Wolfman Jack vs. the iPhone

I am in the process of teaching an online master level class called Leveraging Technology. Basically, it is a class our education program that discusses how technology can leverage learning and collaboration. I look at the class from an education / business approach. I teach it once or twice a year and it is neat to continually see new things to discuss.

Many of the things we teach have evolved. Several years ago blogs were new to many but they have become quite mainstream. Same goes for wikis. However, RSS feeds, and older technology, are still new to many and interestingly one of the more popular things that we cover. Over the years I have seen an increased comfort level with technology and that will continue to grow.

But while I like to think I am up to speed with most technologies, I ran into a new one a week or so ago that caught me off-guard. I drove my daughter to a doctor’s appointment in Boston. On the way home I was listening to the local oldies station, like I usually do, all the while driving my daughter crazy by naming all of the songs just as they came on, like I always do. Traffic was heavy and I felt just like Wolfman Jack.I always tell her something like “guess this song and I’ll give you a buck.” She can’t. I laugh. She calls me a name. I turn up the radio and sing. It’s a little family tradition of ours.  

But technology may be changing our game. When Ringo Starr’s It Don’t Come Easy came on I guessed it, but my wife, dozing in the back seat, questioned my expertise (how dare she?). I was steadfast in my answer, but my daughter ended the debate when she took out her iPhone, logged onto Shazam, and after 10 seconds the application named not only the song, the artist, the album and some of the song’s notes. Neat! But it may require we put some new rules around our family tradition or I’m going to be out a few more bucks than I have budgeted for.