It's about time...
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Am I the only one who is constantly using a time zone converter to figure out what time I am supposed to be somewhere online? With Webinars and Second Life, and other synchronous meetings, I am always asking for time verification from the workshop coordinators.
In 1998, Swatch, the Swiss watch company, created "Swatch Internet Time" to alleviate this problem. We used it in our house, and my son even has two Swatch watches that tell the time in Swatch Internet Time. Swatch Internet Time is the same all over the world!
I think this is an idea whose time has come, and urge you to try it out and see if you like it. No more wondering if that particular US state does or does not move their clocks ahead or back. No more worries about the time in Australia. Swatch Internet Time takes care of all that!
You can dowload an Swatch Internet Time clock for your desktop or handheld here, if you want to, or simply keep that URL handy to see the current Swatch Internet Time. You can even get a widget for the Mac OS here and a gadget for your iGoogle homepage here. The Swatch Internet Time page also provides instructions on embedding the Swatch Internet Time clock into your Web page.
Let's all get in the same time zone, okay?
Labels: Kathy Schrock, Swatch Internet Time
posted by Kathy Schrock at 10:47 AM
3 Comments:
Kathy,
Thanks for sharing the Swatch piece. I live in China, but my personal learning network includes people from all parts of the world. So, I constantly need to check time zones when I'm learning and collaborating online.
Typically I use timeanddate.com.
It's not as visually appealing as the Swatch site, but it gets the job done effectively.
Cheers,
Tod
Hi Kathy .. thanks for this. I was a little disoriented at first since their converter tool has Mexico listed in Central America. One would think that a tool produced by a major company would know that Mexico, USA, and Canada are all part of traditionally understood North America. And even what we call Central America is part of the North American continent, or more inclusively the American Continent. Central America is not a separate continent and Mexico is not in Central America ... A company dealing in time should know that. Oh well. Just wanted to point that out.
With NAFTA that should be even more obvious
Frank
I think this is a great idea. It can only be a boon to individuals who engage in synchronous activities on-line (such as, Second Life or Webinars). Another plus is that web-time is not subject to many different time zones and changes in daylight savings time. It requires no conversion, either by hand or electronic (virtually removing human error from the equation). Why should web-time be tied to the movements of celestial bodies? It shouldn't. Another area where time zones are, at times, irrelevant is in the area space exploration. NASA uses GET (ground elapsed time) to keep track of "elapsed" time after lift-off. Of course, they still need to follow terrestrial time zones to coordinate launches and landings. The benefits of using standardized web-time no doubt go beyond aiding synchronous activities to e-commerce (Ebay and other auctions).
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