A lot of people believe the Internet is going to be the death of newspapers. I’m not quite so sure.
But it is one of the reasons I was interested in a couple of things that happened yesterday.
One was the commencement at Penn, where the featured speaker was none other than Eric Schmidt.
Eric who? Was he the guy who has made the breakthough on AIDS research?
Not exactly. Is he a statesman or world leader? No, but he probably has had a more lasting effect on our everyday lives than just about any politician you can name. And no, he’s not the heir to the Schmidt’s brewery either.
Schmidt is the man behind Google. He’s the CEO behind the world’s leading Internet search engine. Penn President Amy Gutmann lauded Schmidt for “putting the world at humanity’s fingertips.”
He’s turned an odd name into part of our daily lexicon. Google is both noun and verb; it is a thing, and also an action, as in “I Googled our new boss to check him out.” Very simply, it is one of those words that has now become part of our everyday lives – and our everyday vocabulary.
But I was intrigued by what the man who has made a zillion dollars by creating one of the building blocks of the online world had to say to graduates.
He didn’t tell them to plug in, turn on and join the online revolution.
He told them to unplug their computers. Honest.
God, I love this guy.
OK, that’s probably a bit of an oversimplification of what he said. But this dinosaur will take it.
Schmidt suggested that Penn grads move away from their cyber-villages and check out what’s going on in the real world.
“Turn off your computer,” Schmidt said. “You’re actually going to have to turn off your phone and discover all that is human around us. Nothing beats holding the hand of your grandchild as he walks his first steps.”
I might add that nothing quite equals holding the printed version of the newspaper in your hands as well, but that might be pushing the envelope.
This blog item is part of the parallel universe I dwell in every day. It does not appear in our print edition. Maybe it should.
I have for years been one of those dinosaurs who was wary of all these gadgets and gizmos that we utilize every day. I have often said I would like nothing more than to just once get my hands around the neck of the person who keeps telling me “this technology is going to make your life so much easier.”
I would suppose that Eric Schmidt would be one of those people. So here I find myself praising the advice he offered graduates yesterday.
Of course, I am not exactly without my biases in these matters of technology.
But I imagine there are some fellow journalists in Philly who wish they had taken Schmidt’s advice to heart.
That is, unplugged their computer.
A Philly newspaper yesterday reported on one of their blogs an item purporting to have been written by Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel on his Twitter account. Twitter is the online service that allows you to post whatever random thought happens to be racing through your mind at any time, so long as it is 140 characters or less.
I have a Twitter account myself. I wish I could tell you what it is supposed to do.
The newspaper reported that Samuel had boasted on the Twitter posting that the Eagles would win the Super Bowl. It was picked up in a print column that also appears in the newspaper.
Only problem is that Samuel apparently does not have a Twitter account.
The newspaper today is saying they got duped. I know how they feel. I find myself becoming more and more leery about material I find online, and how blurred the line is becoming between what I do online and what I do in print.
Maybe Eric Schmidt is on to something.
But it is one of the reasons I was interested in a couple of things that happened yesterday.
One was the commencement at Penn, where the featured speaker was none other than Eric Schmidt.
Eric who? Was he the guy who has made the breakthough on AIDS research?
Not exactly. Is he a statesman or world leader? No, but he probably has had a more lasting effect on our everyday lives than just about any politician you can name. And no, he’s not the heir to the Schmidt’s brewery either.
Schmidt is the man behind Google. He’s the CEO behind the world’s leading Internet search engine. Penn President Amy Gutmann lauded Schmidt for “putting the world at humanity’s fingertips.”
He’s turned an odd name into part of our daily lexicon. Google is both noun and verb; it is a thing, and also an action, as in “I Googled our new boss to check him out.” Very simply, it is one of those words that has now become part of our everyday lives – and our everyday vocabulary.
But I was intrigued by what the man who has made a zillion dollars by creating one of the building blocks of the online world had to say to graduates.
He didn’t tell them to plug in, turn on and join the online revolution.
He told them to unplug their computers. Honest.
God, I love this guy.
OK, that’s probably a bit of an oversimplification of what he said. But this dinosaur will take it.
Schmidt suggested that Penn grads move away from their cyber-villages and check out what’s going on in the real world.
“Turn off your computer,” Schmidt said. “You’re actually going to have to turn off your phone and discover all that is human around us. Nothing beats holding the hand of your grandchild as he walks his first steps.”
I might add that nothing quite equals holding the printed version of the newspaper in your hands as well, but that might be pushing the envelope.
This blog item is part of the parallel universe I dwell in every day. It does not appear in our print edition. Maybe it should.
I have for years been one of those dinosaurs who was wary of all these gadgets and gizmos that we utilize every day. I have often said I would like nothing more than to just once get my hands around the neck of the person who keeps telling me “this technology is going to make your life so much easier.”
I would suppose that Eric Schmidt would be one of those people. So here I find myself praising the advice he offered graduates yesterday.
Of course, I am not exactly without my biases in these matters of technology.
But I imagine there are some fellow journalists in Philly who wish they had taken Schmidt’s advice to heart.
That is, unplugged their computer.
A Philly newspaper yesterday reported on one of their blogs an item purporting to have been written by Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel on his Twitter account. Twitter is the online service that allows you to post whatever random thought happens to be racing through your mind at any time, so long as it is 140 characters or less.
I have a Twitter account myself. I wish I could tell you what it is supposed to do.
The newspaper reported that Samuel had boasted on the Twitter posting that the Eagles would win the Super Bowl. It was picked up in a print column that also appears in the newspaper.
Only problem is that Samuel apparently does not have a Twitter account.
The newspaper today is saying they got duped. I know how they feel. I find myself becoming more and more leery about material I find online, and how blurred the line is becoming between what I do online and what I do in print.
Maybe Eric Schmidt is on to something.
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