We've been out there.. way out there. For six years we traveled to remote corners of the globe on our sailboat. For you landlubbers, the changes in technology and the web have been gradual and maybe even unnoticeable. For me they are completely obvious and sometimes dramatic, like when you revisit the town you grew up in or see an old friend or young child and realize how much they've changed.
What's Changed?
What hasn't? Think about it, before we left (in late 2003) most phones were still used for calling people and real-time was something you got from your watch.
Social networks were in their infancy. Facebook was just getting started while we were crossing the 3400 miles from Mexico to the Marquesas (non-stop 24 days) and Twitter was ramping up while we were sailing around Australia (three years into our trip). You actually paid for software, the internet bubble had popped (and was still deflated) and you could find anything you wanted easily on Google. Even though Blogger was around most people were still managing their own sites using MS Frontpage (?!), blogs certainly weren't mainstream and microblogs didn't even exist.
Global Communication
Wireless phones have brought communication to all corners of the globe, including countries that couldn't afford the infrastructure required for land lines. In Indonesia even remote villages had access, so our line of site communication (VHF radio) was quickly replaced with a cell phone. In Saukin Sudan, one of the poorest countries we visited, I jumped as a loud phone rang while I was walking down a dusty dirt road. I was amazed as a man in ragged clothes reached for his cell phone while steering a donkey driven water delivery cart constructed from old 55 gallon drums. The only internet was a two hour bus ride away, it's speed ... like sucking molasses through a coffee stirrer (but we were connected!).
Our daily communication was a single email session usually lasting less than a minute at a whopping 10 Kb (with a K) per second. But It was perfect, it worked everywhere and gave us what we needed for weather, safety, and provided a quick update to our friends and family who may have been a little worried. Believe it or not we were pretty high-tech, we had backup systems, used Satellite images for mapping (before Google Earth) and made our own charts/guides for the areas that were off the beaten track where we liked to travel (no Lonely Planet guides). We developed multiple websites and blogs to help the next generation of travelers that may follow in our wake, sharing what we learned so others could avoid the common mistakes. We started with a manually updated website (from USB sticks) and ended with an automatic email based blog, photo and mapping solution that I developed.
So what's this blog about?To start, it will be about the transition back into the world of the connected, what's changed, what's better and what's worse. I'm trying to figure out what to do next, evaluating businesses, technology, and products/apis to see what's missing and where I can add value. I want to use my unique perspective as a high-tech castaway to help bridge the gap between developers/technologists and main stream users. From where I am standing things sure got complicated for them while I was gone, and the gap between the two has grown significantly wider. I want to document the differences before they become second nature again.
There are questions: What is the most effective way to embrace new technologies without becoming consumed by them in the process? How should a new product be developed in order to satisfy early adopters without overwhelming main-stream users? If social networks are new content delivery mechanism, how can I manage my networks while still allowing time to develop new content? Now that I am "connected again" I can consume content as well as deliver it, so I'll be looking for the most effecient solutions to manage both sides of the fence.
About Me
Before sailing, I spent thirteen years as product manager/software developer delivering wold class solutions that changed the way people designed computers and complex electro/mechanical systems. I like to dig deep and fully evaluate ideas, issues and products before I commit to a solution (or develop a new one).
Re-integration will be a trip!
More info: FriendFeed or Posterous
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