Hey have you checked out Foursquare?

Is that the Twitter thing?

You can use Twitter to tell people where you are, via Foursquare. So not really a Twitter thing…

Go on…

I recently had this conversation with a non techy friend of mine and it made me think about how quickly things are moving on the web, and how God awfully confusing it must be for someone who doesn’t follow it like we do. That’s why when I heard the quote, “In 2009 if you’re not confused you’re not paying attention” from Bob Johansen of Institute for the Future, it made me stop and think. He really is onto something. When @msuster retweeted that today I could help but follow suit because of how well it explains what is going on.

It’s important for us tech folks to take a step back and put ourselves in the shoes of the non web savvy folks out there and figure out how to relate our fast paced industry to the rest of the world. Let me break it down in one statement: These aren’t just fads, toys, or goofy social networks, these are the tools that will make our lives easier in the future. Over time the good ones will rise and the less useful ones will die, but paying attention to how they develop will give us the understanding we need to utilize them and succeed.

For the critics, you’re absolutely right that you don’t need to pay attention to all of the noise out there, it’s impossible to. But what you do need to do is learn to pick up on the ones that stick and don’t be late to the party. If you’re just now joining Facebook you’re late. It’s going to be critical to at least try to comprehend these trends so that you can stay competitive no matter what business you’re in. Pay attention to the future no matter how confusing it may be.

image via flickr