Duh Dot Com

Quick, what year was the U.S. Constitution adopted?

Difficulty: No Google allowed.

Do you remember this from high school? Or were you crafty enough to split hairs and use Bing to find the answer?

If you had to hunt for the answer on anything that required a computer chip, chances are you may agree with The Atlantic's article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

The argument goes that with everyone connected to the Internet 24/7, our ability to solve problems or even read a long novel is diminished when we are used to instantaneous access to information.

Last week, Forbes countered, arguing that the Internet is making us smarter, not dumber. Some go so far as to suggest that video games are making kids smarter, not dumber, which may be a stretch.

Either way, the argument is missing a key component, as most arguments today are: context.

We have a lot of information and can site stats, but do we know the story behind the stats or why these facts make up our world? Knowing the underlying connections and not just boatloads of information is what makes us smarter. So, the real question should be: is Google making us link our world together? No pun intended.

DotLoop is a perfect example. Whereas before, any negotiation's history was lost once the over-faxed, coffee-stained contract got blown around by the wind, with DotLoop, every step in the negotiation is tracked, giving the overall process context.

So, whether you are a technophobe or a tech geek, understanding the context of your world is what really makes you smart, not just memorizing superficial facts.

And for all those who like their facts, the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787.