By Sharon Linstedt, Senior Counselor & Media-Relations Strategist
If you’ve got a smart phone - and if you didn’t have one before, you probably got one for Christmas – there are now more than 2,500 ‘apps’ floating around in cyberspace to keep you informed, entertained and otherwise occupied.
I’m fairly sure my nearest and dearest friends have at least 2,000 of them. I know this because frequently the first words out of their mouths are “You’ve gotta see this cool app I just got.”
These are the same people who a year ago couldn’t whip out their phones fast enough to show off new touch screens, family photos and video clips. Now, it’s all about the app.
I remember the first time someone proudly displayed their GPS application. “This is amazing; it knows exactly where we are!” I will admit knowing where you are is generally a good thing, but we were standing in her living room, so location was never in doubt.
I will acknowledge that I see true value in apps that give you instant, accurate information when you’re in stuck airports, overbooked hotels and restaurants, or need to find a gas station.
Ditto for practical applications that provide on-the-fly conversion of kilograms to pounds, French to English, and if you live in Buffalo, the actual temperature to ‘real feel’ temperature.
Knowledge is good, and instantaneous knowledge about where you can find the nearest available public bathroom in a strange city rates in the ‘wonderful’ category.
It’s the other 2,480+ apps I don’t understand.
During Thanksgiving dinner, multiple iPhones, Blackberrys and a stray Pre were down the table along with potatoes and turkey, as guests attempted to ‘out app’ each other.
The smart phoners dueled with apps for everything from how to calculate your age in tyrannosaurus, dog and fish years, to finding the best restaurants in Paris.
A similar scenario unfolded on Christmas Eve when the ability to play ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ on an iPhone resulted in palpable envy. There was even a non-virtual argument over which snow condition and avalanche indicator apps are most trustworthy.
Time was also spent comparing apps for virtual twinkling Christmas trees, while standing in front of a real Douglas Fir.
With New Year’s Eve looming large, the blood alcohol calculator app is likely to come in handy. The New Year’s Resolution app – touted as a tool to make you a hero to your 2010 goals - is also a ‘must have’ in the making.
I find some comfort in knowing that should my app-lessness lead to total isolation and despair, I can hijack someone’s PDA to consult the Gratitude-Bliss Meditation app and find peace with the growing state of virtual reality.
