I'm back-reading Program or Be Programmed

I have a new blog-you can find it here.

I'm still serving as the Interim Dean, so that's why I've got the Dean's blog, but at heart I'm still an Information Systems Professor, so I'll keep this one, too.

And it's an exciting time to be an IS/IT professor. The field is changing, our courses are changing, and the definition of Information Technology is changing. Our students know more about some specific things than we do, but less about the overall field than we do-and that is a problem. One of my colleagues, Joe, sent me a "must read" note about a book, Program or Be Programmed, by Douglas Rushkoff-you can watch a video here. Rushkoff gives me pause.

Why is this different from, say, just getting in my car and driving? Well, for one thing, I usually steer when I drive. Many of the applications we use on the web "steer" us. I'll end with this thought. Rushoff's "ten commandments" are important-here's a snipppet from a review in The Miami Herald:

The author’s Decalogue here is a set of rules of conduct. To wit: Do Not Be ‘Always On;’ Live in Person; You May Always Choose ‘None of the Above;’ You Are Never Completely Right; One Size Does Not Fit All; Be Yourself; Do Not Sell Your Friends; Tell the Truth; Share, Don’t Steal; and Program or Be Programmed.” Each of the command(ments) comprise a chapter.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/22/1936739/be-a-driver-or-a-passenger.html#ixzz16USZ3nCx