Is technology the “be all, end all”?

For some reason I don’t think so!

And this is coming from a guy who provides computer support for many small businesses throughout Calgary and Red Deer.  Human interaction has swung from weekly coffee klatches to sending out a BCC email to all your friends wishing them a Merry Christmas.

Why do I think technology is NOT the be all, end all in our society?  Simple, we are getting lazy as humans.  We elect to hide behind a keyboard instead of having conversations with others.  We use dating websites to find the perfect match vs. going out and meeting people and we put our family videos on YouTube.com.

Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining and some of our technology such as blogs, social media, youtube, Windows 7, google and the list goes on are great things.  However, what I am saying is that many of us are stressed because we get too much email and we can’t manage it or we simply lose touch with the fine art of speaking to others either in person or on the phone.

It is amazingly easy to see how attached we are to our technology these days.  We live with thin and multi-function mobile phones attached to our hips reacting to the slightest buzz (Disclaimer:  My Blackberry never sees the inside of my house any longer, it is banned).  We can’t seem to drive a car without some GPS squawking at us, many of today’s younger generation have no idea on how to read a simple map.  When our critical business systems go down, well business grinds to a halt.  Great examples of this is when BlackBerry went down twice in a span of a couple of weeks and in my industry those friends of mine on the ConnectWise hosted solution found themselves crippled for over 15 hours last week when they couldn’t access their customer’s information.  Even our telephone systems now can’t live through a power failure like they used to!

Innovation must continue to occur in our world.  Innovations keeps the economic engine moving forward, this I understand.  But when is enough technology enough? Just look around at our teenagers who use the old saying “talking to their friends” when they really mean sending a text message from their cell phones, this is talking to them.  Many executives and information workers are bombarded with useless electronic emails and the important ones get lost in the shuffle.  We have lost the fine art of having a conversation or simply getting off our butts to go and visit people.  I know some days I miss human interaction.

When was the last time you sent a letter in the mail?  I did today and send out hand written cards to everyone I meet in business.

This Boxing Day I did something that I have wanted to do for a long time but just never did it.  I purchased the old-fashioned day planner paper book from my local Chapters store.  Why did I do this when I have great tools like Microsoft Outlook?  Well, the answer is quite simple.  We get stuck looking at a computer each day, we glaze at the screen for hours seeing nothing of any importance and many of us have simply become deaf to calendar reminders and email alerts.  We fail to set tasks that make sense in our day and we just lose track of what we promised to do.

On a side note.  Lotus had it right at one time.  I still love the Lotus Organizer application from the mid to late nineties.  It was years ahead of its time but kept what many of us loved about the “old ways” of doing things and merged it with a modern, technology based solution which kept a guy like me on track must easier than the complicated sci-fi tools of today.  Microsoft can learn something to put into Outlook from the old Lotus Organizer application.

Am I critical of technology?  Of course not, I know the world needs many of the great innovative ideas we see from great innovative companies and leaders.  Innovation like I said earlier helps all human kind in one way or another.  Sure, I may have a paper based planner but I can’t see myself listening to CD’s and Cassettes in my car when I have satellite radio or even using an old-fashioned Walkman when we have iPods and Zunes.  However, when I need to have an operation, I am grateful for all the great tools the hospitals in Calgary have.

For me it just comes down to what works the best for the way I want to work.  For some, my way is totally backwards.  Voice calls over sending an email for conversations, meeting people for coffee and having a sit down conversation with others, using a day planner to keep track of what I have to do for the day and perhaps blending the technology we are used to using and what works for us with some tried, tested and proven cultural activities to create community and allow us to live up to our promises.