Obama Gets a New Blackberry

Reports today say that Barack Obama will be able to keep up his Blackberry use, thanks to a James Bond add-on from the National Security Agency.  According to several reports, he’ll be using a General Dynamics Sectera Edge, a “spy proof” phone cleared for top secret use.

PC World reports that the device is a tricked-out standard Blackberry.  The phone is cleared for secure voice and email communications, but texting is out, according to the Atlantic. 

Cost for the Blackberry?  $3,350.  (Wow, cell prices really do go up when cellcos aren’t subsidizing the units!) 

Meanwhile, several of the social networking efforts the Obama campaign had promised may be non-starters.  Facebook and two-way blogging may not pan out.

I think it’s a little too early to start slamming them for this – after all, it’s only Day Two.  If they can find a way to keep the Thumbtyper-In-Chief on line, maybe they’ll sort this out, too.

Obama's Blackberry (again)

Given Barack Obama's recent comment that he's "still clinging to [his] BlackBerry and "they’re going to pry it out of [his] hands," I guess we have not yet heard the final word on Presidential thumb-typing. 

Using a Blackberry in the Oval Office should not be an insurmountable problem.  If he can make phone calls, send written letters, write memos, and have meetings, the IT and security people should be able to accommodate Blackberry use. 

My recommendations would be:

1. Switch him to a Windows Mobile for encrypted messages through the secure White House server
2. Use biometric authentication
3. Avoid email addresses such as bobama@whitehouse.gov
4. Make him use a screen lock, so he doesn't pocket-dial the red phone to the Kremlin
5. Check nuclear war codes to ensure they don't contain the sequences ROTFWL, BTW, IMHO, etc.

No BlackBerry in the White House

The following people are allowed to use BlackBerrys: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This man is not:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d demand a recount.

Going digital: Barriers to Entry

I'm always amused to see how people react to the idea of using digital technologies or "going paperless." They all say that it sounds great, shake their head in wonder at the idea of going "off road" from the paper trail, and then say, "But…"

The "buts" are remarkably consistent:

• "I'm not technical, so I don't want a complicated system…"
• "I don't have time to create one…"
• "I need to be able to access info/take a note/enter data quickly…"
• "I don't like reading off a screen…"

The first three are easy to address with a little quick info. Most already have the tools they need to shift most work and processes to digital, so they aren't facing complicated, time-consuming, or tedious processes. In fact, going "digital" usually amounts to expanding and streamlining the processes we're all using already. I find that people are surprised -- and a little skeptical -- when I explain this to them.

The fourth one, "I don't like reading off a screen," is a tougher nut, because it's ostensibly a matter of personal preference -- it's not like you can respond, "Yes, you do!" But, the more I hear it, the more tempted I am to respond just that way.

Take last week, for instance.

One day last week during a long meeting, a colleague sitting next to me leaned over and asked if I had a copy of a document we were discussing. I looked up from my Tablet PC where I was taking notes, clicked on a tab in OneNote where I'd pre-loaded all the documents we'd be using in the meeting, immediately found the info she wanted, and handed her the computer to read it.

Rather than reading it, though, she handed the computer back and said, "Never mind. I don't like reading off a screen."

Now, here's the funny part: She then pulled out her BlackBerry and spent the next four hours reading through emails and who-knows-what-else as the meeting continued.

Later, I asked her if she liked reading stuff on her BlackBerry. She said she did, because it's so convenient and quick. Then, I asked her if it bothered her to read off the BlackBerry's screen. "No," she said, "this isn't really a screen."

Amazing, huh? I think it's telling, too. Looking at something that she knows will give her the information she wants the way she expects it -- on paper or a BlackBerry -- works well. But, looking at a screen that seems more technically complicated or unexpected is undesirable, even if it is aesthetically "equal" to the other options.

I wonder where the tipping point is that makes the fact and experience of reading off a screen invisible.