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When I was a young professional, a former boss told me that, besides health or money problems, the worst kind of problems to have were car and computer problems. I understood the inconvenience factor, but it did not seem overly philosophical, so I took it at face value.
In 2024, I think car problems, while still a challenge, might have been replaced in that hierarchy by smartphone problems. And actually, you could say smartphone problems should be at the top of the list—not because other things aren’t as severe but because smartphone problems can directly cause health and money problems.
To test that theory, let us look at my day today. I am writing this column on an iPad switched to airplane mode 30,000 feet in the air on a flight to Washington, D.C., for a work trip. I woke up this morning to no cell service as one of the “lucky” customers of my telecommunications provider to be impacted by what appears to be a large network outage in spots across the country.
In my mind, I had this day all planned out. Suit, tie, cufflinks, a rare combo for most people (especially me) in 2024. I planned to leave for the airport at 7:15 a.m., call one of my colleagues on the way to the airport, join a client call from 8 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. pre-security, join a scheduled conference call at 8:15 a.m. post security, grab an iced tea and a shoeshine, find my first-class seat (which I booked for the extra leg room so I could do work) and get right back online once we hit 10,000 feet. I was going to look like a model of professional efficiency.
None of that happened. With no cell/data service and no working WiFi on the flight … sigh … I had to audible.
I will not pose the question, “Are we too dependent on technology?,” because we obviously are. That point is not worth discussing because it is only trending further in that direction. Many of us depend on wireless connectivity and should make no apologies for it. My clients hire me for my accessibility to help them address their needs. If they are not able to contact me to discuss those needs, we have a problem.
This current predicament is clearly temporary, and no one intended for me to be inconvenienced. (Trust me, I know how much I pay them.) The connectivity problem is yet another reminder of our personal and professional vulnerability.
A lobbyist friend of mine who is on my flight but was not impacted by the service outage astutely said (while seeing my frustration), “I used to roll my eyes when hearing about these ‘preppers’ waiting for the world to end, but they might be on to something.” Even I laughed at that.
The pilot has just told us we are starting our descent. I can only hope for good news when we land. After all, I have to go from the airport straight to a lunch meeting with a friend and former colleague of mine who is an executive at, I am not making this up, my wireless carrier. Given the potential political hassles that could accompany this service outage and his rank, I give it a 75% chance that this lunch gets canceled. Not that I would have any way of knowing. I guess I will just Uber over to the restaurant and see if he shows up. Never mind, I can’t order an Uber. Damn it!•
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Rateike is founder and owner of BAR Communications and served as director of cabinet communications for President Donald Trump. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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