The link between a good Americano and the internet

My second office is fast becoming a coffee shop in town. It’s become a place where I can go for a change of scenery, a meeting place, a decent Americano, a quiet catch-up on the news, a sanctuary and a creative haven. It’s a neutral zone where I can meet contacts, suppliers, contractors and maybe a client over a coffee. Yet one thing disturbs me and it disturbs me greatly... it still has no internet access available despite months of promises.

“Quite right” some of you will say, “there’s far too much technology these days. Give it a break!” to which it pains me to respond “You’re right, but I must have access to keep up with things.”

And so it has come to this. How many of us sit in front of the television with our smartphones or other mobile devices, tapping away, thinking how great it is to be multi-tasking, part listening to and part looking at a film while checking emails, watching ebay or messaging a friend? Who’s going to own up to texting or emailing someone sitting only feet away, instead of talking? Or maybe that’s too much like a sketch in a comedy show.

Much has been written about the effects of too much technology on young people and not enough focus on human interaction and communication skills. Recruiters have highlighted a growing inability in candidates to speak or write properly. Good old-fashioned grammar and care are, in the main, getting forgotten along with mathematical skills which disappeared with the advent of calculators. This does not bode well for businesses in the future.

For the growing band of similarly-minded business people flocking to coffee shops, willing to spend money on cappuccinos and a bite to eat, internet access is not just desirable, it’s essential, otherwise we might just as well stay in the office.

Love it or hate it, the era of mobile devices is here to stay. The majority of people already use them to search for products or services and reviews. Whatever you want, there’s an app for it. Now there’s Google Glass and a million and one new innovations for our delight and delectation.

Don’t even think about fighting it. Jump on board, keep up or get left behind. I say embrace new technology and change because actually it can be good fun and theoretically it’s supposed to make our working lives easier. Until the internet goes down or there’s a power cut.

Now, where did I put that Americano?!

Originally published in The Argus on 23.4.13

pla·gia·rism/ˈplājəˌrizəm/ Noun: The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

I'm interested in your views.

I've had my website copied (images and content), my LinkedIn connections systematically trawled through and used, and my clients contacted.

Now I know this is the real world. Stuff happens. And I've been known to look through the web for inspiration myself. Yes, LinkedIn is all about connecting to new people via connections but what about netiquette, doesn't that count or is that being a tad naive?

Here's the thing (in the words of that truly ground-breaking PR from the telly, Siobhan Sharpe, Head of Brand at Perfect Curve - "2012", BBC): should I get irritated by this flagrant copying, should I be flattered, should I be saddened that such people have no original ideas themselves nor ways to get their own clients, or should I grin knowingly, shrug my shoulders and get on with something more important?

One thing I've noticed though - the perpetrators have all been women. Come on sisters, shouldn't you be doing it for yourselves?

You know who you are. Actually, and please note, so do I.

Other folk out there in social media land - what do you think?