Permit me this rant. See if you can find a common denominator.
OK, so I get an email from Facebook saying, “You haven’t been back to Facebook recently. You have received notifications while you were gone.” (Naughty me!)
So I click on the link. Ask trusty Roboform to fill in the password etc. Didn’t work.
Strange. It always did work. It worked on Tweetdeck.
So I click around some other ways and FINALLY get into Facebook. (Somehow, don’t ask me what finally worked.)
So, where are these friend requests? Not a clue. I click Friends and see I have some Suggestions. I click on some people I know I’d like to be friends with. Every time I click, I have to
type two (difficult to read) words for verification. If it takes 20 seconds to type in those 2 words (more for the less readable ones), for those 35 people I’ll spend 12-15 minutes just sending requests.
Then they have to go and try to do what I tried to do above. Just to “connect”?
BTW, I still can’t find the people who have requested my friendship.
Can someone please tell me why Facebook is so popular?
If you want my updates, to go twitter.com/DianeEble please. Twitter I can handle.
Now, why am I bothering to write this?
See if this next snippet gives you a clue.
My husband came home from work telling me they got a new copy machine at the office. One that takes special training to figure out. One that needs a MANUAL to figure out how to use. He still hasn’t been able to do the (formerly simple) task of making a copy to then fax to someone, though the machine is supposed to do it.
The old machine worked just fine, he says. He’s not the only one who can’t figure out the new machine, by the way. Everyone is complaining about it.
Do you see anything these two situations have in common?
How about uncritical acceptance of technology that sucks time and does not measurably add anything to one’s life? In fact, that adds frustration and stress.
So here’s my humble theory of why the economy is in shambles: We’re all too busy trying to figure out and/or keep up with technology that we can’t get any truly productive work done!
The main thing is, we’re not asking ourselves the right questions BEFORE we jump into The Next Cool Thing (like whiz-bang copy machines or the latest social networking thing that EVERYONE uses, after all).
Don’t get me wrong. I use a lot of technology and what I use makes my life measurably better. Like Roboform, Evernote, my XSite Pro software that allows me to create websites quickly and easily. Two weeks ago I got new software that I LOVE that truly helps me be more productive. I don’t know where I’d be without these great tools.
But always I ask: “What will this REALLY do for me, and what is the REAL cost in terms of time and energy?”
Another question: “Does this ‘fix’ what ain’t broke?” (Sorry about the grammar, but sometimes slang is more effective.)
Are you asking the right questions? The economy depends on you! (LOL)