Will the Blackberry Sink the Presidency?

Seems to me like a simple matter of self-control

The title of this artcile discounts it's impact.... this is an excellent artcile if you separate it from whehter this is good for Obama.

Thnk about what this is doing to our children with their cell phones and IM/Text. We are raising a generation of children (or we could be if we don't set limits) in which they never focus on anything for more than 15 minutes at a time and are constantly distracted. I see the blackberry problem (or laptop/email) in spades in the work space where executives make poor decisions, or have to ask a question that was just answered because of the distraction. We have to quit kidding ourelefves that "multiprocessing" is effective and efficient.

In college, my favorite professor used to tell us that we should always read the books assigned for his class twice. We???d read each one once, then discuss it. And when it came time to write a paper, we were supposed to read them all again. These were all dense history books, and we read 10 of them each semester, so re-reading each one was no easy task. But when I did as he asked, the difference was remarkable. After three classes with him, I felt that I could never truly understand a book after reading it only once.

I thought about this as I read Sharon Begley???s story. When I re-read all those books in college, I ensured that the information I learned was stored in the right mental file drawer.
My blog entry about it is here:
http://abookishlook.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/my-fading-memory/

As the happy owner of a Blackberry, I find that this tool has less adverse effect on my ability to concentrate than did being the parent of small children. I remember my husband's observation that, prior to the birth of our two children, he could actually read the morning newspaper without interruption. At least with a Blackberry, the owner has some measure of control over the intrusions.

My husband had a Blackberry at his old job and it drove me nuts. He was constantly checking e-mails, logging onto the internet to check sports scores, etc. I was glad when he left that position and his Blackberry.

Now he has another one.

Tech overload is affecting everyone, including our children. In the future, i feel sure, that ADD and other attention problems will be traced to our tots and school children watching hours of television; plus computer games, cellphone preoccupations, etc.

The present moment is where we live. Do you agree that our present moments are being gobbled up by empty substance?

President Obama is multi-tasking on umpteen fronts, juggling the minutes and seconds of every day. Blackberry is probably the most efficient way to keep contact with friends separate from the job of President. No drama or national threat here, Sharon!

Oh give me a break. President Obama isn't some BIMBO Newsweek reporter who can't walk and chew gum at the same time. DUH!

"distraction overload, and continuous partial attention"..."never focusing exclusively on any thought or perception for long and never being able to work straight through to completion on anything" Sounds like the life of any stay at home caretaker of young kids or teacher of young children. THAT kind of multitasking existed long before the technology of the Crackberry was invented, and yet we managed to get everything done. I wouldn't suggest that we operate heavy machinery under those conditions or negotiate an important trade agreement with the device on, but surely Mr. Obama (and the rest of us) can be disciplined and polite enough to find the off button when appropriate,

I was certainly not surprised by anything in the article concerning the technological "wonder" called a Blackberry. While it has some very commendable applications, it has, in my opinion, accelerated the pace of business dialogue to the point where anything complex cannot make the agenda. After proposing several fairly well-developed suggestions at work that never received so much as a comment or a thanks, my boss suggested that future communications be limited to two or three sentences. I am brief, but a well-considered problem statement is usually at least that long. I have no hope that any cost-saving or quality-enhancing better practice can ever be considered if the entire idea must fit in an unscrolled view of a Blackberry.

I think it is great that the Pesident can stay in touch with the American public thru his Blackberry instead of relaying on staff reports.

It seems to me that a vast majority of Americans knew that Irac did not have wmd"s but the president did not because he was reading the briefing reports prepared by people who were covering their ass.

A Blackberry is an email driven system in that the email goes to the unit instead of the user having to connect to a web site. The president doesn"t have to read the message he can just delete. It is not a distraction as the article suggests but a management tool.

He will have to constantly change his address because the news bureaus will get access to the address and abuse the power.

I'd rather see the USSA fail than see Obama succeed in turning it into a communist state.

I'm glad Newsweak can afford to dwell on trivialities while our Messiah and Congress complete the communist takeover of the USSA. I have no doubt that Obama is dreaming of the day that he can force feed government propaganda into everyone through these devices. Oh, wait, they're already doing it.

To bad, that The Messiah did not look up gullible before writing his comment. I have worked for the state and the school system while making less than $20,000 a year. I can tell you that the amount of pork authorized by the Republicans is outstanding. Thank goodness, a man who knows what it is like to be poor is now in the house. It is just to bad that people like The Messiah can not be brought out of there ignorance, of course with a name like The Messiah I will guess that HE makes more than the poverty level. A sure bet that The Messiah and people like him won't see a good thing even after their pocket is effected for the better. Maybe you should go visit your local food pantry and see how the republicans have helped this country!

Last month I ditched my mobile phone as part of an economy drive. Boy do I feel liberated! No worries about being tempted to answer whilst driving, no phone going off in the office when I am on another call. The only down side I can see is if I break down in the car.