Google Generation still in Nappies

Confused about the title? Let me explain a little. The first time I heard the phrase, google generation, was in Tony Blair's final Labour Party conference speech. Name-dropping, Me? Never. In fact Mr Blair is just one in many world figures that talk about this phenomenon in public speeches.

I like the Wikipedia definition of Google Generation the most. Briefly, it is the generation whose first port of call for knowledge is the internet. That is definitively me, and as you are reading this, it is probably you as well.

I was talking about the title wasn't I, "nappies", do you know how many were used in the UK last year? 3.5 Billion give or take a few. Problem is they can take up to 500 years to decompose.
Sustainable? If so, for how long? What will the google generation do?
Type in a string like nappy recycling, wait 0.033 secs and read the answer…..

On this occasion, besides massive recycling plants, no viable answer comes back; in 2007 we will no doubt send 3.5 Billion little bum wrappers to the tip.

Last week I heard something that really got me thinking (they don’t happen often). It was this:
In society, as we face large and complex problems, instead of looking forward to technology, innovation etc. Look back, how did our ancestors deal with these issues.

Think I’ll try this string, "potty training 1900's", see where it goes. The second item is a story told by Gramma Geri about her Scottish mother in law, who toilet trained her new born in six weeks. Picking up on this, further searches reveal societies and organisations devoted to these techniques called "Elimination Training". As expected in this day and age, I could join clubs, talk to people and learn more. Overall pretty convincing stuff. If we were planning another baby, I would struggle for an excuse not to at least try it. On the whole it sounds a good solution, well maybe not for Pampers.

Hopefully I have got the point across, or maybe google generation still in nappies was a subtle metaphor for how we are in our infancy in knowledge management and collective problem solving. Or perhaps, to qualify my first bash at blog and social computing. Na, I am not that clever, anyway here is a picture of my dog.