At the heart of these concerns is the realization that technology does more than just enhance our personal and professional lives. Instead, it changes the way we think about problems, solutions, and outcomes. The idea that technologies change the way we approach our interrelationships and even thought processes is not new. Google has been bemoaned for robbing us of our ability to concentrate and other "thought" crimes. Wikipedia and social networking technologies are blamed for changing the way we relate to information and one another. Twitter may be the ultimate minimizer of information transfer, and shapes thinking in unique and sometimes creative ways.

Our initial work resulted in Ofamind Informer, a prototype method for combining together collected information from Ofamind views into an online presentation that can be shared and used in the collaborative Ofamind system. Some of the unique features of that work included information design templates that force the composer to examine and think through the supporting arguments for a given bullet point. Other work looked at learning how thematic linkages and ideas span from slide to slide--the theory being that if a technology can enhance the "cohesiveness" of the slides it can enhance the coherence of the arguments in the slide deck.

It is doubtful that PowerPoint will suffer anything more than brief and localized bans, though, at least until there is something that improves on the model in a compelling and novel way. My guess is that the ability to access and manipulate information and data in real-time for decision making may be the game changer. Instead of telling about results, immersion in the information makes it possible to show results in real time.The necessary technological pieces are falling into place as cloud-hosted data and enterprise connectivity improves. In this new model, the audience is no longer being presented to, but is helping drill into and discover the conclusions and the steps needed to move forward. And then we may very well back away from the chasm of boredom and passivity that is part of the social game that is the PowerPoint briefing and become brighter once again, as we become collaborators and participants rather than audience members and authors.