Monthly Archives: January 2012

PhotoBlog – Accidental photographer: Making pictures of our own personal little gods.

The fairly new activity of constantly checking our phones, I mean ascertaining our dual existence, both in real life and in the virtual world of social networks, switching from the people present in flesh and blood and the uninterrupted conversation with “friends” we have across time zones and borders, is an interesting phenomenon. I was first stunned by the faculty we have to isolate ourselves for a few seconds in the middle of a loud, crowded bar, and immediately become oblivious of our surrounding, letting candidly the virtual world reflect on our faces. The social masks fall for a fleeting moment, and our pleasure, our worries or sorrows, show for anyone to see. That is the moment I am trying to capture. I see people’s soul.

It’s that time a year where pundits, analysts, and self-proclaimed experts are weighing in on the biggest tech stories of the last year and what they think will be the ones to watch in the year to come. And, while all of these make for interesting water cooler conversation and drive traffic to tech websites, to you they are likely irrelevant (unless you work for RIM, knew Steve Jobs, have a personal connection to Facebook, etc.)

There is only one big tech story for the year and only one to watch for the year to come. The biggest tech story of last year is the one that mattered the most to you. Perhaps that is your privacy concerns when using certain social networks. Perhaps that is the new gadget you got and how it makes your life just a tad bit better. Perhaps that is the concern about a tech company you have come to rely upon now that its leader has passed (or, in the case of some, gone insane). No matter what it is, it is the story that affects you the most.

The biggest tech story of the new year will be what you are going to do to change it.

Is there an app or service that is not meeting your needs? Learn to code and build a replacement for yourself.

Concerned about the ownership of the things you share? Create a Personal RSS feed or pipe everything through a service like Pinboard. (You can and should subscribe to mine)

Feeling overwhelmed by all of this info-tech-social-stuff? Get yourself on a proper information diet.

The point is that the biggest tech story of 2012 will not be anything talked about in the media or some blog. The biggest tech story will be the same one it has always been…

You.