[Last Wednesday, I pinch-hit for Clay Shirky (who was homebound with bronchitis) at the inaugural gathering of "The Little Idea," the spawn of Ari and Jonathan Melber, who dreamed up the notion of getting a bunch of folks together in a bar to hear one person speak for ten minutes, no Q&A, and then much imbibing. Here's a slightly polished version of my remarks.]

How many of you get twitchy when you can’t check your email or your mobile or your Twitter or Facebook account? How many of you are thinking right now, I wish I had my laptop? How many of you have ever experienced losing your device, or having to send it away for repair?

It feels like a lost limb, no?

Well I’m here to say it’s all for the good that you’re feeling twitchy.

That twitch makes me optimistic about the future. Why?