[Written at 35,000 feet - somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico]
I have finally fully embraced the web! I have come to realization that with the amount of travelling most knowledge workers theses days are expected to do there are one truth:
· Less is more
To that point, the less that we have to carry the better off we are both at the security check points and in having less to carry around.
But what is more, I have found myself on the road, spending the night at a hotel or at a client site when I need something that resides on my personal PC back inVirginia i.e. a billing statement, personal file or check book.
Over the course of the past two weeks I have moved all of my personal files to the web using Gmail as my online storage device. My collaborative calendaring is also handled through Google using Calendar. It is a great service that works in a similar fashion to an enterprise version of Microsoft's Outlook. The best feature, though, is that it will send me text messages reminding me that I need to be somewhere. I wish Google would build in a simple "To Do List" function that would eliminate the electronic Post-Its on my desktop. I also host almost all of my pictures through Facebook.
All available billing statements are set for e-delivery/e-payment. Those that I cannot pay via the web are paid by way of the automatic check processing service from Bank of America. Bank of America will automatically cut a check to the person or entity you designate and drop it in the mail for you with the person to whom you wrote the check for within three days. This service has saved me on a couple of occasions when I have been out of town when I forgot to leave out a check for rent on the apartment. Best of all - The service is free!
I have even trivialized the need for my Ipod since I have moved to Yahoo's Music Service - Launcast. What's best, I don't have to worry about charging and synching another device. Nor do I have the headache of worrying if my heard drive fails. I usually always have a high speed connection except in the airport and on the plane. As such these are the only places that I used said device. Now I have a completely customizable radio station without the worry of lugging my clunky second generation Ipod around. [I currently have Rob Thomas, Jason Miraz, Jamie Cullum, Maroon 5 and Norah Jones on heavy rotation.] There is one device that I wish I had that has some considerable "clunk" - The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones. However, I can't justify the cost right now.
I have had some interesting conversations with Sophy about how much I trust the Web and whether I trust it a little too much. I argue that the companies I have entrusted my daily productivity and data storage to (Yahoo, Google, Bank of America, etc) are not going away any time soon. She argues that she trusts none of them and she will continue to hold onto her notebooks and check books. She has a point, some of the oldest documents we have as a civilization are on papyrus. While, I respectfully disagree, I still love her, but she will just have more to carry!
