I hate new technologies. Well it’s not that I actually hate them; it’s that they are risky and I don’t like risk. Take VHS vs. Betamax tapes for example. Back in the day, both were marketed heavily and a lot of people purchased both formats, but in the end VHS won and those who bought a Beta machine were S.O.L. Then there were/are different kinds of dial-up protocols, CD rewriteable formats, DVD formats, Video compressions, file compression, video game operating systems, cell phone networks…the list goes on and on, each with its own unique features, but doing basically the same thing as its competitors, but without compatibility. Consumers must make a decision of which horse to bet on.

Today, two of my dilemmas are LCD vs. plasma and iPhone vs. Droid. Sooner or later one is going by the wayside. At this point LCD seems more prevalent, but plasma is the benchmark. iPhone has market share, but Droid is a better phone on a better network (or so they say).

We can take this assertion online. There’s Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Orkut, Linked In, and a plethora of other social networks. Each has its own personality, unique features and shares a common goal of social networking, but still, the user needs to decide which is best for them not knowing what the future holds in store.

Why do I have to keep repeating the same thing, like entering profile info, uploading photos and sharing stuff in these segmented web communities just to have them fall out of favor in a few short years? Surely there should be a way to connect them all. I just joined Brazen Careerist. It seems to be part Facebook and part Linked In. It allows syndication of my blog posts, and links to other profiles, but it won’t search my Linked In connections for new contacts in this new “world.” I guess Facebook Connect is the olive branch for Zuckerman & Co allowing the web into Facebook’s world, but that still takes implementation on behalf of web masters. Come on web leaders. It’s share, share, share or mine, mine, mine. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

To be an early adopter is risky. Too many choices are put on the shoulders of people that usually don’t have the expertise to make the best decisions. Price or availability shouldn’t decide a winner. I want the best. I wish there was a way for consolidation of new competing technologies to occur faster minimizing the risk of consumers (me) making bad choices.