On arriving for their first day at Parliament yesterday, MPs were given a goodie bag with pen and notebook, iPad 2 and iPhone or Blackberry. The iPads were preloaded with key information new members could refer to during their induction programme.
No doubt there will be some of the usual criticisms leveled at our public servants receiving anything more than the basic tools of the trade, but in reality, issuing iPads makes perfect sense and the substantial benefits will be shared by taxpayers in many different ways.
While Danish and German parliaments have already announced their adoption of iPads, our own New Zealand Parliamentary Services are just as forward thinking and these modern tools of the trade have been sitting in Bowen House for some time ready for their new users.
We’ve moved a long way from the desktop computer and mobile phone to a range of items that might include a laptop, smart phone and iPad. Excessive for some, but basic essentials for others. Schools too are making iPads essential, and while many may balk at the cost in comparison to some prior technology innovations, it isn’t as bad as we might think.
Particularly when you bear in mind the cost of the ear-thumping stereo systems or the latest DVD player or flat screen TV – more expensive and probably a lot less essential and multi-purpose. Even so, here’s hoping those prices continue to lower as these almost essential life tools become as commonplace as televisions and telephones.
It’s all about the Personal Communication Mixology; the personal customisation of information, communication and technology tools and techniques we each adopt both consciously and unconsciously. This of course is influenced by individual access and ability combined with their learning and communication style. It’s a complex space that communication specialists like Network are constantly exploring and working in on behalf of clients.
For MPs, where the volume of reports and information around the house could probably keep a convoy of paper trucks busy, the ability to share and access information on a small device is an opportunity we would be mad to miss.
But we know that the opportunity is far more than this. It would therefore be fascinating to study the use of those two items provided in the goodie bags for each MP. Perhaps someone will do this. Meanwhile I love my iPad, iPhone and Macbook Pro which I liberally interchange depending on circumstances. But I am also rarely without a pen and paper.
St Matthew-in-the-City sees the Christmas season as an opportunity to spark thought and conversation in the community. They’ve put up their Christmas billboard portraying Mary, Jesus’ mother, looking at a home pregnancy test kit revealing that she is pregnant.
