Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Communication
Category: Blog - February 06, 2009
I admit it. I was a latecomer to the BlackBerry scene. I resisted it out of fear of email addiction. About six months ago, I caved in and joined the tribe of the ever-connected. I love it. Can't imagine how I ever lived without it. So, I understand where the new President and First Lady are coming from - you can have my BlackBerry when you pry it from my hands by force.
I am delighted the Obamas have won the BlackBerry battle. It's about time that we allow our nation's leaders to run the country the same way many of us run our businesses, not to mention personal lives. A BlackBerry is access to real-time information in a real-time world. There is great flexibility in being able to work when and where you choose, and staying in touch with the important people in your life when duty calls.
But of course, there are real risks that come with this flexibility - possible email addiction not withstanding. For the President and First Lady, the risks have potentially global implications. Who is listening? What happens if an email becomes public? What if the bad guys can track the president's location by the GPS location of his BlackBerry? Fortunately, the Obamas acknowledge these risks have a crack security team on the case.
BlackBerry Force One, as the president's device is being called, is being protected by voice scrambling, data encryption and a top-secret email address. For most of us, this isn't possible or practical. But we can be responsible BlackBerry users, too. Use your caller ID. If you aren't in an appropriate place to talk to the caller, don't answer. Don't send an email you would be embarrassed for your mom to read if it became public. And if you are doing something that requires your undivided attention, just turn the darn thing off.
Nicki Gibbs
Group Director
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