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The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Whilst I haven’t read what … Continue reading
I was looking forward to scoffing down a hot meal after a breathtaking gym session at my fitness club last night. I was greatly disappointed when I was told that the in-house restaurant was closed so I decided to go to Ikeja Shoprite Mall and try out the new hangout spot upstairs, which I think should have been called Blackberry Central.
Despite the crooning of the kamikaze karaoke crew all night, there was barely any acknowledgment from the uninterested guests – no clapping, no swaying from side to side, no nodding to the rhythm…except, of course, to the rhythm of the perpetual keypad tapping commonly associated with the receipt of a much awaited response on a blackberry chat. Was I the only one being forced to look at my wrist and table knife desperately whilst someone was ironically ‘killing me softly with his song’ (Note – that song should only be sung by women, period). Was I the only one seeing more flashing red lights than a laser eye surgeon? Maybe.
I ordered my healthy choice – spaghetti bolognese (I hope that’s how it’s spelt…too lazy to check Jamie Oliver’s website). When it eventually came, turns out it was able to feed three people. I had my work cut out for me so I raised up my sleeves, loosened my belt buckle a notch, and attempted to conquer the red spiral mountain. It was at that point I noticed two young men walk into the karaoke bar…restaurant… ‘karaokaurant’, and within minutes of finding a table to sit at, they both took out their blackberries and proceeded to ignore each other…pretty much for the same amount of time it took me to finish my Man v Food challenge (sorry Adam, I didn’t make it this time around). What’s so mesmerizing about having a silent conversation using your fingertips?
That’s the question I should have asked the last girl I took to the movies. She probably watched only the previews before the dreaded red light started flashing right into the corner of my eye. I practically told her off because that was down right rude (and it was a waste of my hard-earned money, fuel, and dating-time. The only flick she’ll be seeing with me is the one I would give her before walking away i.e. getting that dirt off my shoulder.
Are you one of those smart phone users whose ignoring people around subconsciously? Do you eat, drive or pee with your smartphone in your other hand? Is your smartphone taking over your social life? Do share…if you dare 😀
I cherish my Sundays – Church at 7am; breakfast around 10am (full English, of course); Siesta from 12pm till my stomach begins to grumble for lunch; and all the cable TV my four-eyes can handle thereafter. You can therefore imagine my bewilderment when at about 6pm I got a tweet on my blackberry from a friend claiming he saw a hilarious picture of me that made him ‘ROTF’ (to which I blurted out, ‘WTF!’).
The first thing I panicked about was whether there was some scandalous picture of me floating about on the web. Was I possibly completely naked or even worse, half-naked? (like being caught with your pants down doing a ‘number 2’). Could some scorned ex-girlfriend be wreaking her revenge online? Had someone hacked into my Facebook account (again!) and gone flickr-happy with my photos? The suspense was killing me; that’s why I stupidly clicked on the link/url at the end of my friend’s tweet. Big mistake!
Beknown to me, I had just clicked my way into a big world of sh*t. What appeared as a twitter login page was actually a spamming site that was designed to fool donkeys like me. 30 minutes later some of my twitter contacts were sending me messages saying they can’t see the picture. Next thing I saw were tweets from myself bragging about how I made $300 online using ‘this amazing software’; and a few minutes later I was tweeting about how I lost 10kg in 2 weeks – that’s when it finally dawned on me that my twitter profile had been hacked…hee-haw!
Against my own will I decided to change my profile name and password before all my followers blocked my tweets. I can’t say that it has worked but only time will tell…
Crazy_Nigerian: This is the cool site I’ve been searching for that allows you to view the exact geographical location of all your Facebook, twitter, blackberry and i-phone pals on the map absolutely free! Just click here http://you.must.be.an.idiot
A word is enough for the wise!
I said I would never get a BlackBerry. I actually swore it. I have had no less than 4 mobile phones at a go and one time I didn’t even realize I had lost one until a week later! At first I decided to get a mobile phone for the sole purpose of being able to be reached by family and friends, and also to call them from time to time. I later got a second phone in order to save costs when I realized that most of my friends were on a particular network which was insanely expensive for my first phone’s network. I got a third phone when my dad introduced the family to a special package on yet another different network. The package allowed all family members to call each other 24/7 for ‘free’ whilst paying a fixed monthly fee. With 3 justified phones in my posession, why the hell did I bother to get a 4th phone then? A brand new network in Nigeria boasted of offering unique phone numbers for a limited period – so I got a number with my date of birth! Sadly, I’ve not used that phone ever since. Cue the BlackBerry.
This ‘smartphone’, in my opinion, has waited patiently on the track and taken the baton from Facebook to complete the race…to end all physical contact between humans. Yes, I believe that the BB is the craze that is here to stay. Not even the I-Phone with all its cool apps is gaining as much popularity in Nigeria as the BB is. Well, the major networks in Nigeria have picked up on this and so you see billbaords promoting BBs only (Samsung and Nokia have been left to promote their Wave and X5 alone). It is increasingly common to see a BB associated with the following calibre of people: Managing Directors (and their PAs), Executives (and their PAs), Fashionistas, Facebook addicts, Twitter Die-hards and of course, spoilt teenagers with no jobs and rich parents.
This beckons the question, ‘Where do I fit in all this?’ My sisters ganged up on me and bullied me into getting a BB or risking not being with the in-crowd. If being with the in-crowd means constantly fiddling with my phone as I try to break my highest score in BrickBreaker then I don’t think I’m missing out much. Facebook just got even more accessible. Every few seconds the BB flashes red and you could be sure that one of your 500 friends has changed his status update or added a comment.
What happened to the days when you could wield your mobile phone comfortably with one hand and press keys that were a close match to the size of your fingertips? Now, BB users not only struggle to use the tiny keys but also tend to use two hands which leaves you little chance to multi-task i.e. caressing your partner at the same time, changing the channel on your TV, taking a leak or wiping your ass, as the case may be.
But is the BB really all that bad? Perhaps the use of the word ‘PING’ gets on my nerve…just a teeny bit 😉