By now the iPad is prevalent enough in society that it’s no longer completely in-your-face to use one at all. Like most technologies, the more individuals that adopt the iPad, the more other hold-outs will buy in. The iPad is becoming a frequent presenter’s aid on stage these days, and begs the obvious question: is the device really ready to take to the public spectrum?
There are some enormous benefits to be had if you choose to wield the tablet: from a presentation standpoint, the device more or less runs exactly like your existing laptop–and nobody thinks that is overly risky anymore. The small size and portability of the device mean the presenter can keep it close at hand during the presentation, which can be useful for referencing notes, switching programs, etc. without the aid of a personal assistant “driving” the machine end of a deck.
But, like any new technology, there are a lot of early adopters out there who have no business early adopting technology. We’ll politely call these folks, “technologically illiterate”, even if they’re simultaneously obsessed with the notion of advancement. No matter how intuitive the iPad’s interface, these folks will find a way to steer the presentation into the ditch. Long and short? Don’t wield a fancy device on stage if you don’t know how to use it.
Then, finally, there are the socio-normative issues. That’s right: will your audience judge you for using it, however adept you are with your finger flicks? This is certainly not a “fair” question–a person has a right to utilize the device of their choosing when presenting ideas to an audience, and indeed, many individuals have already done Apple’s work for them in calculating the value proposition for an iPad vs. certain multimedia phones and laptops for certain lifestyles. But however free our country is and however cost effective your switch from whatever device you had before to the iPad, emerging technology will always carry a certain stigma with it. That stigma summarized is something close to, “hoity-toity”. Yes, some people are just going to judge you. The question is: are you willing to ignore their judgments due to the benefits of the iPad?
In the end, it’s just personal comfort and preference. The iPad is sophisticated and user-friendly enough for the majority of presenters to get on fine with it’s feature set, even if they don’t quite measure up to a fully functioning laptop. The device, and others like it, will only become more common, so even if you are all alone when presenting with the iPad, take comfort: soon, you’ll be just like everyone else again!
