An excerpt from John C. Dvorak:
The idea for this column began yesterday. On a flight back from Orange County, California, I sat next to a guy who couldn't keep his hands off his BlackBerry device. He was checking his e-mail every minute while we were on the ground and then typing long messages (with his thumbs! Ouch!) on the thing in-flight, then going back online when we landed. What could be so important that the guy couldn't even get one look at the Sky Mall catalog?
On the last dozen or so flights I've been on I seem to be the only one not glued to a BlackBerry like an old lady playing bingo and waiting for B-4. On one flight each person next to me and across the aisle—five in all—were staring at their BlackBerrys, all apparently hoping to win the lottery.
Then, on 60 Minutes over the weekend, they are doing a special report on Americans working 60 to 80 hours a week. In the report it is mentioned that even in France, workers are more productive on a per-hour basis. One highlighted couple were ever so proud of their ridiculous schedules, and then they showed this picture of their infant on a BlackBerry. The mom claimed that the kid will choose this device over all his other toys.
So basically what we have here is that the BlackBerry is a time-wasting toy appropriate for two-year-olds to amuse themselves. I think we need to get these things into China as fast as we can just to have a better chance of competing with the Chinese. It should bring their progress down radically.
When our son Ryan and his sister were very young, one of their favorite games was "Playing Office". Grandpa Jim would set up the cardtable with all sorts of paper, note cards, rubber stamps, staplers, rubber bands, pens, pencils, and all other manner of office equipment from the previous generation. They would write memoes, staple papers together, and generally have a blast. They loved it.
It's amazing to me how many folks in business are essentially Playing Office, all the while thinking they are doing something productive. Always a useful question to ask yourself from 8 to 5: Am I working, or just Playing Office?
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