Time-shifting Communication

The intention of this post is to use a new 'scheduled post' feature in Blogger to demonstrate the possibilities of time-shifting communication. For example, I can prepare my post now, but then five hours later it will appear online and give me the appearance of being scholarly and nerdy, when, in fact, at the time this is being posted I'm actually at a rooftop BBQ on Taipa island... and I'm nowhere near a computer.

It's about time that we saw more active implementation of time-shifting (or at least time-delaying) features in our communication platforms. When I have that insomnia-induced brainwave at 1am, I don't really want to reveal to my colleagues that I'm not in the middle of a healthy cycle of sleep, do I?

So developers, developers, developers... please bring on time-shifting features in our email and blogging clients. If I am capable of doing things ahead of time, then why shouldn't I get the benefit of a 'phantom presence' after the fact?

The Renaissance "Man" in I.T.?

Computerworld recently published Hot Skills, Cold Skills as part of a 'special report' on predictions for the I.T. industry in 2010.  Specifically, author Stacy Collett claims:

The IT worker of 2010 won't be a technology guru but rather a 'versatilist.'

Essentially, the article predicts that "more rounded" skills, particularly those which center on acquiring and managing business, are going feature more prominently as the industry matures.

Social Networking Blues

Here's another article in the current wave of not particularly insightful but interesting nonetheless articles on social networking: Facebook, MySpace Reveal Hidden Messages.

The thing that bothers me about this kind of journalism is that it's once again stating the obvious,  i.e. if you constantly change your Facebook/MySpace status then you're probably doing some attention-seeking.  Do we really need a journalist to point this out to us?

People do all sorts of things to get attention:  they dress and style themselves, they surround themselves with 'defining' possessions like cell phones and cars, and if you watch truly gifted networkers at a mixer, then they don't hesitate to approach someone new out of the blue with some sort of an "opener."  Chatty people chat.  Twitterers tweet.  Status updaters update their status.  So what.

I think it's fairly obvious that we're exposing ourselves emotionally over social networks - this isn't necessarily a bad thing.  The only thing I'm really worried about is whether more advanced data analysis is going to scour my online emotional trail one day to create some sort of semantic-emotional graph.  A potential employer might not need to analyze my biological DNA if they have access to the emotional 'strands' that I've left online as behavioral fingerprints.