One of our mental exercises is to consider future societal norms and then map back to today.  If in five years, we are at our best friend’s cocktail party, and we ask ourselves, ‘What would a typical Earthling be embarrassed to admit about their technological prowess that they wouldn’t have been embarrassed about in the past?’, what would be some key answers?

The answer, from a rather splendid polemic Non-Geeks are not Morons: The Change Function Model for Adopting Technology is apparently:

    1. They just bought a desktop computer that afternoon, instead of a laptop.
    2. They own an old-fashioned CRT television instead of a flat-panel.
    3. They don’t use a digital video recorder.
    4. They still ask their son or daughter for help with syncing the digital camera.
    5. They have actually asked directions of somewherin the past month as previously referenced.
    6. They have an old-fashioned radio in the car as opposed to a “real radio” – what in 2006 was still called by its full name, a satellite radio.
    7. They have less than 100Mbps wired broadband into their home, and also don’t have a broadband wireless connection available at home.
    8. They can’t stream videos from the Internet
    9. They don’t use a hosted CRM solution at their under-100-employee firm and have 24 x 7 updates of their business as one friend offered up.
    10. They don’t work directly/indirectly with someone in India.

I am not sure I buy all of those, but there is some very interesting thinking on the tipping points of technology adoption which are highly germane.  Worth reading the whole thing.