A CIO in Love with Her PDA: Please Don’t Tell My Husband

A friend gave me a Helen Exley gigglebook for my birthday.  Cellphones: They Drive Us Crazy.  I reflected on a little quip that my husband for some strange reason does NOT think is amusing – I LOVE my Blackberry, and I’m having an affair with the iPhone!  To give you a sense of the book, here’s a teaser:

The cellular phone is today’s must-have technology but, for some, the ear-splitting ringtones, mindless babble and sheer adoration that these tiny tools inspire is beyond comprehension

Funny thing was I didn’t think it was funny.  It seemed like a serious discussion about how we now use these little satanic devices called personal digital assistants.

One of my dear friends, Papa, a devoted old school church man, often refers to the Blackberry Prayer, where several people in a room bow their heads , looking down, all in unison checking their PDA.  Maybe we are all not really addicted but just in deep prayerful thought… about work.   I just found this site, Mind Prison: Internet Addiction Disorder, that probably accurately relays the PDA issues, in general about the Internet, but in particular can refer to this religious digital experience that we all go through.  NASA Goddard CIO expressing appreciation to her PDA

In a world of rapidly advancing technology, it is hard to ignore the Internet which is becoming more and more centric to the lives of users worldwide. Yet the convenience the electronic age provides come with a price. The ugly truth is that the Internet is as addictive as it is useful. Unrestrained or unsupervised, users of the Web will find themselves invariably and unwittingly chained by the shackles of the addictive elements of the Internet.

Our addiction to these seductive technologies are arguable productive, but they can be lethal.  Consider this story of a woman who was sentenced for six years in prison for killing a woman while she was paying a few bills via text messaging while driving.

I do believe that in the always on technological society, we are using PDAs, cellphones, etc. very frequently.  But how do you know when you are addicted? Consider:

·         It is in a different room on a different floor, and you still feel the vibration?

·         You use it as an alarm clock

·         You use it in the bathroom

·         To maintain marital bliss, you and your spouse communicate primarily by text messaging

·         You respond to emails from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Director while on a cruise in the middle of the Caribbean

I better stop, this is getting too personal.  

So, here’s a “prophetic” article circa April 2008 that discusses the effect of the iPhone on the Crackberry:

Thankfully for CrackBerry users, an alternative is looming on the horizon. It’s the new iPhone…

The iPhone gives you new applications to love.  I can get traffic, shake the iPhone to help me decide where to eat, take great pictures and share, surf the internet with ease, and … shazaam … I can name that tune in as many notes as it takes!

Oh, I forgot.  As the CIO, I need to discuss the alignment to mission and the competitive advantage that organizations have when they leverage these amazing technologies.  Deep breaths.  Ok, I feel better now. Yes indeed, I love my PDA.

Linda Cureton, CIO, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

12 thoughts on “A CIO in Love with Her PDA: Please Don’t Tell My Husband”

  1. Excellent observations, Only one comment; if you are really addicted you and your PDA are never in DIFFERENT ROOMS!!

    Also I must confess I use it in the bathroom, much more interesting than the magazines, I still have not figured out how to use it in the shower (YET) I think I just need duct tape, a plastic bag and twist ties….

    I’ll be so glad when this stuff will be integrated into the human body so it will always be there and powered, and it would be great to have to eat because my PDA organ function is low!!

  2. mhmm yes i think the blog is queit intriguing.there is some part of the PDA that makes me addicted to it, have to admit it, theres no life without my phone.about the helen exley giftbooks very true.

  3. I was curious about the “Internet Addition Disorder” and decided to click the link. As I suspected it’s an “Internet Addiction Disorder” but the addition disorder is something I see on a daily basis, especially when I visit a fast food restaurant and the cashier can’t find a pre-programmed key for the use of my coupon. BTW, my phone is a phone. When I am without it I am not lost unlike the droves who keep their life on there, sad statement about our society! Thanks for the thoughtful blogs.

  4. Dear Guest:

    Oops. You caught a typo … it was suppose to be Addiction. But, maybe you’re on to something with the Addition Disorder. Thanks for the feedback.

    Linda

  5. Very cool story Linda! I LOVE my iPhone! In fact, it saved my life once. The last time i was out at my claim on the mighty Rogue River in Oregon I got bit by a rattlesnake. Well, I was 37 miles from the nearest hospital via a long drive on a dirt road and I was alone. So I called 911 and they flew a rescue chopper in and flew me to the hospital as my leg was swelling up. The ER Doctor told me that my call probably saved my life. Needless to say, I was pretty happy (until I got the bill).

  6. First of all nice blog,congrats! I think that you’re addicted when you use it in the bathroom,i just won a new iPhone at a reverse auction website,two aren’t that much huh?

    Regards,
    http://datot.com Webmaster

  7. I am glad to post my views and points in this blog, Blogs are becoming the main source of knowing about things certainty,its importance,idolizing,either in a marketing way that one can differentiate. I enjoyed to be at here because one of my point has been cleared here.

  8. Great blog Linda, I too can’t live without my iPhone – I even sleep with it under my pillow!

  9. Sure iPhone is a great phone but it is so expensive. There are alternatives to iPhone which are way cheaper but got the same functions for eaxample Has anyone used it? Let's hope that Apple drops its price soon!

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