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Friday, January 23, 2009

Obamaberry, B'rackberry*, whatever

So President Barack Obama gets to keep his BlackBerry after all. Cool. Cooler is he's got the same one that I do, an 8830 World Edition. I'm not sure why that excites me so. It's not like it's an iPhone, and it doesn't get me any more attention at parties. But I'll take anything I can get, and having something in common with the hippest leader in the hemisphere is a decent place to start.

But coolest is I got to chat, quickly, about it on CBC's The National earlier today. Ron Charles interviewed me for his piece that aired on our national public broadcaster's main evening newscast. I did the hit from our local Coffee Culture - seriously the best office-away-from-home you could ever ask for - and was privileged to have our youngest son with me (story for another day.) Here are links to a few resources where I've been quoted/interviewed:
Your turn: After generations of presidents who wouldn't know an e-mail inbox from a U.S. Postal Service logo, what do you think about a leader who's clearly pushing to be the most wired - and wireless - honcho out there?

* With thanks to my old friend from the old country, Gary Rush, for loaning me the word, "B'rackberry".

10 comments:

  1. Everything about our new president is A-OK with me. He's serious and confident and I have great faith that he is what we need. :)

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  2. I agree with Tabitha! I think it is wonderful that we have a president who is up on technology and actually uses it!

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  3. It is very cool. Cooler still would be if he had an iPhone... but I'm happy with a president who gets technology - even if he didn't invent the Internet!

    Mike

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  4. I think it's great. Just another sign of the changing times when a leader knows how to use the technology available to him and the World.

    I always enjoy your snippets on TV, Carmi...great stuff!

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  5. congrats on your interview!
    i don't follow US politics that closely, but there are things that i do like about their new president. he seems to be more in touch with his surroundings, he seems to be down to earth, i like that his wife and daughters are dressed in outfits you will actually be able to find in stores, i like that he has had the same barber for years. i don't know if any of these things are going to make a good president, but i think it's little things like this that make a good man.

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  6. It's going to be cool right up to the second that the first tween hacker hacks into it...then it will suddenly not be talked about again for four years or 8 years...cause as smart as he appears to be, he's still just a man with a blackberry and I'm so over technology, lol! Can't wait to go look at the sites you posted, speaking of technology...
    Sandi

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  7. I think he'll find he doesn't have as much time to stay wired.

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  8. I think it's wonderful. I really can identify with him- and his family - like we have a connection or something.


    It's just plain cool.

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  9. Having read the article you linked to, I can see that it is a huge can of worms security wise - and if he uses it for official business, how will they deal with the requirement to archive his messages? - presumably he will keep copies somewhere.

    The current generation seems to be both the most security conscious and security ignorant we have had for a while - at the same time as people buy personal shredders to destroy their bank statements etc, push for privacy laws so that all sorts of information has limited access (for instance making it hard for genealogists to get access to birth marriage and death information on their recent forbears), - they don't seem to understand how easy it is to tap into cellphone conversations, e-mails from mobile devices, or to obtain too much information from Facebook pages etc.

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  10. His initiative will force the techie security people to create better protection for all of us.

    I see it as a good thing all around. He is smart enough to know what to share and what not to. What I want to know is how one becomes a "close friend" so I can get clearance to have a chat with him every now and then. :)

    I wonder when he'll be able to become a blogger?

    ps. B'rackberry. Did you know his name when he was a kid was Barry?

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