"I'm thinking that the FriendFeeds and Twitters of the world are conversation starters and facilitators, but they tend to break down if the discussion becomes intense and complex." - Mark Dykeman
"Hi Kim. The thing is, a lot of people still place a lot of value in face-to-face meetings and bonding in person - that's probably the main thing that keeps conferences going. Yes, you can probably get all of the same knowledge online or in books, but sometimes you get an extra motivational spark or reinforcement through attending in person that you don't get on a screen." - Mark Dykeman
"Based on the excerpt that you've provided, I'd say that the author is trying to stir up a ruckus to increase his book sales. I'll be honest: I think there may be some truth in what he appears to be saying, but it certainly doesn't apply to an entire generation of people. I'm sure there are young people who are slipping through educational systems without getting a decent education and who waste a lot of time and potential on trivial stuff, regardless of whether or not we agree on the merits of the subject matter they are supposed to be learning. But that's not a new phenomenon either, so, to quote the Bard, his book could be "much ado about nothing". Corvida, you're obviously a talented and motivated individual so I can understand that might take offense to this author's book. Moreover, you seem to have gotten a good education and have a strong, supportive family behind you. You should be very proud of that. There are probably a lot of young people who haven't had that kind of support..." - Mark Dykeman
It's really weird: I checked my PC this AM and someone decided to submit this older post with the Andy Sorcini Q&A. It's doing fairly well at Digg, too. Go figure. - Mark Dykeman
“@mrawdon - good idea about auto-deletion after 30 days via Akismet; did you read my Space:1999 article at Geeks of Doom?”