If Douglas Adams had used Twitter...

Tim Milner of IDeA has kindly given me permission to reproduce an interesting intranet blog posting of his:

“It seems that whether you use it or not, everyone has a stance on Twitter. This brings to mind Douglas Adams' views on new technology. Many of his points of view are frighteningly accurate, with one in particular relevant to my field of Knowledge Management –

‘Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so’
I wonder if Adams’ rules of thumb about our reactions to new technologies stick when it comes to Twitter:

1. “Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works”.

2. “Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it”.

3. “Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things”.

I do, however, thankfully know one or two people beyond the age of 35 who are more boundlessly enthusiastic than perhaps they should be when it comes to enjoying new technology. The consensus seems to be that the largest demographic user group when it comes to Twitter is 35-44 year olds; so that takes care of both the quantitative and qualitative defence, thus providing hope for us all of living long, technologically-enhanced lives, with enthusiastic Twittering (including stern looks from speakers at events)”.

KIN Members can continue this debate in the Discussion Forum.