Tag Archives: technology

Mar16

The more things change…

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The more things change…

I was reminded by the recent blog post of Farhad Manjoo, on his blog PandoDaily, in his talk about the iPad3 and the Amazon trade-in program – that with all our posts on embracing change, we had not talked about the one change that I as a Tech person, experience the most frequently… Technology changes.

There are really three stages of embracing technology changes (whether it is a piece of hardware, or software application or new operating system), and they are:

1.  Trying to figure out if it is worth it to make the change.

For many “early adopters” this step is perhaps just a moment of hesitation before pulling out the credit card or writing the check for that new shiny piece of technology.

But for the rest of us (and yes, I hesitate to get the newest stuff because I am a “once burned, twice burned, thrice shy”kind of gal) – we have to figure out if the price tag and the value are worth the hassle of trying to learn and make use of this new bit of fun.  Often, the newest piece of hardware and/or software has been released and it is “not quite ready for prime time” – and while it may not have BETA written anywhere, it is truly a Beta release.

This means that it is being tested by end users in real life usage and may be unpredictable at best, and buggy at worst case.  It translates to frustration and a lot of hours spent downloading patches and updates, and rebooting.  I tend to wait a few months for all the worst of the surprises to be uncovered by more adventurous sorts of folks.  I like my shiny new things to work properly out of the box, or as nearly as possible.

2.  Getting it, and the ensuing fun of installing, implementing, learning, swearing, and using the new item.

3.  Figuring out what to do with the old item.

In the case of iPads, there were a number of places to sell your used iPad2 that had high dollars right up to the point that the iPad3 became available, and now the prices for resell or trade-in are lower by a bit.  Still, if you (or your business) are on a tight budget – the question of what to do with old equipment is a tough one.

There are a number of resources for donating and/or recycling your old equipment (not so much for software, sadly).  And you can always sell your old equipment – see eBay.com or Craigslist.org.

But before you trade in or sell or donate your equipment, be sure to really remove all your data and information from any of the storage media that might be present.  There are a number of software tools available for helping you to remove all the personal data from your pc, or if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, your IT folks should know how to do this.  However you do it, just do it.  There are a number of scandals that have happened because large government agencies failed this simple step, and citizen’s personal data became compromised as a result.  And as entrepreneurs, artists and writers – we don’t need to have our personal information or any of our client information out in public opening us up for embarrassment or legal actions.

P.S.  If you want to understand more about cleaning your pc before disposing of it – check out this article at OnGuardOnline.gov

Mar1

The Future – What’s Next?

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The Future – What’s Next?

The recent post entitled “Resistance is Futile” discussed some of the good and bad aspects of change and our tendency to resist it.  Another way to alter our filters and look forward with enthusiasm to what the future may bring is to spend some time monitoring sites or blogs that measure trends and look ahead to see new directions in business, technology, or everyday living.  I’d like to share some of these resources with you, in hopes that you’ll become more optimistic about the positive advancements that are coming.  The mainstream news, especially on TV, is often filled with war, crime, mayhem and tragedy.  But there are lots of positive things happening in the world that just don’t make it to the airwaves.

A good site for looking at business and entrepreneurial trends is Springwise.  You can subscribe to a free newsletter from the site, or just check it when the mood strikes you.  Recent featured businesses included DOGTV, a “scientifically developed, pup-approved” cable network for canines — love the idea.  No need for pooch to be lonely while you’re at work — he’ll be entertained!  There are plenty more intriguing ideas on the site, and if you consider yourself a trend watcher, you may want to join their 15,000 spotters from around the globe who tell them about new business ideas.

The non-profit organization World Future Society, whose motto is “Tomorrow is Built Today,” is another inspiring place to go when you’re pondering the future.  Sign up for their free newsletter; you might want to become a member or attend a meeting.  In July of 2012 they will hold a conference in Toronto, WorldFuture 2012, where you can meet the most successful entrepreneurs of the next decade.  I found out about this organization a couple of years ago from a friend of mine who goes to their annual conference as a coach every year, and I’ve paid attention to it ever since. Most public libraries carry their magazine, The Futurist, so you can get a taste of their research prior to joining.

There are many other great resources to help you look forward to a better future rather than dwelling on the sad aspects of life.  Fast Company is a good print publication if you like to have a tangible product to read, or of course, you can download it to your tablet, e-reader, or computer.  Entrepreneur Magazine is another publication geared to business owners.

I also like to monitor university research.  Many of our universities have formed alliances with business leaders and venture capitalists to encourage innovation.  For example, the University of Texas at Arlington, a suburb of Dallas, has a magazine called Inquiry that features the innovative research taking place at the university and how it is being translated into practical, real-world products.  Here’s an additional link to Harvard University’s research programs. 

Pick practically any university in the US, Europe, Asia or Africa, search on the university website, and look at what’s happening with research related to biology, chemistry, anthropology, medicine, or similar study realms. I guarantee you’ll come away encouraged and far more optimistic than if you watched reality TV or the evening news.

Feb22

Resistance is Futile

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Resistance is Futile

The title of this post is the oft-quoted phrase from Star Trek, and it is also an appropriate mantra for dealing with change. Whether we like it or not, we live in turbulent times with a great deal of change facing us daily.  I see in those around me and even in myself, a weariness with this aspect of modern life.  For example, I’m a big LinkedIn fan, and often tout its virtues to others,but a friend recently responded to my encouragement to set up a profile, “I just don’t want to have to learn something new.”  I understand his feelings.  I’m having to face that issue with my own attitude toward Facebook, which I use with trepidation because it feels so very automated.  I feel like I’m not “in control” of a tool that is supposed to serve me, and I know I’ll need to spend some of my precious time learning more in order to feel comfortable with it. 

But the purpose of life is not always to be in control.  That would be an impossible goal, wouldn’t it?  As human beings we definitely need to impose a degree of structure upon our lives, but rigid control actually works against us.  We need some balance between the logical, analytical, scheduled times and the creative, freedom-loving, playful times.  As a person with a natural resistance to change, I’ve had to come up with some new attitudes to encourage myself to “roll with it” and adapt to new things.  I hope sharing these ideas will be helpful to you when change is staring you in the face and you’re wondering whether to dig in your heels and resist, run screaming in the opposite direction, or smile while accepting it gracefully.

1.  Change is not inherently bad.  It’s hard to know when something new comes along if it will be bad or good.  The truth is, it will be both.  To those who did radio dramatization, TV was a bad thing.  To Apple, the PC was a bad thing.  But radio has evolved and so has Apple.  The changes from competitors moved them in new directions, and those new directions made them better and stronger.  So when I’m faced with change, I make a concerted effort to remain neutral rather than negative, and to think of the change as something that will make me stronger in the long run.  (Okay, I’ll acknowledge that the short run might be hell…..but keep your eye on the long term good.)

2.  Change is inevitable.  We have limited amounts of energy, and fighting a change that we have no control over is a waste of energy.  If management is upgrading your computer, adding a new CRM, or altering work processes, you may have no choice but to accept the changes gracefully.  Here’s the plus side:  new pathways will develop in your brain as you learn and make those changes.  You are exercising your brain and that is good for you!  You don’t want to have a hidebound, crusty, creaky old brain, do you?  And speaking of exercising the brain, check out Lumosity.  It’s an amazing and scientifically-researched way to play games and improve your brainpower at the same time.

3. Change is filled with opportunity.  What we see now in the marketing world shows us this.  There are opportunities due to the internet, social media, economic changes, and demographics that can lead us in exciting new directions.  I feel like an explorer, and that is exciting.  Every day brings something new to consider.  If you view yourself as a life-long learner, this makes every day an educational opportunity.  And yes, even though change brings problems – problems are opportunities to provide solutions, services, and training on how to overcome them.

My last observation on change is that it prevents stagnation.  I truly believe that we’re either moving forward or losing ground.  Stagnant water is stale and foul-smelling and full of bacteria.  Change, and the forward movement it brings, keeps us as individuals and as a society, fresh.  As Benjamin Franklin said:  “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

Oct16

Friday Miscellany

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Friday Miscellany

It has been a long and somewhat crazy week – between issues – like dishwasher replacement in my apartment and co-workers out with the flu – yet I have had a little time to wander through some of my favorite spots on the net and catch up on some reading.

First I have to applaud R. Bazinet’s “Accidental Technologist” blog – his latest post can be found here, he is an accomplished technologist, and an excellent writer…  and he has a great customer issue (complaint) tracker called CustomerFu – check it out.

Also, I spent some time on SocialMedian which I admit is occasionally a “guilty pleasure” because not all of what I clip is related to my work.  And Venturebeat, Techcrunch, Slashdot , Mashable and ReadWriteWeb are always good too.

And I spent a great deal of time this week troubleshooting for IE8 users, since our application was built before IE8 was being generally adopted, we (like MANY other applications) have had some users who have issues.  That is always a challenging exercise – from both the customer’s standpoint and the tech support standpoint… it is not easy to get people to update their browser settings.  The general sentiment is embodied by the quote from one person as “I don’t care that IE8 is the issue – make it work or I will go do something else.”   That is from the non-tech users.  The tech-savvy will usually assume it is the new browser and sometimes research and fix on their own.  We live in a world of extremes… I am hoping that we are helping to create a happy medium with our support and our tool.

A gal can hope… :-)

Oct6

Not the Target Market

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Not the Target Market

Recently I came across a blog posting about Web 2.0 advising people, that this technology isn’t going to go away and that if the audience’s excuse for not getting with the program was that they didn’t feel they were “the target market”, that they should get over it. 

Now, I am a lover of technology (I hear the “No Duh” out there).   I want the latest gadgets and play with things to learn them before resorting to opening the manual – and to be honest I have only a passing interest in target markets – but this one statement caught my attention and I have been pondering it for a day or so… it stuck with me so much that I am writing to share my thoughts on this concept.

First – where technology is concerned, I believe the “target market” is slim… we “early adopters” pave the way for mainstreaming technology and an “early adopter” in this field is either a young person or a seasoned tech person – there is a very narrow available demographic with the mindset to embrace the tech changes and nuances. 

Second – once something is mainstreamed it is no longer leading edge, and the people who use it just want it to work – they don’t really care why or how it works nor do they want to do much to make it work. 

Third – technology changes. If you wait long enough (and the wait time is getting shorter and shorter) something better, faster, simpler-appearing will show up.  It is the nature of the beast. 

What doesn’t change, as much, is the demographics of the people in the Target  Markets – the market segments may inflate or deflate but the specifics are fairly steady.  What does this mean?  Basically, if a person declares that they are not in the target market – take them at their word.  Which is really good manners anyway…

Aug6

Another day in Tech Paradise

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Another day in Tech Paradise

Twitter….down again…. Facebook also seems to be having server issues.
Oh no – its the end of the world as we know it… or maybe it is just another Thursday in Tech  Paradise.

Even the least technical of my circle of friends will pace and froth at the mouth (metaphorically of course) when the internet sites they depend on are not available, or heaven forbid, hacked.  We rely on this media more than previous generations relied on Newspapers and Radio.  We rely on it more than Television.  And we are in denial about how much we rely on technology.  Because if we had to admit how much we don’t know about how it all works, we might have some responsibility in learning more and becoming more actively involved in the utilitarian aspect of the internet and its ancillary services…oh, yeah, can I get an “Amen Brother”!

Apr22

Always something else

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Always something else

Part of the challenge with being ‘technical’  (even for us Technical Generalists) is that there is always something new, or some new twist on something old, or some new possibility to consider.  I never feel as though I have mastered any “space” or “vertical” or “vector” because just as soon as I think I have something down cold, it changes.   Two months ago I could talk about Twitter and Tweeting and might have been talking like the adults in  Charlie Brown cartoon “Mwah Mwah Mwah Blah”.  Now Oprah is twittering and the technocenti are aghast that now Twitter might become the playground of ” soccer mom’s”.  Puh-lease.  For Oprah impact on Twitter go to this story on Mashable:  http://mashable.com/2009/04/21/oprah-impact-on-twitter/

For people who have been struggling out there to learn Flash Animation, there is a beta software-as-a-service (SAAS) model out, called Xtranormal.com – currently it is free to try, but will have a subscription.  Their tag is  “if you can type, you can make movies” … the interface is fairly intuitive and yes, I am addicted to making short movies with it (at least for the moment).  Do I need to know Flash? Nope.  Would I have a better movie if I did it from scratch with Flash, probably but it would take more time than I have to give it… this new generation tool allows me to get creative without having to spend the bandwidth to train first – so I sacrifice some quality in order to get instant gratification.

My point is, that if you focus your attention too long in one area, the rest of the picture will change dramatically.  The successful people I observe around me… they are masters (or mistresses) of being able to zoom in, sample, extrapolate, digest the concept, and zoom out again.  Speed readers with comprehension for technology or really for any growth area.  There will always be the need for total saturation experts in an area… but the need will be shorter in duration, because the “something else” occurs faster and faster as technology is evolving faster. 

Ready, set… Go!

Dec28

What do we understand of our technology?

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What do we understand of our technology?

In the cartoon “Futurama”, the character Fry, a 20th century man who wakes up in the future, when confronted by a breakdown in the spaceship’s technology screams “Fix it Fix it Fix it” to all within ear shot.  Part of the humor depicted in this cartoon (yes, at 51 I admit to watching cartoons) is that the character has no clue how anything works, and therefore takes all of the “new technology” of the future in stride – happy in his ignorance. 

I think that is particularly insightful, because I am surrounded by people who neither understand the technology nor appreciate all that went into its workings – they use it, and if it breaks or doesn’t behave the way they want it to – they scream (or at least raise their voices) and say “Fix it Fix it Fix it”. 

They don’t accept responsibility for understanding – they just want it to work.  They don’t understand how their cars work, their plumbing, their electricity, let alone their computers.  It is a willing ignorance – many are lured into thinking that someone else (usually in a lower social position) will be therepair person, and make it all work.  Or if they foray into the realm of trying to fix it themselves, rather than actually taking the time to learn about the thing, they duct tape or come up with a workaround that will, in the long run, cause more problems or cost more money. But hey, it is the instant gratification that is all important, not the understanding…isn’t it?

When someone like me tries to explain the inner workings of some problem, I generally am either talked over, ignored, or worse humored – because usually if they spend the excruciating time to listen to me drone on, I will probably fix their problem for them for free.  When I ask them why they don’t want to understand their computer or their email – I invariably get the answer that I am “technical” and so somehow magically understand these things, and they are not (and this is usually said with a tone of superiority, I might add… as though being technical is some sort of genetic disease that just happened to be useful this one time and otherwise shouldn’t be mentioned).

Ah well, a curmudgeonly disposition accompanies being technical today… Fiddle-deedee, tomorrow is another day!