I have just discovered that I hate technology. Not for its own sake, but because it doesn't do anything I want it to. It always seems to have its own idea about what I should be doing, and because technology is everywhere these ideas affect the way I live my life.
We're all at the mercy of computers, emails, mobile phones, PDA's, all sorts of gadgets that govern the way we live and work. I am one of those foolish people who believes that all this science and technology should make life easier, should enable us to live the way we want to instead of controlling our actions. I guess it's because I grew up at a time when computers were first becoming widespread and the media was always talking about how the machines would take the strain and make us free to do other stuff.
And here we are, busier than ever. We're constantly answering the phone and email instead of getting things done. Something's wrong.
So I've set myself a target to achieve between now and my birthday in September. I am going to make the technology in my life work for me, to reduce the amount of stuff I have to do, just like they promised me it would when they sold it to me.
I'm a smart guy, and I'm not alone in this. So, if I can't figure it out in a few months then I'm going to go and live in a cave in the mountains. Obviously, your help would be appreciated!
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This is amazing. I just heard about a 14yo kid in Africa who dropped out of school because his family couldn't afford the tuition - $80!
So he looked around for something else to do, and after seeing a photo in a book decided that he would build a wind turbine to provide electricity for his home. Three windmills later, and he's now a student at the African Leadership Academy - helped by a various donors from around the world - and has his own blog.
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Some questions occured to me the other day while driving across town during the rush hour. In Taiwan, rush hour traffic is directed by taxi drivers who park up their cabs and stand in the middle of busy intersections, risking their lives and sanity for the greater good.
On this occasion I was coming from a conversation about motivation and commitment, and how they are often lacking in employees in 'normal' jobs. But watching these guys made me realise that the problem is not universal. There are people in Taiwan who make extraordinary efforts to do a good job, but we often don't notice them. So here are a few observations about taxi drivers directing traffic:
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 I've been talking a lot recently with Elias about how we use technology in our professional lives: diaries, contact lists, mails, SMS, networking, etc.
It's especially relevant to me because I use the Enspyre virtual office service to increase my efficiency and maintain the highest level of customer service possible. I have a secretary in an office and I'm constantly on the move, just like many other small business people. All of the data we both need has to be organised, accessible, and used to best advantage - but I constantly find myself screaming because I can't do things that I know I should be able to.
It's a question of making technologies work together in a way that can be replicated by anyone even without the resources of a major company behind them - and without signing up to a service that ties you to one particular company. So we've decided to commit to achieving a few goals before my birthday in September:
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Last month I created a mailing list of absolutely everyone I know, have ever met, or even just happened to exchange emails or business cards with. The goal was to start the process of bringing my "relationship management" under control.
You can think of it as updating my Christmas card list, or as internet marketing, it's the same thing. We keep in contact with people in order to maintain relationships that are rewarding to us in some way. The rewards can be friendship, business, favours, anything. If you don't talk to people then you don't maintain the relationship. By using technology we should be better able to manage these relationships - at least that's what they tell us then they sell us this stuff - so I decided to give it a go. The result was a semi-disaster that I'm still trying to fix, but let me briefly mention some of the good that came of it.
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