Meet Me in Orlando!

I will be speaking in Orlando at the HVACR Educators & Trainers Conference. I will speak on Sunday, March 15 at 8:30 on “Using Social Media to Extend Your Reach.” I will speak again on Tuesday, March 17 at 8:30 on the same subject. Social media and the inter-connectivity of individuals through the internet has brought about many changes in the way people communicate and information is spread. Although the iPhone did not invent “smart phones” or social media, the explosion of internet connected devices and the effect on Social Media can be clearly seen. In just a few years smart phones went from a curiosity carried by executives and geeks, to something everybody felt they needed. The first generation iPhones were sold in June, 2007. In less than 8 years these types of devices have become so ubiquitous that it is truly unusual to meet someone who does not have one. Note that several large tool and equipment manufacturers now make devices which are specifically designed to take advantage of this technology. For example, the imanifold digital gauge set which has no screen, but uses your tablet or smart phone. Now Yellow Jacket is selling its Mantooth device- again a refrigeration gauge which depends on your phone for a display. Flit just released an infra-red thermal imaging camera that clips onto your i-phone. An infrared thermal imaging camera that fits in your pocket and costs under $1000! There are bore scopes that use the phone as the screen as well. Just the fact that these companies have invested their research time and money into these projects shows how commonplace hand held computers have become. Our challenge is to figure out how to use these ubiquitous personal communication devices and the net to advance education.