Oscar Nominees: IT Lessons From The MoviesOscar Nominees: IT Lessons From The Movies

Welcome to a special Geekend slideshow. Every year around Oscar time I talk about the nominated films and the lessons we can learn from them. Believe me, some years are easier than others. I really enjoyed the year that The Social Network was nominated for Best Picture. Made my job easy. The message isn't always quite so direct, but the point remains the same -- movies are a reflection of society. And IT departments are as well. The things we pick to write movies about are the things most important to us.

The truth is that the Oscars get this stuff wrong all the time. There's a difference between what is on our minds, the zeitgeist of the moment, and the movies that last. That's why we end up doing things like giving Best Picture to Oliver instead of The Lion in Winter. But these errors are the things that make the game so much fun.

Trying to pick out lessons from movies we think are good right now and may totally forget in a couple of years isn't all that different from trying to pick the right technology. Remember the brief time when Blackberry was king and people didn’t know if they wanted a phone without a real keyboard? This is the same concept.

Just one massive spoiler alert. I figure I won't tell you anything they don't say in the Oscars, but if you haven't seen these movies and like surprises, then maybe you should bookmark this and comeback after you've seen them all.

The game is simple. I name the Oscar nominated film. I tell you about what it has to do with IT. You make fun of me in the comments for getting it all wrong. Also make your Oscar picks in the comments. Let's play.