Deep Thoughts with Richard Schoen

Remember when you saw that first new Volkswagon Beetle and then you suddenly couldn’t help but see them everywhere. Well here’s a variation on that theme. I found myself on the golf course in San Francisco yesterday with 3 companion players. We’ll name them Mike, Jeff and Steve. Since I wasn’t from San Francisco I was enjoying the scenery and the relaxation of the golf course as a brief respite from the office and the telephone. As we were walking down the fairway I noticed quite often that my companions were checking their tiny electronic Blackberry devices for messages, emails, etc. Apparently these devices are good phones as well. At our meeting this morning I found myself promoting the Blackberry as a nice way to handle electronic purchasing approvals. Then this afternoon I was sitting next to 4 people on the airplane trip home who also had these handy little devices and they were furiously catching up on their emails before takeoff by spinning the dial on the right side of the Blackberry and quickly scanning each 2″x2″ email message. I found myself thinking maybe I could be more productive with a Blackberry of my own. But then again can I really learn to type with my thumbs ? I wonder if there’s such a thing as carpal thumb syndrome ? :-)