Hi everybody.
Not to put a damper on my first post, but I suffered quite the tragedy this past weekend. My beloved San Jose Sharks (the Bay Area’s ice hockey team, for those who don’t follow the sport) were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in game four of the NHL Western Conference Finals.
To plenty of people, this probably doesn’t mean much. But to me, it was devastating. As soon as the game ended I hopped on my mobile phone and updated the status on my Facebook page…something about wanting to cry, I think. Not surprisingly, a lot of my friends who are fellow fans had posted similar updates, all within mere minutes of each other. I commented on a few pages, a few commented on mine, and we all sulked collectively online.
My awesome grandpa (who is going on 91 this year, bless him) still writes letters to his friends overseas. He’s never used a computer and doesn’t know what email is. I’ve tried to explain it all to him before, and he understands the concepts, but he’ll never be able to wrap his head around the idea of “online space”. It’s just too much information and too overwhelming for him to process.
I never really thought too much about how amazing communication via the internet really is, because I grew up sitting in front of a computer screen sending emails and instant messages to my friends. To be honest, I can’t remember much about how I interacted with my friends before the internet gave new meaning to the word conversation, and CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER. Whoa. (Disclaimer: that link is a bit dated, but it’s nice perspective into the immense progression that took place over the last two decades or so).
We live in a world that’s so incredibly connected. It’s pretty crazy, actually. But for the most part, the most advanced connectivity has been on personal levels. Now, over just the past couple of years, the tools and technology that transformed the social lives of people all over the world have made their way into the enterprise. It’s a relatively new take on how to conduct business – it’s more open, refreshing, rather exciting, and has made the adaptation to corporate culture easier and more comfortable for both myself and my peers. Merging our work with these tools that are so familiar to us really opens the door to how we can conduct and shape our businesses.
What I’d like to do with this blog is share what it’s like to be part of an emerging workforce that’s been completely shaped by the advent of social media. I hope you’ll find reading about my personal thoughts and experiences useful…and entertaining, of course.
Welcome to Generation 2.0. I’m looking forward to our conversations.