I believe it's safe to say I have something of a unique personality. I also think I'm lucky to possess an unbridled enthusiasm for what I do, the people I love, and the things I believe in.
Of course one of the things I believe in is transformative technology and I'm beyond fortunate to have a career that's given me the opportunity to try and change the world.
But my mindset doesn't change when I'm not on the clock.
There was a day last week when I was bounding through my building's lobby. I don't remember where I was headed (that's not true-- I do remember, but it had something to do with a surprise for my wife's birthday and it hasn't happened yet so I'm not going to ruin the surprise here).
Before I reached the door, I was stopped by a neighbor who was having problems with her Blackberry. Now, I should mention that I'd never seen nor talked to this woman before, and I have no idea why she'd stopped me to ask for help. As much as I'd like to think it was because of my friendly face, it's far more likely she had a problem and I happened to be the closest person nearby.
By sheer luck, I happened to be involved in one of the Blackberry beta projects at the very beginning. It wasn't even called a Blackberry yet, but it was impressive, and my entire department proudly carried RIM's. Depending on your font selection, you had between ten and twelve lines of text, it didn't have a phone or do anything other than email, but the fact you were no longer tied to a desk made it a transformative tool. Though we never took an official poll, I think I can safely say everyone loved those devices.
Getting back to my original story, my involvement with the RIM/Blackberry beta didn't allow me to develop any special skills to help me resolve my neighbor's problem, but fortunately, I was able to easily address the issue (without mocking my new friend, I'll say that the problem had something to do with the "on" button).
As I handed her device back to her, she was elated.
"What should I do next time?" she asked me.
Maybe I should've just shown her how to turn the device on and left it at that... well, I sort of did that, but I also added, "well... you should consider getting an iPhone."
This is actually a bad example of not taking someone's actual needs into account. An iPhone's great, but if you have no need for one, it's just a device with a lot of features that will never be used. (A similar question should be asked when considering cloud--what's the benefit? If there's not a clear or compelling one, cloud enablement is really just a science project that might increase complexity.)
I should've known better, and I immediately caught myself.
My new friend told me that her grandchildren frequently said the same thing to her. She then urged me to explain why they might say such a thing...
So, to summarize: a stranger had just asked me to explain the motivations of other strangers! Little did she know she was talking to someone who was always eager to discuss the topic.
I was quick to point out that I certainly didn't know her grandchildren, but I had a feeling that their love of the iPhone was likely feature-related. My preferences are tied to the transformative nature of the device. See here's the thing: for the longest time (long after by RIM beta days), I loved having a Blackberry. Running a presales and professional services organization and receiving hundreds of emails every day, I don't know how I could've done my job without it. There's simply no way I could've been responsive to the seemingly endless queries I'd receive and gotten into the field as frequently as I did. There just wouldn't have been a way to do both things at the same time effectively.
In short, for me the Blackberry was an effective tool that fostered communication. (The fact that it is also a cellphone and camera were features that I could only dream of in my RIM beta days.)
But enter the iPhone! I practically live on the device. It's TRANSFORMATIVE because it enables me to do so much of what I do on my own terms (I'm writing and publishing this blog entry via iPhone, btw). Just as my Blackberry enabled me to email on-the-go, my iPhone enables me to email and so much more... and less time tied to a desk makes for a greater and more effective use of my greatest resource: my time.
Getting back to my new friend: the Blackberry was perfect for her. That's great too, but for me, I needed something else: something that enabled me to do what I was already doing, but better on my own terms (I hope that's starting to sound familiar)-- in essence, an enablement tool.
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