Technology-Enabled Social Network, Old-School

Tagged as: O.P.E.N., networked, on-demand, social web, technology
Posted by: Chris Berk 

 

A couple weeks ago I was traveling with the family to St. Louis. We were on I-70, west of Indianapolis when traffic came to a standstill. There were no construction signs, no plumes of smoke, no flashing lights. Traffic just stopped and we had no idea what was going on. So I decided to find out for myself. I first fired up my trusty Treo to see if there were any news alerts about an accident or maybe a construction report. Once that failed, I booted up my PC armed with a wireless air card – clearly I needed more horsepower than my Treo to get the low-down of the situation. I searched and searched online for 20 minutes or more…nothing! Where was the wisdom of the crowds (I was sitting in a big one)? Where’s my on-demand answer? No tweets?! No diggs?!

Right there on I-70, I was about to give up on the OPENness of my technology, when my wife suggested an alternative technical solution, “Why don’t you get out of the car, walk over to that truck, and ask the truck driver what’s going on? Doesn’t he have a CB or something like that? Can’t he just talk to one of his trucker buddies way up at the front of the line?”

I coyly walked over to what must be one of the original, technology-enabled social networks – a truck driver and his CB radio! Of course the trucker knew what was going on – an overturned truck was blocking the highway. The more I thought about it, his CB radio network functions much as the web does, truly enabling an O.P.E.N. experience that serves the needs of its participants. Forget the iPhone, I need a CB.

Tagged as: O.P.E.N., networked, on-demand, social web, technology

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