New Questions for a New World – From the desk of Rob Glass, our CEO
“Surprised” is not the right word… challenged, enlightened, encouraged, astounded they do not quite do it either…
This morning, like most parents, I was given the opportunity to listen in on a conversation between my 8 and 9-year-old, 18 months apart they sometimes click so well, like they are on the same level. They banter on like you are not even there, which is great and comical. This morning’s “deep dive” topic was the interpersonal (my word) challenges of hosting a Zoom meeting (their phrase). Stop right there, really? In a new world where “Zoom” is the new “phone”, the topics of conversions floating around my house are completely different then three months ago… so I put my ear to the door of their world and listen…
“Do you feel nervous when on Zoom”
“How do you present to a group of people when you can’t always see or tell that they are there”
“I know, it’s challenging to ask questions to people who could be in Kindergarten or 5th grade”
“How can you tell if they understand you”
“What do others think of me in the Zoom, how do I come across to them (my 9-year-old)”
“How do I show the teacher I understand what she is presenting”
My mind explodes off to in one direction… What about the security? Is this the right platform for this type of data? Are you collecting analytics on this so you can report on it later? Is the latency to high on their networks that it is causing delay?… do I need to invest in more bandwidth for all these meetings?… but those are not their questions… Not even close.
Why? They have seen past the “tech bubble” that my first reactions got stuck in, there is no limit to their IT horizon. The screen is not even a pane of glass anymore. They’ve seen past the level of tech that the 80’s gave me at their age and have come back to ask bigger questions. They have opened their arms to a bigger ecosystem, a new world, IT is just a part of it, no longer hindering the journey forward. This is so good but how do I as a Dad, as their IT specialist, guide now on this journey? This new challenge for them has pushed them forward for better, they are asking questions in a way that generations past cannot even understand because the context now is so different… so new… so surprising… it makes me smile.
