Take electronic book readers - the so-called new iPods for bibliophiles.They may well hold hundreds of neatly downloadable paperbacks, all inone perfectly scrollable place, but do these LCD screens that tire theeyes and are unreadable in bright sunlight really match the joy ofturning a real cliffhanger of a page? I thought not.
The point about technology is that it has to be better than somethingthat already exists, either by being more efficient or easier to use.Perhaps this is why HRDs, who have long championed staff as peoplerather than machines, are still uneasy with certain aspects oftechnology (see Hi-tech Mental Blocks, p4).
Yet when used intelligently most HR technology is an emancipating forceand in this supplement we look at some of the best examples of HRsystems in use today. Also covered is how knowledge management ande-learning have blurred, what 'wikinomics' is (we can honestly say, youheard it here first), an exclusive interview with one of the directorsof LinkedIn, the perils of insecure data and more. If all thistech-speak doesn't get you reaching for your first e-novel maybe nothingwill ... but if you end up feeling paper is old hat, feel free tore-read this supplement online instead.
