Wanting to create a nimble and highly versatile organization? Needing to ensure that people in your organization can handle practical everyday online activities? And you want a "tech without wires" type of person for the next hire? Then you might find this idea useful.

Small Business CEO has an article on determining "digital native" people from "digital immigrants" -- a way of distinguishing people who are highly versed in an online unwired world from those who struggle.

A digital immigrant is someone who has migrated from being a "paper" and "old school" type person and is trying hard with digital concepts. A digital immigrant may still print out important emails and put them on file.

A digital native already has her own blog, and podcasts twice a week, and/or uses a VOIP phone to talk to family around the other side of the world. The digital native can also put you in contact with anyone of his e-friends from international destinations.

The idea is that if you want an online, digital, wireless and tech company that can turn on a dime, then you need to hire digital natives rather than digital immigrants. The concept is useful to weed out the people who are digital immigrants and really are out of their depth working for a "wireless tech" type of business.

Apparently the concept of digital native vs digital immigrant may have arisen from an article/presentation by Marc Prensky "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants". The article in Small Business CEO has a series of questions you might like to ask your new hire to determine if she/he is a digital native.

I have prepared a Google Notepad "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" if you wish to extend your thinking on this topic.