Switch off that Blackberry Obama and pay attention!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the intense nerd who pays attention in school will become your boss. And so Obama has become boss of America. A triumph for honest hard work against a not very level playing field. His choice to retain his Blackberry email device is a serious flaw, but not for the reasons you might expect. Leaving aside all the security and legal stuff it sets a bad example. All his staffers and MBA corporate managers will copy every aspect of his fashion sense and this will include the addiction to the Blackberry. Whilst Obama is unlikely to misuse his personal device for Government business his staffers and corporate giants will. At a time when the World economy needs to have its people with their hands full of tools for actually making things that can be sold for money Obama will be sending a message that will encourage the clicking of keys by middle managers instead of them rolling up the sleeves and interacting with real people.

I apologise for criticising the elected head of another nation but do so because we haven't yet started using technology in the U.K. Well, we've made a start.We have employed ineffective people to manage our IT, lost citizens personal data, and wasted billions on IT projects. No sign of overt Blackberry addiction by U.K. Government officials yet but it won't be long before a tabloid journalist bribes a CCTV operator to peep over the shoulder of a prominent minister and read the keystrokes as he or she sends compromising emails from any public place in London