stef's posterous

Am I getting behind the curve?

Yesterday I took part in a survey I found through the Digital Birmingham site, called the Digital Curve. It's a lighthearted attempt to encourage people to use digital technology and to find out where they sit in comparison to other people when it comes to their 'digital savviness'. So, I answered a series of questions about how often I use various media devices - computer, phone, digital tv, games console etc. and out popped my rating. Apparently I'm a "digital superstar": My reaction - "How come I only got 80%?" For some reason I have come out as having only a 55% score for "Digital Television" and 75% for "Multimedia" (err, didn't Multimedia go out with the CD-ROM?!) I'd guess that because I answered 'never' for "How often do you use your digital TV to check your email?" and "How often do you use your digital TV to browse for news and job listings?" I got marked down. Picture this: I'm sitting in my front room with my Apple MacBook Pro, playing iTunes wirelessly via my AirTunes-enabled wireless network directly into my dolby surroundsound music system, my BlackBerry is charging on the table next to me. I decide to watch some TV so I hit pause on the Mac's remote control and fire up the widescreen TV with brand new Virgin cable digibox. Being a bit non-plussed about what's currently on the schedule (which I check using TvGuide on the Firefox window that's permanently open on my Mac) I buy an on-demand movie from the 1000 films available (I'm sure I remember something called Lovefilm) and sit back and enjoy. At what point would I think "oh hang on, stop the film! I've got to check my email! I know - I'll dig out that oversized TV keyboard and use a low resolution screen that's about six feet away from me and attempt to access gmail which probably won't work because it's all javascripty anyway". Does anyone actually use TV email? The vast majority of mobile phones nowadays are internet enabled and I regularly use mine with a Java Gmail client to get emails on the go. And if I were going to check my mail I'd reach over and hit refresh in Firefox. I just can't see the point in TV email - am I getting old? Probably. And I think on the Multimedia front I lost a few points by saying (heavens forfend) I don't have a cameraphone. Instead, I have a 10 megapixel Leica that I take pretty much everywhere, and when I want to do serious photography I'll pull out the Canon 5D (or the Hasselblad). There wasn't a question about "Do you have an online photosharing site?", but if there were I'm sure it would bring back a few missing points. A cameraphone is for snaps, using Flickr/Photobucket to share those photos with other people is one step beyond. There were a few other glaring omissions I'd like to suggest filling: "How many times a day do you update your blog?",  "How many RSS feeds do you subscribe to?" or if we're feeling generous "Do you enjoy playing your limited 512MB dubstep MP3 collection using the low quality, tinny loudspeaker on your mobile phone whilst hanging round your neck and sitting on the bus?" Joking aside, use of digital technology is a very personal thing. Everyone uses things that fit a need within their lives, so whilst the idea of a Digital Curve is valid in some respects, a position in the curve for me is more about awareness of what you might be able to do rather than the media device you use to access your digital content and services. So I guess this is useful for people who aren't aware of what's out there, but for me it felt like it didn't go far enough for the people who are actually using this stuff on a daily basis. There are people much younger than me who know a hell of a lot more about what's happening with digital media, because they use things in very different ways to how I do. So perhaps I'm getting behind the curve - better get myself one of those mobile neckstraps (the one with a blue light) and transfer my copy of the Burial album onto my phone. "How loud does this thing go anyway?"