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Just because I can doesn't mean I understand...School me?

By
Real Estate Agent with Century 21 Redwood DC-SP98366576

Maybe this should be subtitled

Just how big is a gigabyte

I know, that is a graphic of an atom.  They are pretty darn small.  When you split one....kaboom.  If you split a gigabyte what could possibly happen?  Could it cause the end of the world as we know it?  It seems the discovery of these little things has certainly changed the world as it used to be.

A friend of mine showed me their new fangled cell phone.  It was smaller than a pack of cigarettes. ( For you younger folks, cigarettes were little groups of dried tobacco wrapped in this paper. People would put them in their mouth and lite them and inhale the smoke created. You could fit 20 cigarettes in one pack.) My friend told me that it was a 2 G phone. I gather that meant you could fit 2 gigabytes in the phone. My guess was that would make a gigabyte smaller than 10 cigarettes.

Maybe it is time to just sit on the bench

I admit that I have tried to keep up.  I have a laptop. I have a computer. I have a cell phone. I can email. I can blog. I can text.  I can tweet. I can do all the things that seem to be important.  I am just confused by how rapidly things seem to be changing.  I just read that there is now a 4G blackberry.  I looked at it on line and it seemed rather small. It was certainly smaller than two packs of cigarettes. Have we found a way to shrink gigabytes?

I have my own secret weapons

This is my hard drive.  If I use a pen, the data can not be erased.  I admit that it does not offer the sorting feature of more modern versions but if the power goes out, I can still search the system.

These are my laptops.  When I use one of them, there is still a lot of lap left.  The nice thing about my laptops is that one of them fits neatly in my pants pocket.  I don't have to wait for a signal and I can enter data quickly, anywhere I am. As soon as the information is entered, it is saved. I take one with me every where I go.

Data entry device

This remains to be one of the greatest data entry devices ever invented. It fits neatly in the pocket. It needs no auxiliary power. It is not permanent.  Data entered, can be deleted or revised easily. It can be used for text or graphic entries.

Data entry device maintenance system

This is a tool that I carry with me at all times. I can use it to improve the performance of my data entry device or I can use it to prepare a new data entry device. I don't know if it is as large as a gigabyte. My device has multiple slots for use and has the capacity for both large and small data entry devices.

Data Storage System

I use 3X5 index cards to record each prospect I meet. I can carry about ten of them in my pocket when I am out and about.  There is room on these cards for name, phone number and lots of other info. I can use my data entry device and jot down what is important. When I get back home, I can just file it in the data storage system for easy recall. If the prospect is active, I carry it in my pocket. It is an easy way to make sure those folks counting on me are with me all the time.

The most important part of any system

This is the most important part of my system.  I am an old guy and I still believe that handshake should be stronger than any written word.  When you give your word and confirm what is stated with a handshake, you have physically shared a bond.  Your actions indicate your word is your bond.  You can find all sorts of ways to weasel out of things you've signed... you can not take back a handshake.  It is a custom that dates back centuries. I still use it.  No one has come up with any amount of gigabytes that can hold or display or solidify an agreement in a stronger fashion.

I read the book. I think that maybe Huxley's fear about government control was misguided. Watching our world become so connected and instant and well so damn computerized, I have to wonder if it would make a little more sense if the focus were on the large corporations that control the interweb. I may be just an old guy watching the world go by but I sure have to wonder about having all the information and data and such being stored out there somewhere with little if any control over who has access.

Oh, my data....it is pretty secure. I have it all right here. Of course, sometimes I have to search for my glasses to locate it.

And I am willing to admit that I am clueless about gigabytes and seo's and long tails and hits and misses and all that stuff.  Sure, I can use all the tools that are trendy ( obsolete within months) but ... just because I can doesn't mean I understand.  School me?

Comments(42)

Linda Metallo DiBenardo
RE/MAX Impact, Lockport, Illinois - Lockport, IL

BRAVO!  I bet you sell a lot of homes with your system! I use the same one. I also use colored marking pens, colored paper clips and post-it notes in all sizes.

Sep 29, 2010 03:42 AM
Tere Rottink
CoastalVa Realty Inc - Virginia Beach, VA

Like you I keep a composition book with me. I like it because it has the hard cover.  When I go home I input in to the computer my notes.  But looking at the composition book brings back the memories of facial expressions and other things that the computer won't. 

Sep 29, 2010 03:57 AM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

I don't use the bound notebooks.  I use the spiral notebooks.  They lay flat without rubber bands around them.

Sep 29, 2010 03:59 AM
Melina Tomson
Tomson Burnham, llc Licensed in the State of Oregon - Salem, OR
Principal Broker/Owner, M.S.

I spilled a cup of coffee all over a contract once and had to call the listing agent to get another copy.  When my kids were small they didn't understand that when I wrote on something it didn't mean they could too...Lots of crayola on my notes.

Scanned, stored, and backed up for me :)

Sep 29, 2010 04:34 AM
Rene Fabre
ARFCO Media - Renton, WA
Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts

Hi John... great post. As much as I am into technology one habit I can't break... I use the 9.5 X 6 inch spiral bound notebooks. Whatever works, right?

Sep 29, 2010 04:36 AM
Pat & Wayne Harriman
Harriman Real Estate, LLC (203) 672-4499 - Wallingford, CT
Broker/Owners, Wallingford CT Real Estate

So, "old" is the new "new"?? John, you are a true pioneer, I salute you, sir. I can almost - ALMOST - see you in a coonskin cap, musket in hand, one moccasin-clad foot propped on a rock as you shade your eyes with one hand and scour the valley below, in search of the next great adventure. Onward sir, your destiny awaits...

Sep 29, 2010 04:38 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

I had to use my junk drive yesterday to download stuff, and it was "only" 256 MG.  What? THat's not big enough. The guy laughed and showed me his... 10Gig!

My schedule is kept on paper and not in my phone. I like to write and cross things out for further records.

Sep 29, 2010 05:04 AM
Angelia Garcia
Pure Realtors - Dallas, TX

Great blog and great explanations.  Loved it.

Sep 29, 2010 05:06 AM
Veronica Huerta
SCA Real Estate - Ocean Beach, CA

That is the beauty(and possibly the beast) of technology these days, anyone can use it easily but most of us have no clue as to what we are really doing. Great post=)

Sep 29, 2010 05:35 AM
Virginia OnullConnor
Realtor®, Photographer, Artist - Temecula, CA
Realtor - Temecula, Anza, SoCal

I agree with Bill #14 - Gigabytes are so last year. Terabytes are not even enough. Once you start doing audio and video editing, there i never enough hard drive space. Soon it will all be stored in the cloud.

#21 - Phil - mwahahahaha! At last geeks are taking their true places in society. RULING THE WORLD! Yay for us nerds.

 

Sep 29, 2010 06:01 AM
Ruthmarie Hicks
Keller Williams NY Realty - 120 Bloomingdale Road #101, White Plains NY 10605 - White Plains, NY

OK - I've embraced tech - but there are times when I need to "see" it on paper.  I mean just a drawing - an outline - SOMETHING.  I was coming of age as the tech was coming on strong. I changed with them  BUT  there is just so much anyone can change the way they do things.  I think anyone who spent their first years writing things long-hand and then typing still needs paper for some things.  Heck - do you remember card catalogs?  I do.  They were exiting the scene while I was in college. 

 

Sep 29, 2010 06:17 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos

Hi John,  I enjoyed your well written description of adaptive technology !  Tongue in cheek, gotta love it !

Sep 29, 2010 07:28 AM
Bukka Levy
Keller Williams Realty - Petaluma, CA
REALTOR - San Francisco North Bay

I've gone to a hybrid system; part smart phone, part planner and pencil. Just cause there's new technology doesn't mean it's better, as you well know.

Sep 29, 2010 07:44 AM
Kymberly Caldwell-Muniz
(909) 973-0410 - Fontana, CA
TCR Group Keller Williams Realty Rancho Cucamonga

This is a great blog, I love the explanations. I still use a lot of post its. Thanks for sharing.

Sep 29, 2010 08:28 AM
Victor Zuniga
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California Properties - San Diego, CA

Technology is great but it can be overwhelming and more importantly a double edge sword. when you don't have a hard copy of your information and the device crashes you're pretty much dead in the water. You must also remember than when you consolidate to one devices that does it all yo better hope you don't lose it or break it. Just remember that different things work for different people.

Sep 29, 2010 08:38 AM
Lorraine or Loretta Kratz
Crescent Moon Realty, Inc. & Land N Sea Auctions. - San Marcos, CA
Certified Negotiation Consultants

I am a fan of what ever works for you, I am not on the Kindle train, and yet I know  so many of my contemporariesare racing, to get one. 

Sep 29, 2010 09:31 AM
Jane Peters
Home Jane Realty - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles real estate concierge services

This is very clever, John.  I love the data entry and maintenance systems.

Sep 29, 2010 09:36 AM
Linda Humphrey
Humphrey Home Connections Realty, Reno, Nevada - Reno, NV
CRS, Broker/Owner HHC Realty

One thing that will NEVER be the same electronically is the glorious sensation of physically crossing things off of a to-do list. Simply deleting won't do. I have been known to add things I forgot to write down so that I can cross them off.

Sep 29, 2010 03:14 PM
Kay Van Kampen
RE/MAX Broker, RE/MAX - Springfield, MO
Realtor®, Springfield Mo Real Estate

No matter how much technology we have, I still use a notebook.

Sep 29, 2010 03:17 PM
Mark Hoggard
Churchill-Brown & Associates - Nichols Hills - Oklahoma City, OK

Excellent Post!

Nov 21, 2010 08:25 AM