John Porcaro surfaced briefly in the blogosphere the other week. Good to hear from him again. I enjoy his insights. Maybe, just maybe time will find him.
One of John’s posts continues to resonate with me. I’ve always been a bit queasy with the word “user,” as in “computer user” or “software user” or even “Tablet PC user.” And I think he has it right when he posted that there must be a better word.
From time to time I slip up, but for this blog I’ve setted on the phrase “Tablet owner” rather than “Tablet user.” The word “owner” hints at the positive feeling I have as a Tablet enthusiast. I like waving to other Tablet owners that I run into. I like sharing how I use a Tablet. I get a kick out of thinking of all the things I can do with Tablets or how they might be someday.
At CES last week we met others like this too. While eating lunch Lora pulled out her Sahara Tablet to show a skeptical online editor and in a flash the guy behind us sprang out of his chair with a Motion Tablet in hand and proclaimed he owned a Tablet too. Yep, he’s not a “user.” He’s not sitting at a tethered workstation or mainframe terminal pecking at keys. He “owns” a Tablet just like he owns a car or a cell phone or a TV.
Anyone have a better term that fits from a community perspective?
In my opinion… I tend to hear ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ more often than I would like !
Geek is such a negative term that it is difficult to hear (or read) when someone uses it to describe themselves.
1 : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake
2 : a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of
Along that line, the definition for Nerd is rather disturbing too. Are all nerds unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept?
: an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
Tableteer!
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Tablet owner? Or _______, who has a Tablet? “As in, the other day, we had a focus group with several Fortune 500 executives who use Tablet PCs as their primary PC…”. Nothing wrong with using a few more words to make people more human, eh?