You gotta love technology

Written by: Leah Maclean
February 1, 2008

Gotta Love TechnologyMaybe not everyone loves technology but I DO!

Let me step up on my soapbox and talk to you about something that is dear to my heart - the love or hate relationship that people have with technology.

You see I believe that our relationship with technology is all about our attitude to technology. With attitudes such as “I can’t make it work” or “I don’t get it” or “It is just a waste of time” it is no suprise to me that some people can easily have a hate-based relationship with technology. Why would it be any other way?

Isn’t it interesting that the people that say they love technology also seem to understand it, are open to the new developments and accepting of the changes that technology brings? The people that love technology are curious and not afraid to play with it.

And when I speak of technology I’m not restricting it to just the regular computer technology. I believe that if you can accept some forms of technology then you have the capacity to learn to love others. My mother comes to mind …. she was a wizz at programming her brand new oven so that it started and stopped even when she wasn’t at home, but when it came to using the stereo she swore black and blue that she couldn’t change it from CD to radio and back again (so she used whatever thing the stereo was switched to). She loved the oven technology but hated the stereo technology.

I believe that if you are able to learn and use (even love) one type of technology then you have the capacity to expand that love - share it around!

So what technology do you love?

For me technology love comes in many shapes and forms - the bureau of meterology website (www.bom.gov.au) and their radar pages, good sound systems, Wordpress, Illustrator, iTunes and iPods, websites that let me having a football tipping competition with my husband (www.footytips.com.au), Skype, Dreamweaver, istockphotos, the Canon EOS 40D, the ABC and all their technology (www.abc.net.au) and the list continues …….

Lots of people love their technology. In recent times Char at Essential Keystrokes has asked some of her favourite online contacts to share their “essential tools” (sound more like love than essentials to me some times. Pop over and have a look at some of the technology love going on there.)

As I step off the soapbox of technology love-hate I’d love you to share your technology loves (and hates) below. I’m genuinely interested.

Leah Maclean - demystifying design and technology for small business women | http://www.thecalmspace.com/about#leah

Comments

10 Responses to “You gotta love technology”

  1. annieNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 8:43 am

    Loved this month’s article Leah! It’s true - there’s always something you love about technology if you think about it. I just love Google full stop - anything from holiday destinations to famous quotes to recipes.
    And I love the pic - two mouses with a heart in between!

  2. leahNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 9:22 am

    You’re quick off the mark this morning Annie! I agree that there’s always some technology that most people can find to love> I also agree with you love of Google - it has brought a world of information into everyone’s home. Just what you want when you want it.

  3. chrisNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 11:22 am

    While I leave the geeky stuff in my life to my son Lovable Geek and my husband SweetP, I am proud of being unafraid of technology.
    I like the odd “toy” and I like knowing how to use them.
    Sometimes I’ll let someone else do the research and just prefer to be taught the practical stuff by someone who’s done the hard work researching it!
    I couldn’t agree more about attitude being what drives the love/hate thing. the story of your mum and the oven vs CD is the perfect analogy for it!

  4. Angela EsnoufNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 2:58 pm

    You’ve really got me thinking, Leah.

    I love my digital camera, which captures moments I want to cherish forever.

    I love email, which keeps me in touch with friends and family all over the world (and I’m able to watch little ones grow via photos taken on their digital cameras).

    I love the good old-fashioned telephone, for long chats when I can’t be with the ones I love.

    I LOVE my new computer, which arrived today!

  5. MarjorieNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 4:01 pm

    when i die i want to come back as a computer geek…sighhhhh :):):)

  6. Joanna YoungNo Gravatar on February 1st, 2008 11:07 pm

    Leah, I never thought I’d say this but I love mastering little bits of html code! Such a buzz when I get them to work! It’s like writing - but different. Much tighter. Easier to spot where you’ve gone wrong. Sometimes deeply satisfying.

    How geeky does that sound?!

    Joanna

  7. Marc LehmannNo Gravatar on February 4th, 2008 8:22 am

    It might be a bit obvious but technology isn’t alive so the hate is just something you create in your mind. Great people always love first, look for the good in people (and things) and realise that hate is symptomatic of fear, lack of understanding or the inability to communicate feelings.

    If you want to be happy and calm trying loving lots of things. Even things that annoy you a little. It really works! :)

    Great article btw.

  8. karenNo Gravatar on February 4th, 2008 3:32 pm

    Leah, firstly I want to say that I love that picture! This is a great article, and you’ve really challenged me. With three kids in the house, I am the first to admit that playing a DVD or even changing channels on the TV is something better left to whoever is within cooee…

    But my laptop, and all the technology that goes with running a business, (or yes, even working out my new oven) goes without saying. I don’t love the technology, but I love what it helps me create and manage.

    So maybe it’s more a case of priorities and needs - rather than loving or hating. I know our entertainment system is rather complex (and having umpteen thousand remotes is terribly confusing!), but I don’t NEED to know how to use it.

  9. CharNo Gravatar on February 5th, 2008 12:44 am

    Thanks so much for the mention!! What a nice surprise.

    I LOVE technology - always have. Technology is the magic that has allowed me to successfully work from home for the past 12 years, meaning that all three of my kids have had the luxury of having me at home for them everyday.

    I’m not sure what my favorite is, but I’m sure the Internet has to be #1 or #2. Skype is also way cool, Wordpress rocks, CSS is the best thing since sliced bread, my Treo phone is the best, and I could go on and on.

  10. leahNo Gravatar on February 5th, 2008 6:59 am

    Thank everyone for your comments - it warm the cockles of this geeky girl’s heart :-)

    I particularly like what you had to say Marc about using up human emotions like love and hate on something that isn’t alive and the frustration is “all in your mind”. I believe that the technology just “is” but the frustration / fear / anger is created by your reaction to it.

    The thing that I pick up from the comments so far is that technology has definitely been an enabler for you, allowing you to do things that you might not have otherwise been able to do without it.

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