The world is changing soooo quickly. Just got back from the airport (again). The experience is getting better. I was flying southwest to Monrovia and was thinking about how very different it is now. My admin checks me in 24 hours in advance. As a result, I get an "A" boarding pass. Basically this is my seating priority. What it means to me is that I can show up just before boarding and get a good seat - which really means I get a bit more time to sleep in the morning:)

Once I am there, I quickly grab my coffee and plop down and do some email. Once they start boarding I jump into the end of the "A" line and get on the plane. No need to wait in line, as long as you are not "B" or the dreaded "C" (middle row:)), you get a good seat.

But lets back up a bit. There is wireless in the airport. So you can be connected. I have my TREO 650 phone so that I can be connected. On the plane I am out of luck but I can do work or things in a disconnected mode (this will get better soon as airplanes add Internet capabilities). Our cars are getting connected. My house has wireless so that I am connected anywhere (I am typing this at the kitchen table).

This is the fundamental change that we are all going through - and is leading to what we at Sun are calling the Participation Age. It is NOT all about work. It is everything that we do. Keeping up with the kids soccer practices and games. Doing Christmas shopping. Travel plans. Even as work gets more challenging, I am able to keep up with family and friends better than I was a few years back. And it is just beginning.

What will it look like in a few years. The big change will be going from infrequently connected to mostly or always connected. And the capabilities that are available that take advantage of this will grow and change. Yahoo is calling it the "Social Media" - see the article in the SJ Mecury News Business section of today's paper. I am not convinced that they got it right, but things like tagging pictures will end up being a part of the story. It is clear that individuals contributing content WILL be a part of how the internet grows. Where this content comes from, how it is added, and then how it is used in everyday social interactions is where the fun will be, and where new products and companies will be created.

I am convinced that Sun will be there providing the enabling platform to deliver this. And the integration software that my team has (from our SeeBeyond acquisition) will play a major role. Just think about the hardest problem that exists within an enterprise. That is integrating the many systems that they have in order to provide new value or solutions. And now think about it in terms of the Internet and the many capabilities that are being made available. It all sounds like a huge integration problem to me!!