Two articles caught my attention in yesterday's Connect section of the N&O. Neither addresses anything new or surprising, but they both discuss interesting inter-personal communication quirks that have arisen out of the constant access to computers and information. The first talks about how Wi-Fi is changing corporate presentations, pointing out that the attendees can easily double check everything the presenter says with Google searches and IMs to co-workers. The columnist goes on to say how people can have entire IM conversations about the presentation unbeknownst to the presenter. More importantly, he shows how easy it is to ignore the presenter, which is why I love part of his conclusion so much:

What a dilemma. It's easy to communicate with people around the planet, but even easier to avoid the person in front of the room.

- Paul Gilster, The News & Observer

It's one of those comments you know are great because you've done it to others, and likely others have done it to you!

The other article I find more amusing than anything else because a friend accused me of it several times already:

A new plague of inattention is spreading. It's called "surfer's voice" - a habit of half-heartedly talking to someone on the telephone while simultaneously surfing the Web, reading e-mail, or trading instant messages.

- Dennis K. Berman, The Wall Street Journal

Oh, and Happy American Thanksgiving!