When you're a luddite, you're a luddite all the way

This week I posed the following to the people here at OMA: "There are a LOT of new technologies and concepts to deal with these days. Blogging, social networks, podcasting, SMS, RSS, RoR, LMNOP… what do you absolutely kill at? What do you wish you knew better? "Or do you wish all this crap would go away and you could go back to the days when you could do your job with spreadsheet paper, an abacus and an etch-a-sketch?"

I miss my etch-a-sketch and fax machine. - Laura Hall

Who remembers the days when Agencies had TV departments? Probably not many of you, but it is true. Back in the days when television was new and novel advertising agencies had special TV departments. If a client wanted the newest media (TV) then they called in the “TV guys”. Can you imagine calling in the “TV guys” today? I can’t. Now certainly there are going to be folks within an agency that have a specialty (we all can’t be experts in everything) and from time to time will call in an SEO or whatever expert — but the point is that we should all be able to speak to the new media as fluently as we can speak to TV. - Julie Ott

I wish it would go away. At least a little. My point here is that all of these new communication technologies and technology driven social connections while great have a down side. We have lost something in a rush to adapt to the newest thing; personal communication. Having a conversation face to face or dare I say picking up the phone and speaking to someone as opposed to texting has nearly died. Side note: I can't believe "text" is a verb. Even while I'm typing this I'm communicating to everyone my point but if a friend asked me this question I would prefer we not have this conversation via a blog. As someone who doesn't drink coffee, I am still thankful for Starbucks. Why? Because while I hear their coffee stinks and I personally believe their food does, they at least get two or three people to sit down together and talk. And that is becoming a lost art. - Roger Hurni

I kill at one-on-one communication – speaking directly to a live human being. I know nothing about blogging, social networks and podcasting. And what are SMS, RSS, RoR and LMNOP? I suddenly feel ill equipped. Doesn’t all this technology drain us of human contact and leave us feeling somewhat hollow? Does a smiley face really compete with an actual smile? Don’t humor and sarcasm lose a certain something when it’s written down and transmitted electronically – unless you’re a professional writer? And, can you see a twinkle in the eye when you’re e-mailing or blogging? Sadly, no. Technology has it’s place but let’s not let it replace actual human contact. - Ruben Munoz

Personally, I wish a lot of this stuff would go away, I think it is a distraction and a waste of bandwidth. Most Social networks such as MySpace are useless, but the ones like Facebook that supposedly have a grander plan for this web platform need to get on the ball show something other than more garbage to clutter an already ugly webpage. In my opinion blogging is great and I am an active blogger, but the blogs need to have substance and a point, not just random thoughts or complaining. Podcasting is what I consider to be one of the most promising technologies to come out in the last decade. It has the power to turn small players into major content distributors, provided they put out quality content, which is something the broadcast networks seriously can not get their hands around anymore (i.e. Reality Television). For web scripting languages, I am partial to AJAX. I am not a huge fan of Ruby on Rails unless you are using it for one single site, and that site is the only site on the server. While Ruby on Rails can put out some great looking and functioning sites, it is a disaster on the backend to administer, as there are too many pieces that can cause incompatibilities or gaping security holes. Maybe I am just an Old School Curmudgeon, but I think that most of the content and technologies that have come out of the “web 2.0” moniker are a joke and waste of time (i.e. YouTube). - Justin Wilson

I would like to get more experience with video content production and getting stuff up on YouTube and all that. It can't be hard, given the high idiot factor on the site, I just haven't mastered it. Also, I may just be getting old, but I really can't fathom the point of Second Life. Sure, I've played the Sims, but to fully immerse myself in a cartoon world seems like a colossal waste of time. - Jason Baer

I only use blogging for the company Web sites, and the social networks Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn to stay in touch. And YouTube for some really good videos, like my new favorite for Halloween, Sexy Costume Wearhouse. The rest I can live (and do live) without. There are so many different ways to interact online these days that I just stick with the ones I know. - Ellen Stevens

I’m the resident Ruby on Rails ninja, with a healthy dose of interest (obsession) in most things web development-related (languages, frameworks, APIs, CMSs, UI design, and so forth). On that same subject, I’d like to get more acquainted with Python (language), Django (framework), and Drupal (CMS). I’m not a fan of the mainstream social networks (Myspace and Facebook, in particular), but I do think social networks are the future of the web. - Joseph Jaramillo

Next to my teenage sister, I am the SMS-text messaging champion. Let’s just say my cell phone bill paying dad thanked the gods when Verizon issued an unlimited text messaging package. Where text messaging is concerned, I’m thumbidextrous. Despite my mad texting skills, I actually wouldn’t mind if cell phones went out of style. I sometimes feel like I need a TA (Texters Anonymous) support group. Now members of my contact list expect an immediate response because they know I consider my cell phone/text messaging capabilities to be as precious as one of my internal organs. Take this electronic leash away from me! - Alyssa Drake

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)

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