Common point of reference

Reflecting on a concept to pull together web office tools the memory of using a protractor appeared. On a central point all of the the other points in the circle were related, and in some way any point that may be between the circle and the central point. Well to my mind whatever we may be working on, i.e., spread sheet, PowerPoint or document, is the central point and anyone who is within the circle (has permission) can access and edit the "central point". In this way a virtual office exist around documents rather than people. It is a whole new way of thinking and doing business, and I like it. I did not have trouble working on documents, spreadsheets, etc. online, but some of the folks I invited to "work with me" did. It is a growing technology and as time goes by folks will learn and become more comfortable. My crystal ball is cloudy on what the future holds but I do think it will take a generation for this to happen. Some of us grew up learning all the "body language" skills, face to face encounters and how to "act professionally". The generations coming up are learning the same skills only with a technology edge to them and how to read a post and somehow know the verasity of the content and reliability of the source. It is only in hindsight that we will learn what pioneers we are as we layer new technology on top of our "old" interpersonal skills and fill out our bloggs and facebook entries.