Abit to my surprise, I wound up attending a lot of sessions this year on social media and mobile technologies at the Technology Tools for Today Conference, the FPA retreat and the national gathering of NAPFA. For those of us of a certain age, these are challenging topics, not unlike the transition from handcrafted financial plans to Excel spreadsheets on those newfangled (and, at the time, very expensive) personal computers, or the more recent musts of creating your company's web page and uploading client reports on password-protected platforms.

This latest transition will be just as significant, even though the full picture is still emerging. Think of the Internet in 1995, when it was slow and there weren't a lot of web pages yet - and you had to connect through clunky interfaces like CompuServe, AOL or AltaVista.

That year, I moderated a panel on how advisors could use this new world wide web thing. In a moment of some frustration, I asked one of the panelists before we went onstage if he could think of any legitimate business use for the damned thing. He frowned thoughtfully before answering: "Where else would I find nude pictures of Drew Barrymore?"

HIGH-TECH PERILS, PLEASURES

But lately, I purchased an iPad and have learned some important lessons. For instance, I now know it is impossible to look cool walking down a busy conference hallway when you accidentally jostle your conference tote bag and hit the wrong button on the Bluetooth keyboard, causing your iPad to broadcast (at startling volume) "The Christmas Song" by Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Don't believe me? Well, it's happened twice. I have since put the "William Tell Overture" into the first music slot in case it happens again. As it turns out, that lesson is actually a serious one: Be prepared to occasionally look foolish as we all figure out what these technologies are supposed to do.

The basic outlines of the social media/mobile devices revolution can be defined with some precision. All media before the Internet have one factor in common - a one-way vector of communication.

The printing press disseminates perspectives, insights and opinions to an essentially passive audience. The same is true of radio and TV.

But the Internet is different. When you blog or your publication is online and your email address is included, your audience has an easier opportunity to give you helpful, and sometimes critical, feedback. Initially, the Web looked a lot like online print with links, and the traditional web page increasingly looks like a brochure or postcard to the world.

THE FACEBOOK FUTURE

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter - and a variety of other social media outlets - finally give us a first look at true connectivity built into the fabric of the web. It's true interaction between senders and receivers of information who might have their own views about what the content means.

Much of that interactivity now serves a larger social purpose, but we are starting to see large corporations build Facebook pages. It is not hard to imagine the day when a corporate website will be replaced by a corporate Facebook presence, and a company will engage its customers in a way that's never been done before.

Meanwhile, I thinkthe mobile devices have completed (for now) the microchip revolution. We are no longer confined to a single desktop location if we want to stay connected with each other around the clock. We can carry in our pockets all the benefits that microchips have to offer: access to a wealth of information and breaking news, guidance on how to get to your destination, plus constantly updating client account information and financial planning tools.

I think financial planners will be at the forefront of this next stage of the microchip revolution. Because your core service is essentially interactive, you will be quicker to see the business advantages of connecting and interacting with your clients via social media.

FIRST TO KNOW

Marie Swift of Impact Communications has even started to map out some of the divisions of labor. She envisions Facebook as a way to stay on top of changes in clients' lives, so you're not the last to know about a new baby and the need to update estate planning and other documents.

LinkedIn can be a more efficient platform for responding preemptively to client concerns about events like the tsunami in Japan and the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. Twitter helps you put your thoughts out into the world and gather up like-minded potential clients.