but you are extremely comfortable using technology you are a digital immigrate.

However, I believe a digital native has never lived when they did not have access to multiple computers, carried a cell phone from an early age, or did not communicate with friends via text, chat, and Facebook.

I grew up with over the air television, building blocks, and an imaginary friend. While this a can be true for a digital native, I also remember a time without a computer in my home, classroom or library and a time before cell phones, DVDs, and the internet for personal use.

It was not until the third grade that I interacted with a computer. It was a Macintosh with a small green screen.   The only thing the teacher knew about it was that we could play the Oregon Trail game. I am sure as a teacher waiting to retire letting her students play with the computer is the only thing that saved her personal sanity.  

However, despite this rough start, I quickly entered the digital age and did not look back. My father got his first cell phone, a DynaTac 8800x, in 1987. It was a brick of a phone that required a near direct line of sight to a cell tower. It weighed more than even the largest laptop currently on the market. This was also the same year my parents bought a home computer, a Macintosh II, with a 20 MB hard drive. Most smartphones now have more memory and a more sophisticated operating system than my first computer.

Even though I am now surrounded by modern technology, I own a Wide Carriage Royal Typewriter from the 1930s. I still send Christmas and birthday cards via snail mail. I have also kept a rotary phone from my grandparent’s home. While I hope I never to write a paper for any length on a typewriter, give up my four email accounts in exchange for the USPS, or ever use a rotary phone, I believe it is important to understand the past in order to appreciate the present.

Before I became a poor graduate student I was often an early adopter of new technology. I recently sold my iPad 1 and I am waiting for the iPad 3. I am hoping the bloggers are right and there will be an October release. I am also looking forward to an iPhone release for the Sprint network. 

I have owned an Apple before it was cool. But the recent renaissance at Apple has been a very good thing for me.  While I typically use a Mac for the almost everything, I own a PC I can connect to virtually and us screen scraps for programs and application that are native to the PC platform. 

On a typical day I carry my MacBook Pro, iPod, cell phone, and an iPod Touch that I am using as an e-reader until I get the iPad 3.  I do not often carry any paper or a pen or pencil.

 

I have been using technology to leverage my skills for most of my professional life. In the last few years I have learned a few tech languages including VBA, SQL, and I am proficient in Oracle. These tech languages have allowed me to quickly access large amounts of data and quickly provide analysis for complex situations.  I also think understanding how a specific aspect of how a computer works, moves one for a casual user to an advanced operator. So in the area of database technology I would say I am an expert user.

While I would like to think that all of the above reasons would make me the “technological literate” person I know this is not the case. I have friends who work in new product development at Apple, a former roommate who is a founding partner of a crowding sourcing startup. And I also have a good working relationship with a former Chief Database Security officer at Oracle. These relationships have taught me two major lessons about technology: first, if I have a problem with any piece technology call them and second, early adopter with the right attitude are more successful than those who resist change.

I do not see my digital love affair ending.  I love the challenge of learning a new computer language, discovering a new application to make me life or work more efficient or being the go to guy to find an elegant tech solution for a complex problem. 

I am a digital immigrate who is giving most digital natives a run for their money with my consumption of technology. Few people native or not can say their life’s work requires 1.5 terabytes to store.