Going native?

In the world of digital natives and digital immigrants I usually feel as if I've not yet got off the boat. Yes, I do stuff online - I chat about stuff, write stuff, read stuff, even buy stuff - but it's not my natural habitat. My default is to use the phone, pick up a pen, read a book, visit a shop.

But maybe, just maybe, today's the day I stepped ashore into the digital world. Because this afternoon, I can proudly announce, I set up my very own broadband wi-fi hub at home - and, amazingly, it works! That's probably Old Hat to you, dear reader, but it feels like a Big Step for me. As I sit at home and peer uncertainly into this brave new world I think I may have, at last, stepped off the boat and become a digital immigrant.

Mind you, I don't think immigration will lead to assimilation. I'll respect the culture of this new world I'm in - but my indigenous culture is important to me and I'm not going to leave it behind. My music collection will still be a motley array of vinyl and tape and CDs. I'll still read real newspapers and buy real books. I'll still carry a pen and paper around with me, and my diary will continue to be a page-a-day book full of unintelligible (except to me) scribble. And I will never ever descend to the ugliness and illiteracy of text-speak...

So I don't think I'll ever become a digital native. I'll always be a digital immigrant, always carrying my indigenous analogue culture around with me. But, here I am, newly arrived on the digital shore, and full of anticipation about the opportunities ahead.  So I thought I'd share that feeling with you. Have a good weekend.