For those of you who don't know us well, we are a small family owned business with a drive to help those in the research industry get ahead. Like other small family owed businesses, our resources are often more limited than our vision, and like other entrepreneuriall businesses, that doesn't stop us from trying to make things work better, faster, and easier whenever we can. In this business, technology is our friend.
Having said that, I must admit that sometimes the usefulness of new technologies is not immediately apparent. When my sister-in-law first mentioned Twitter at a family gathering a few years ago, I remember thinking " What a colossal waste of time that would be... "Who in the world cares if you are out drinking coffee with a Sally or are watching the latest Alien film?" The usefulness of having easily, accessible, simpler info did not really strike me until weeks later when I was having a conversation with friends who live on a narrow mountain road that was under construction. The workmen would tweet when the road was open and when it was blocked, so residents could get in an out with minimal car waiting time. And if the residents needed to leave they could give the workmen a heads up. This proved to be very useful.