On Tap Award: Best Idea of 2007
The Best Idea of 2007 is a tough one; I was particularly proud of my submission for last year, Worldwide Recognition of Talent Shortages.
So, not to steal anybody’s thunder, but I’m going to go through a few that I’d put as runner up. The Surge seems like an obvious choice, but I’m trying not to have every category be either SURGE/PETRAEUS or PETRAEUS/SURGE, and in retrospect, the idea of the surge wasn’t what made it such an amazing accomplishment; it was the execution.
So I think I’ll pick the tag-team effort of conservative bloggers and talk radio to scuttle the comprehensive immigration reform. I know Marshall sees the overall issue differently from the way that I do, but I think even he could recognize these two midyear rebukes as remarkable grassroots efforts that demonstrated that the old ways wouldn’t work on Capitol Hill - i.e., trying to straddle by “voting for closure, but against the bill.” Sam Brownback’s longshot presidential bid may never have recovered from voting for, then against the bill in the span of fifteen minutes. And has a grassroots effort ever taken down the Congressional phone system?
Cam: In early January, my wife called me at work and told me “We’re going to the beach in August. I’ve already put down the deposit.” Now, I am not a beach person. I am chubby, I am pasty, I do not like sand in my toes (or underneath my suit). I did not want to go to the beach. But my wife’s idea of a family vacation in North Carolina was easily the best idea of 2007.
From the moonlight walks with my beloved to seeing the twins interact with the ocean for the first time (not to mention Andrew’s first go-kart excursion and 16-year old Harrison learning to boogie board), it was a fantastic week. And I learned that not every beach is full of cold water and seaweed like the beaches of Maine and Massachusetts.
So forget the political for this category… getting away and relaxing with my family in a gorgeous setting was a great idea. Thanks babe… let’s do it again next year!
Marshall: For me, the best idea of 2007 had nothing to do with politics. A few years ago, a bunch of smart people predicted that the Segway would change the way we live. Whoah, boy, they were wrong.
The iPhone, on the other hand, already has.
I don’t have an iPhone, although it is on my wishlist. But even for a non-iPhone user like me, the iPhone is special. It, and other similar devices, are utterly changing how and when people interact with the Web and with each other. Thanks to the iPhone, mobile users no longer have to squint at a crappy mobile browser. They get the full treatment. And the iPhone provides great video, the music we’re used to from our iPods, and a bevy of very cool applications. The iPhone is also driving the consolidation of mobiile devices. No longer do I need a phone, blackberry and iPod. I’ve got all three in one pretty little package. Just a day after getting his iPhone, one friend described how he already felt as though is were part of him — an integral part of his existence, and one that made his life better and easier to live.
The laptop allowed us to carry our computers along with us. Wi-Fi allowed us to get online from almost anywhere. But the iPhone makes the web truly ubiquitious, which means we can all be interconnected, all of the time.
I’m not smart enough to understand the full implications of that yet. And I certainly don’t know if it’s a good thing. But is important. And that makes the iPhone the Best Idea of 2007.