Before taking action, one must know what needs to be done.
To what degree do we fail to evaluate the use of technology and the available interface designs of the technology that we use?
I am still thinking about my conversation with George. Those of us who see value in the full use of technology have to embrace technology, not just accept it. Embracing is the twisting tweaking and fully applying to an application the interaction of effort.
I compare embracing to a faith in the virtue of technology: not that it is solely using a computer; rather it is an emotional bond to the system of digital development. Embracing technology requires recognizing that the more important question is “How best can I use this new device?” rather than, “How do I use this new device?”
Looking for the application, focusing on the outcome, is more important than being concerned about learning to use the catalyst device. Seeing value in the intrinsic nature of a technology is at the heart of embracement. It is as if it were an act of faith. Looking past the functional steps toward the applicability and the outcome-creation potential forms the bond of trust that is inherent in an embracing of any technology.
1981: IBM introduces its first Personal Computer. VisiCalc, Lotus 1 2 3, word processing applications, especially WordPerfect, change the processes by which businesses and later, consumers, collect, store, retrieve, examine, and refer to data.
Access to a digital storage and processing device, especially one that plays games, as an individual and personal tool, created a new paradigm: my data.
My PC=my data.
? How did a “personal” computer create a paradigm of “personal” data?
? How prevalent is this paradigm?
? How did the personal computer create the paradigm of personal data?
Alternatively, was it vice versa? Which came first, the personal computer or personal data? It seems transparent that the personal computer came first, but could its success have been fueled by the masses’ readiness for personal data?
The me first 70s were followed by the go go 80s—the fast development of business following the ecological catastrophes of the mid and late 80s—were people ready to self manages their data?
It is the personal computer that drove the desire for personal data, because the tool created the work. Before spreadsheets, financial and manufacturing data were predominantly reviewed in the aggregate. VisiCalc and, especially, Lotus 1 2 3 created the desire to micromanage data, and they developed a new paradigm for business: the what-if scenario.
With an electronic spreadsheet, business analysts were able to compare potential outcomes, modeling possible alternatives, without investing in expensive prototypes or manual calculation, the professional title given to men, later women, who performed columns of calculations, often logarithmic.
?Data Addiction
I received the PC games Microsoft Zoo Tycoon 2 and Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 for Christmas, and I found that I can easily become addicted to the games, playing them well into the wee hours of the morning…and I am not a normally a computer gamer! The games are not even that interesting, and, in fact, they are boring and repetitive. What is it about these games that makes them so enticing and engaging? The competitive aspect of these games encourages me to practice, learn tricks, seek tips and cheat codes online, and try again and again.
