Jerry and A Blackberry (Not Jam) Revisited

The post that follows is one I wrote in March of 2009, and that, amazingly, has been viewed more than 80,000 times. Really quite a stunning development. And now there is a follow-up to Jerry’s Blackberry story–really kind of a sad story.  After struggling with the cutting-edge Blackberry cell phone for more than a year, Jerry has given up on its use and has reverted to his old unit. The problem is not with the Blackberry itself, I think, but with the fact that we have very poor internet service here where we live, and most of the time Jerry just could not retrieve messages or otherwise use the internet on his charming little Blackberry. A shame!

Anyway, you probably will want to read the original article, so I have posted it here for you. What a creative, electronic world is this one where we live–this place called Earth! Even the blackberries extend way beyond jam!

If you’d rather read the original with its comments, click here.

Jerry wasn’t sure, but he thought he lost it in Bullhead City when he went with Mark to pick up a dandy leather sofa for his church office. Couldn’t find the phone anywhere, even after using my phone to ring his and listening carefully everywhere, and having Mark call his friend in Bullhead City who walked up and down the area where they thought they had last had the phone, and calling Jerry’s number. Nothing.

Well, anyway, Jerry had become quite taken with Mike’s Blackberry, so after spending a couple of days on the phone hoping for a good deal, and actually finding a Blackberry Curve for free, he ordered one of the snappy little numbers. Took a few days for it to arrive, and it has taken him these many days now to learn to use the little beast. Sure is cute, though.

Edit: Friday, April 3

Jerry told me last night his Blackberry is a Pearl, not a Curve. Sorry about that.

When I found the following article I was quite interested, and tried to project Jerry into one of these groups, but I don’t feel I was successful. See what you think.

Almost 40 percent of the American adult population has embraced mobile technologies into their lives to keep up on social networking, twitter, sharing photos, and working while on-the-go. But not everyone in this group thinks being so connected is a good thing, and it’s not the most likely of demographics, either.

Young people have done a good job of integrating technology into their lives, but they are also the ones who are most concerned about being overconnected. This finding is part a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, The Mobile Difference, which discusses how different groups of American adults treat the latest trend in connectivity.

While 61 percent of the adult population is perfectly fine accessing the Internet through a stationary PC, the remaining 39 percent is active in adopting mobile connectivity. Pew breaks the latter chunk into five groups: Digital Collaborators, Ambivalent Networkers, Media Movers, Roving Nodes, and Mobile Newbies. There’s little variation in the percentage breakdown of these groups—Roving Nodes makes up the largest at nine percent of the adult population—though their favorite ways of using technology while on-the-go vary.

Ambivalent Networkers, however, are distinct in that Pew says they have folded mobile devices into every aspect of their social lives. Texting, social networking, entertainment—you name it and this group is doing it with mobile devices of some sort. They’re significantly less likely to watch traditional TV on a daily basis than the rest of the adult population (24 percent, versus 79 of all adults), though they do watch TV shows on on non-TV devices more than any other group. Additionally, 66 percent of this group performs at least one non-voice activity on their cell phones per day, the highest of all the groups, and 91 percent of this group relies on their cell phones for all of their calls.

Despite this heavy reliance on technology, Ambivalent Networkers—primarily 20-somethings, and 60 percent male—didn’t actually “like” this level of availability as much as everyone else. Only 31 percent strongly agreed that they liked being so accessible, compared to the sample’s average of 47 percent and near the bottom for all groups. More than half of Ambivalent Networkers agreed that taking a break is definitely a good idea, which was (surprisingly) ten percentage points above the average from other groups.

I found the article here. Strange thing when we’re speaking of modern technology; the link in the main article above is a 404 page!

And guess what! Yesterday, I found Jerry’s old phone…in the trunk of our Jeep. It was mixed in with some tools and cords he had been using at the church; seems it was turned off, so that it didn’t ring when Jerry was scouting about for it.

I overheard Jerry on his phone yesterday telling someone he has 30 days in which he can return the Blackberry with no penalties for his upgraded services. We’ll see, I suppose. This may be Blackberry jam after all.

Jerry and the Blackberry (Not Jam) Swap: Pearl for a Curve

Remember how when  Jerry lost his phone a few weeks ago, and having admired Michael’s Blackberry, went for ordering one of his own, choosing the Pearl model. He dinked around with  the little silver unit, bought a holder to strap onto his belt. and finally got it to ring in a satisfactory way. Then he decided the keyboard was too small for his fingers. On the phone with the Verizon/Blackberry people a few days ago, he ordered a different model, managing to get it with no additional charges. (Had something to do with my phone account since I was due for an upgrade.) He chose the Curve model which arrived yesterday, after which he spent many hours following directions that appeared on his computer screen when he installed the disc that came with his new phone.

So, Jerry will be out and about today with the Blackberry Curve ensconced in the cute black holder he straps onto his belt. If you’re lucky, he might call you, or send an email your way.

Jerry and A Blackberry (Not Jam)

Jerry wasn’t sure, but he thought he lost it in Bullhead City when he went with Mark to pick up a dandy leather sofa for his church office. Couldn’t find the phone anywhere, even after using my phone to ring his and listening carefully everywhere, and having Mark call his friend in Bullhead City who walked up and down the area where they thought they had last had the phone, and calling Jerry’s number. Nothing.

Well, anyway, Jerry had become quite taken with Mike’s Blackberry, so after spending a couple of days on the phone hoping for a good deal, and actually finding a Blackberry Curve for free, he ordered one of the snappy little numbers. Took a few days for it to arrive, and it has taken him these many days now to learn to use the little beast. Sure is cute, though.

Edit: Friday, April 3

Jerry told me last night his Blackberry is a Pearl, not a Curve. Sorry about that.

When I found the following article I was quite interested, and tried to project Jerry into one of these groups, but I don’t feel I was successful. See what you think.

Almost 40 percent of the American adult population has embraced mobile technologies into their lives to keep up on social networking, twitter, sharing photos, and working while on-the-go. But not everyone in this group thinks being so connected is a good thing, and it’s not the most likely of demographics, either.

Young people have done a good job of integrating technology into their lives, but they are also the ones who are most concerned about being overconnected. This finding is part a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, The Mobile Difference, which discusses how different groups of American adults treat the latest trend in connectivity.

While 61 percent of the adult population is perfectly fine accessing the Internet through a stationary PC, the remaining 39 percent is active in adopting mobile connectivity. Pew breaks the latter chunk into five groups: Digital Collaborators, Ambivalent Networkers, Media Movers, Roving Nodes, and Mobile Newbies. There’s little variation in the percentage breakdown of these groups—Roving Nodes makes up the largest at nine percent of the adult population—though their favorite ways of using technology while on-the-go vary.

Ambivalent Networkers, however, are distinct in that Pew says they have folded mobile devices into every aspect of their social lives. Texting, social networking, entertainment—you name it and this group is doing it with mobile devices of some sort. They’re significantly less likely to watch traditional TV on a daily basis than the rest of the adult population (24 percent, versus 79 of all adults), though they do watch TV shows on on non-TV devices more than any other group. Additionally, 66 percent of this group performs at least one non-voice activity on their cell phones per day, the highest of all the groups, and 91 percent of this group relies on their cell phones for all of their calls.

Despite this heavy reliance on technology, Ambivalent Networkers—primarily 20-somethings, and 60 percent male—didn’t actually “like” this level of availability as much as everyone else. Only 31 percent strongly agreed that they liked being so accessible, compared to the sample’s average of 47 percent and near the bottom for all groups. More than half of Ambivalent Networkers agreed that taking a break is definitely a good idea, which was (surprisingly) ten percentage points above the average from other groups.

I found the article here. Strange thing when we’re speaking of modern technology; the link in the main article above is a 404 page!

And guess what! Yesterday, I found Jerry’s old phone…in the trunk of our Jeep. It was mixed in with some tools and cords he had been using at the church; seems it was turned off, so that it didn’t ring when Jerry was scouting about for it.

I overheard Jerry on his phone yesterday telling someone he has 30 days in which he can return the Blackberry with no penalties for his upgraded services. We’ll see, I suppose. This may be Blackberry jam after all. 🙂