I truly enjoy interacting in person with the local DC/Baltimore Metro blogger scene and I am excited to meet everyone who is new.

If you are here from WordCamp, I sincerely thank you for taking the time and investing your attention in my content.  If you leave me a comment with your link or send me an email using my contact form, I would be honored to return your favor of constructive criticism.  I welcome your feedback on my blog.  Please seek me out on twitter @Scott_Coughlin or @ITThought so we can meet at the conference, too.

WordCamp is a community based "un-conference" where users, developers, and vendors of WordPress, my blogging platform, gather to foster synergy, mutual improvement, and simply socialize.  It is one of the best things about new media, our Information Age, and IT in general.

My IT thought for the day is "What is it about new media and the Internet that produces these intense community based groups seeking nothing more than mutual benefit?"  You can see the same behaviors associated with Linux, Photoshop, and famously the Macintosh platform.  It is one of my favorite parts about my profession.

Why do you think we have this sense of community?  Is it limited to Information Professionals or are there other examples?  Do you like it, too, or are there disadvantages?  Please share your thoughts.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for September 11, 2010 ©Scott Coughlin .

Today’s post alone is licensed under creative commons license.  All are free to share and use so long as credit is given for original or derivative works.

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Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse and was an early pioneer of the Information Technology profession.  As such he is an excellent pick to be our IT Thought of the Day Quote of the Week Series feature.

I like Information Age quotations.  I find some of them very inspirational and like to carry a new one around about every week.  I thought that i could share mine with you from time to time. This week it will be a funny quote.  You can read more about the author at Wikipedia.

“The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.”
Douglas Engelbart

What did you think of the quote?  Did you like it? Do you know of any other similar ones?  Please share.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 21, 2010.

quote credit: Information Technology Quotes on EnglishForum

image credit: Hypertext History

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On Mondays I offer comments on some   of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments were generated after I read the fore mentioned CNN story.  Great article that I recommend to you.  Give them a read below.

CNN.com – Inventor of cell phone: We knew someday everybody would have one

By Tas Anjarwalla

“Cooper and his team at Motorola, the communications company, created maybe the only thing that runs the lives of business professionals and teenagers alike — the cell phone.

It was the size of a brick and wasn’t commercially sold for another decade. But as Cooper demonstrated on a New York sidewalk, it worked.”

What I loved about this article was that it represented the exact best that an outfit like CNN can deliver.  It showed journalistic ethics, special access granted by being a big name, and rigorous fact checking and research without opinion or slant. To me, it shows exactly what big media can and should  deliver that bloggers never can, will, or should.  I wish that CNN and the rest of mainstream media would stick to this type of story and get out of the business of trying to beat bloggers to scoops, or drive a political agenda, even involving tech reporting, by spinning news to create positions.  Bravo to CNN and  Tas Anjarwalla for showing us how it can and should be done.  Great story.

OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 12, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: Fukuoka Prefectural University

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On Mondays I offer comments on some   of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments were generated after I read a CNN story.  It is all about “race” between Lady Gaga and President Obama to get to 10 million Facebook followers.  I recommend it to you.  Give it a read below.

CNN.com – Obama, Lady Gaga compete for Facebook fan record

“Lady Gaga and President Obama don’t often travel in the same circles, but they’re the top competitors in a popularity contest that could have one of them setting a record by this weekend.

Facebook publicists told CNN on Thursday that the pop star and the president are neck-and-neck in the race to become the first living person with more than 10 million fans on the social networking site.”

I am just going to go ahead and say it.  WHO CARES!  I cannot believe that so many people go through life trying to relive their High School Class President election.  That is exactly what this manic obsession with Twitter and Facebook followers represents.  Can you image if Ghandi, Albert Einstein, or Mother Teresa had spent even a millisecond worrying about what others thought of them – let alone who had more people willing to “follow”” them on these social media services?

OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for June 28, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

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I like Information Age quotations.  I find some of them very inspirational and like to carry a new one around about every week.  I thought that i could share mine with you from time to time. This week it will be a funny quote.  You can read more about the author at Wikipedia.

“A computer does not substitute for judgment any more than a pencil substitutes for literacy. But writing without a pencil is no particular advantage.”
Robert McNamara

What did you think of the quote?  Did you like it? Do you know of any other similar ones?  Please share.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for June 25, 2010.

quote credit: BrainyQuote

image credit: Madame Pickwick Art Blog

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