photo by chelmsford blue
I’m sure you’ve heard that refrain, or some version of it, many times before. I think it’s truly important to remind ourselves of this often, as it’s often easy (though tedious) to spend time fiddling with new social networking services or dithering about the purchase of this gadget or that gadget. Actually doing something cool with these things takes a lot more brain power — and risk.
But I think it’s also important to recognize that new tools do spark new ideas. A new tool will never be a game-changer unless you actively make it that way, but a new tool can certainly inspire new possibilities and ideas.
So where do you think the balance lies? Are you a Luddite shunning all tools, or an uber-techie scrambling for more — or somewhere in between? Which tools spark your growth, and which tools stunt it?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the balance comes in where you find value. A year ago, I hadn’t even heard of Twitter. Then I took a social media course in grad school last fall and was suddenly overwhelmed with the world of choices I had before me.
I find my own balance in using the tools that give me the most value. For me, it happens to be Twitter, Facebook and my blogs. And it’s also some old-fashioned tools as well: some paper and a pen, for when I’m not near a computer.
If I wanted to be connected 24/7, I could get a smart phone, like an iPhone. But I don’t think that will add any value to what I’m already doing.
I think the key is to not get caught up with fads and buy a million gadgets or join every social networking site just because everyone else is. Ask yourself if it adds any value to what you’re trying to do. If it doesn’t, then it’s probably not worth the effort required. Find the few that give the most back and focus your energy there.
[rq=3054,0,blog][/rq]In This Life
I’m somewhere in between the Luddite and the uber-techie. My coworkers call me a techie, but I use the Internet and otehr technology in moderation. I won an iPod Touch recently and gave it to my daughter. I’d rather get a Blackberry. Now that might become an addiction!
[rq=3251,0,blog][/rq]Fun in the park with kids
For me it is definitely in the middle. That is not to say that the ends do not have merit, for they do, rather is is the balance point in the middle that allows both ends to stay where they are.
In my life this has manifested in the feast or famine phenomenon. Last year I got a new iPod touch. Oh joy of joys! It was with me at all times. I was able to access any random fact or nugget of information any time I was able to get a hot spot; which is most of the time these days. It was probably good that I don’t have the cell company with the iPhone!. Then one day, through my careless inattention my dear iPod got washed with the clothes! Needless to say, the iPod did not survive.
So then I was back into iPodless masses. It was a fun ride. Since then I have found a comfortable middle with my PAA (personal analogue assistant/day-planner), and Outlook calendar, which can be synced on the network with my wife’s calendar. This solution brings us into the comfortable middle. It is neither the greatest, nor the worst.
It just is. It just works.
[rq=3378,0,blog][/rq]Simple Single Tasking
Great topic, Zoë!
I wrote about techno-skepticism and tips for picking tools a few months back, and if there’s one thing I’d re-iterate from that, it is: “Use tools that are just barely sophisticated enough for the task at hand. ”
In collaborative work and in my own projects, I’ve seen so many instances of overly-complex tools getting in the way of deep thought and dissipating creative energy.
I once heard any interviewer ask Brian Eno why he liked the Yamaha DX-7, and Eno said it was because he had rapport with that particular keyboard. I’ve always felt that was a good quality to seek.
I walk around with both an iPhone and index cards in my pocket. On occasion, I’ve written 300+ word drafts directly on the iPhone. (I find thumb-typing sort of hypnotic.)
At other times, I flip the iPhone over so I can use it as a hard surface for writing on an index card with a pen. Index cards have an immediacy that makes them great for capturing quick, small, throw-away thoughts and sketches. They instinctively feel less formal.
In my experience, it’s not a question of which tool is best, or even which tool is best for you. It’s a question of which tool is best for you, in a particular project, at a particular moment.
[rq=3783,0,blog][/rq]The Direction of Approach
Most public relations practitioners are familiar with something called the diffusion process. It has to do with how quickly someone accepts new ideas. On one end you have early adopters and on the other laggards. Most people are somewhere in the middle – from early majority to majority to late majority. I’m an early adopter. I first started blogging in 1999. I joined Twitter in late 2005.
But, while I am early to sign up and even attempt things, I tend to let fear get the best of me. I pull back. Part of this is because of many years as a govt spokesperson – cards to the chest, playing a safe game. But, I’m on my own now, working on the side, raising my kids. So, I’m always looking for the next thing to (early) adopt. This helps me immeasurably in my business. Finding the tools, recognizing them – that is the hard part. In the last week, I plowed ahead and enabled Zemanta on my blog; posted Blogspot’s new “search this blog” feature and watched the 80 minute Google wave video. I also ordered Hugh Macleod’s new book. As you know, I purchased Art and Money, your e-guide. People hate change. I do, too. But, I force myself to get over it because the rewards outpace the discomforts of adjustment.
.-= jen´s last blog ..this summer =-.
@ Meredith – “Ask yourself if it adds any value to what you’re trying to do. If it doesn’t, then it’s probably not worth the effort required. Find the few that give the most back and focus your energy there.” That advice is as sound as they come
. It’s such a simple thing, but I have a feeling many of us jump into new tools/toys without thinking first whether there’s any value for our specific aims.
@ Daisy – I think it’s all relative! To some people, I’m quite techie, but then again I don’t even have an iPhone
.
@ Sean – Sounds like that cycle might reflect the reality of a lot of people — going all out with new tools/technology, then burning out and craving simplicity.
@ Matt – Wow, great advice… never quite thought of it in those terms. I’m heading over to read your post now, but your warning of tools that stand in the way of creativity and flow rings true. Certain writing activities *need* to be freehand for me — the laptop just doesn’t always fit the bill.
@ Jen – You really are an early adopter! You’ve been blogging for quite some time
. Your perspective is really interesting, because you see the value in at least trying something out. I think that’s key to add to this discussion — being open to new things, and then after a little test period, you can decide whether it fits your flow.
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