You're Cool If You Have a . . .

By Chris

First, let me say that I like new technology toys. I have my fair share of them, especially the ones that have gotten pretty cheap. I am on my second Blackberry for instance, which I loved at first. But, I'm already wanting the even cooler new smart phones that take pictures, play music and have touchscreens. I can never keep up, but something inside makes me really, realy want to. There's always something better coming out. One of the things that has been pretty cheap for a while is web cams. I could never figure out what I would actually do with one though. Well, I got one yesterday . . . and I'm still not completely sure what I'll do with it. But, because it's new and nifty, hooking it up was the first thing on my agenda this morning (even though I probably won't actually find an legit business use for the thing for months). Most importantly though, the sleek little eye does look pretty cool clipped at the top of my laptop screen. And, above any functionality, looking cool is the most important part of getting a new tech toy. When Blackberries first came out, you just wanted to be one of the cool kids at the airport looking oh-so-important and busy, typing out emails as you walk the halls. Blue Tooth headsets . . . must have my ear blinking blue too to keep up with the clan! (Though I quickly abandoned that device and never could embrace the Blue Ear as a permanent body part). So, as the lone holder of a webcam in my office, those walking by my office can now think, "boy, that Chris sure has cool stuff!" I did spend a few minutes making faces into it while watching on the screen. That was productive. When my mail arrived, I showed the secretary that she could watch herself on my screen. She wasn't impressed. Dang! I guess I could record some type of message . . . a little tv show. . . or something on it. Maybe put it on YouTube. Soon, I bet my Instant Messaging will be "face to face" rather than typed out. Conference calls with on-screen video are coming. But, I am not sure that's a positive, because a big benefit of meetings by conference call is the ability to do a variety of other things simultaneously, which would be rude if people could see you doing those things. But, most importantly, I do look cooler than 100% of the people in here today. I'll make a plan to lure over my buddy who will be most impressed. Sure, he has a much cooler Blackberry than me, but he's had that for months. My webcam should win the day!