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Plug in to people, not the new iPhone

So, Apple's new iPhone made its debut Friday, after weeks of hype.

By Lynn Stratton, Times Staff Writer
Published July 1, 2007

So, Apple's new iPhone made its debut Friday, after weeks of hype.

Good. Now we have another gadget to play with, another toy to occupy our time.

And now that the hype is over for now, somewhere there's a company, maybe Apple itself, bent on developing the next great thing, something to outshine the iPhone. It'll come, there's no doubt of that. So will the lines of people who can't wait to get their hands on it.

But ask yourself this question, and be honest: How many devices do I own for which I have only a minimal understanding of how they work?

I've had the same cell phone for two years, and I don't know how to use most of its features. Sure, I can make a call, and I can receive one. I can play with the little buttons on the side that raise and lower the volume. On a good day, I can even save a contact in speed dial.

But how many gadgets do I need to acquire before I step back and ask the most important question: Do my toys really help me do my work better?

Or are they just something to fill my time and impress the other folks at the latte shop?

I'm guessing most of us don't have the luxury of learning all the tricks and gimmicks that are part of the devices we buy. Who has time to read a 100-page manual for a phone?

Yet we embrace every new gadget with a fervor most often seen at the opening of the newest Harry Potter movie.

Smart gadgets, sad to say, don't make us smarter. A smart phone won't make us better at closing the deal with that important client. A smart handheld with all the bells and whistle may impress our co-workers, but if there's nothing behind the glitz, nothing of substance in our capabilities, our - dare I say it - work ethic, we'll be found out soon enough.

I suspect that under all the hype is, well, not much of anything. More to the point, our fascination with gadgets shifts our focus from what truly is important in our careers, and our lives: People.

For good or ill, it's people we need to talk to, work with, learn from.

And all the toys in the world won't help us with the most important skills any of us will ever need: Communicating well. Reading well. Writing well. Connecting with other humans, that is.

If we want to impress the folks who do matter, maybe it's time to ditch the toys and start playing with the grownups.

[Last modified June 29, 2007, 21:35:17]