Podcast, robots, Twitter, Etsy, I Phones, Batutah, SIM cards: 20 Year Ago Me just got lost...

What one bit of technology do you most take for granted that you could never have imagined existing, 20 years ago? Can you name just one? Try - it'll be a fun game. Because I had a little smashup between "then" and "now" in my head, today, I pondered some "then and now" questions. After a little flurry of emails yesterday between a group of friends who last got together at our high school reunion in November, some memories got mixed in with today's tasks. Made me again recall what a different world we live in than the one in which we all met. Nearly every task from my day today holds elements that either did not exist when I was in high school, or of which I certainly was not aware. Consider, I:

• designed and added a simple graphic link for Dena from denaharris.com to her recent interview podcast,
• worked on reordering and grouping hefty amounts of digital inventory photos for Linda Whitcher's Purse-onalities4u, in preparation for selling her bags on Etsy,
• met the DHL delivery person at the door for the Smart Phone I ordered on Saturday. Yes, I design websites and blog and tweet, but until now, I haven't ventured into the world of the Seriously Connected. (And I want an I Phone but am unwilling to jump quite that far, so I ordered an alternative product as a sort of bridge.) Some things take their time. The battery is probably charged by now and I'm hoping I have time to set everything up before I leave to hang out with my nephew this evening. And wondering if the SIM card that has My Whole Phone List on it will transfer to this new product or if I'll be forced to start again. Heaven forbid. No doubt more on that later,
• got an "I need a favor" email from an out of state friend who wondered if I could convert a document to PDF for him, as he has no idea how but knows that I do,
• talked to sis on the phone while we together examined the stats of her new blog, Batutah.com, and pointed out the correlation between inbound traffic to her site and posting a new blog entry. Heard myself say something along the lines of, "See how the robots follow new blog activity?" (That sentence alone makes me laugh if I think about it too long.)
  
• wondered if one of that group of high school friends would get a chance, as she'd promised, to send me the information on her Facebook account which she can't use (in her words: "it's all jacked up,") so I can help her troubleshoot and get back in the loop, as her presence is sorely missed. The reason she couldn't send it last night? Although she sent several notes from her I Phone as she returned home and got Her Children (even that phrase gets me sometime,) ready to wrap up their evenings, she needed to move to her actual computer to forward the archived emails,
  
• received an email response from someone with whom I put out feelers last night about the possibility of a new outlet for my jewelry designs...all because of a post ("tweet") I read on Twitter 20 minutes earlier. Written by someone I only started "following" two days ago...

If the me who first met the friends who exchanged these emails yesterday had somehow jumped into that car that transported Michael J. Fox's character so far back, around the time that movie was on the big screen, and ventured into 2008, the people I met here would have surely thought me mentally challenged once I opened my mouth. There would have been no way to remotely pull off a subtle cover-up of the fact that I was completely lost in the world into which I'd ventured. Makes me wonder what Mr. Pie will one day take for granted that we haven't even heard of yet!

Better go see about that freshly charged battery. I see a learning curve coming on and not a lot of time in which to learn it today...

Comments

[Dena]

I most appreciate Caller ID. How ON EARTH did we used to dare pick up the phone without knowing who was on the other end??? It's like we were living in prairie times, people.

[Melody]

You're so right. If I ever answer a call from a number I don't recognize, the stars are aligned all wonky and the sun has failed to set at the prescribed time. We WERE living in prairie times! Answering calls from strangers??? Puleeeease!

[Cindi]

I'll take your caller id and raise it ...visual caller id... we don't even have to (God forbid) THINK about the person's name/number, their picture comes up when they call! Then there's that mouthwash that leaves little color splotches on the malbrushed (yes, I believe I did just make up a new word) teeth of children to take the place of those little red pills we used to chew. And best of all: vehicles that let you know when you only have 2 more miles to drive before you need gas - and a GPS to get you to said gas, i mean fillin', station. (I do live in GA!)