There are wonderful things happening in the world today, which are getting lost or bogged down in fake News and other scandals.
As important as it is to acknowledge our mistakes and highlight areas of concern, it is a reality that the technological tools we now have can do more harm, rather than any good (which is why it’s often a good idea to seek professional advice on how to use them!)
Without meaning to sound patronizing, the best way to put a stop to negativity is by adding positivity into the mix.
Recent news from researchers in the USA, for instance, is that software is being held back from publication as it could possibly end up in the wrong hands and become malicious. Isn’t that a step in the right direction? Ethics before Profit.
It is still close enough to the beginning of the year for resolutions to ring bells in your head. Did you make a resolution to be more appreciative this year? You should have. We all should have because, without appreciation, some things can wither away. Blackberry knows this all too well.
What you will find here is a list of five tech-related services or products that make our world a better one to live in than in the past.
None are new anymore, but some are at risk of being taken for granted.
1. www (what a wonderful world)
Is that what the maker of the world wide web meant www to stand for?
The internet is what makes this era stand out from the eras past.
This manmade network can keep families together, make remote working possible, and online shopping a reality. Why brave Saturday morning sleet when you can shop from the comfort of your living room?
Do you take the web for granted, or are you grateful for having all that knowledge and access to services at your fingertips?
2. Smartphones
Do you remember the Blackberry Crack Craze when the then iconic business phone first became a thing?
Nobody could put them down; not much has changed since then, as people still think it’s acceptable to use phones while driving – hands-free technology is excluded from this judgment.
Smartphones are so ubiquitous that they are now the standard for phones. Having a vintage-inspired cellular phone with no wifi capabilities might give you the retro edge, but can you run a small business from one? Probably, but not as efficiently as if you had a smartphone.
It’s not a toy, and it’s not that private, but it is a super-powered computer – respect it, and enjoy it.
3. Online subscriptions
Think of the trees, save the Amazon rainforest. Try not to buy paper magazines unless they’re made from hemp.
Having your favorite magazine arrive digitally to you each week saves the environment and the landfills from recycling that never seems to happen.
Investing in an online subscription to (insert the name of your favorite newspaper/magazine) means you’ll spend less and still receive the news you’ve come to need.
If your business still has a paper trail for everyone to follow, finding digital solutions can save the trees, and cut company costs.
4. Email
Take a moment to visit your great-grandparents in your minds’ eye. Tell them all about this thing called email.
Explain how quickly letters get sent, how quickly they arrive, and how you can send the same letter to many people at the same time.
Can you imagine their astonishment? When receiving hundreds of emails per week, that astonishment can soon turn to exhaustion, then to resentment.
Try not to let the resentment kick in. Just click delete all, and start fresh. (Delete advice as applicable, as deleting all is not always a good idea).
5. Instant online access to…
Films, music, movies, books, you name it, if it’s digital, then it will be accessible in a file format seconds or minutes after you’ve made your purchase. Digital natives might find the Video Store a quaint idea: “You mean, you queued to rent a tape and had to return it the next day?”
We are used to having what we want at our fingertips to the point that instant gratification is the norm, and delayed gratification almost antique.
It’s a wonderful thing to be able to buy or rent a digital product and have access to it immediately. Piracy might be easier nowadays though but think of all the lawyers who’re benefitting from anti-piracy work. There is a silver lining in everything – pardon the cliché.
Do you agree that these five are at risk of being taken for granted?
If so, take a moment to appreciate that the smartphone in your hand or pocket can connect you to the www, and allow you to read your weekly on it.
If something catches your interest, you can email a link to your friends straight away, and if that something has a free download link, you can spread the joy without being a pirate.
What any small, medium or large business can do is ensure that gratitude is a practice the company as whole practices.
When workers feel appreciated, they work better than when they are treated otherwise.
A simple email of thanks to everyone who makes the business possible might seem unnecessary, but it will benefit your business in the end.
This time next year, our gratitude list will probably include software that can help you to run your business with ease, and without multiple applications. It might also have services available to streamline your communications in an affordable way.
For now, if there is anything tech-related on your gratitude list that makes your life simpler, better, and sustainable long-term, let us know. It might just help someone else too.
