No, not the actual berries. I'm talking about the voice-data device which has been around for about ten years or so but which just recently fell into your never-humble correspondent's sticky little paws.

I suspect that all workplaces with these devices are the same--they are a status symbol. When you get to carry your e-mail and cell phone on your hip; your company has given you a badge of importance much like military stripes.

And it feels good to have one. It feels like you're important. People walk and roll the circle on the side like they're reading the most interesting thing instead of spam e-mail that gets through the filters.

And even talking on the phone with the blackberry is a power symbol. In an age when most phones are the size of a suppository, the blackberry is like a tricorder from the original Star Trek series. Again, it's not just a phone call--it's a social statement but one that my ego enjoys making.

So, tell me--what's your experience with blackberries or similar devices in the workplace? Are they just another ego-stroking measure by professional salaried people to lord their importance over paid-by-the-hour schleps?

Or are they a valuable resource for getting shit done in corporate America?

LINKS:

• No one is worthy enough to face Ohio State this year (hat tip to Fantastic Bastard)
  

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• Have St. Paul's Bones Been Found?
  

• Did water flow "recently" on Mars?
  

• SPACE NEWS: NASA is going back to the Moon, the Russians want in and Ohio is considering setting up a space port about ten miles from my house
  

• California Court says bloggers can't be sued for libel by posting defamatory statements made by others
  

• The best divorce letter ever (hat tip to Reverse_Vampyr)

TAGS:
Blackberry Business Corporate Communication