04.09.10

Cloud Hidden

Posted in Humor~Business, Humor~Social Media, Humor~Technology at 2:52 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

Being “Caught up in the clouds” is a Christian term to describe the Rapture. This vision scares me. It represents being out of control. Caught up by something outside ourselves. Or think of the phrase, “up in the air,” to describe an ambiguous circumstance.
Face it: we like being in control. But two things that are inherent in life requre that we LOVE being out of control–IF we want to succeed.
Those two things are Humor and Technology.
Recently I’ve been looking at Cloud Computing, or Web 2.0 as all the cool kids–and the school librarian–call it. It’s an ephemeral place where bits of information (documents, PowerPoint presentations, notes, photos–anything) exist. You can access this information from anywhere.
Think of it the way a YouTube video explained it:
You can bury money in your back yard. Or you can put it in a bank. In the back yard, you have limited access to your money. But if it’s in a bank, you can withdraw your money whether you’re around the corner or on the other side of the world.
With Cloud Computing, you don’t have to save your information on a device like a USB drive or CD. You don’t have to carry anything!
This sounds like a great idea. But the other side is: Is it safe? What could go wrong?
These doubts bring up the similarities between Humor and Technologies like cloud computing.
–Trust
–Collaboration
–Real time
1. Cloud computing requres that we have TRUST. Just like trusting our sense of Humor to build our relationships and connections, we must trust technology. The cloud computing video mentions that we share open standards. We’re all in this together. We all understand what’s required of us, what’s going on, and what the deal is. So we can relax and let Google take over and organize our affairs.
2. Cloud computing allows for collaboration. We can make connections in ways that aren’t possible if we’re burying our bits of information in the backyard. Humor allows us this, too. Sometimes it’s incidental (like when someone overhears our humor and silently nods approval). But in any case, it’s connective. It puts us all on the same page.
3. Once we’re on the same page, we can be in real-time. That’s the beauty of cloud computing and it’s the beauty of humor. We can access, work on, dissect, and transform situations that are occurring now.
We don’t need to fear being in “the cloud” if we learn to embrace it. If you’ve been applying your sense of humor all along, you’re on your way to fearlessness. Take it up a notch. Transfer those fearlessness skills to the world of technology. Take it from me. A self-described non-techie. When I hear the words math & science I get nauseaus. But I’m willing to give it a shot. And so can you. “Get Your S.H.I.N.E. Together!” ’cause we’re in this together. Somewhere up in the clouds…

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