The past 3 days, Blake and I have been in Austin at the Q conference with about 400 other folks discussing culture, the future, and the meanings behind it all.

I've had some amazing conversations with some inspiring people, including:

• Talking to a Greg who works directly for the arch bishop of Ireland and whose job it is to help reshape the perceptions and brand of the Catholic church in Ireland.

• Being challenged by Micah White of Adbusters to as a marketer not be a part of feeding our consumerist/consumption-based society.

But I was most challenged by Shane Hipps.  Shane posed some hard questions about this technological age in which we live.  Our technology shapes us more than we know.  Technology is a great thing, but we often let it control us instead of controlling it.  We joke about crackberries and being addicted to our iPhones and Twitter.  I'm as guilty as the next guy; if you don't believe me, my wife will be very honest with you about my unhealthy connection to my phone.

Shane challenged us to:

• Be intentional about how we use technology.

• Realize the important of being fully present in time and place.

• Know that true relationship in the physical world will never be replaced by an online relationship.

I'm looking forward to digging more into Shane's book about this topic and encourage you to read along with me on my journey in this technological age to become more human, not less.

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