Bit Literacy - Mark Hurst [4]
The great majority of users are comfortable with technology only within a familiar territory of common programs and features. Their work habits are sufficient to the tasks at hand, which are all they feel they can handle. To these users the prospect of reaching any further to improve their skills can seem daunting, beyond their capacity. I’ve often heard people say apologetically that they’re “not a computer person,” as though they possess some innate shortcoming that prevents them from working productively with technology. This is unfortunately a common misconception. It’s the poorly designed tools that people are forced to use, and a lack of bit literacy training, that conspire to make things so difficult.
Other users are more confident in their abilities, and know they could change if they wanted to, but perceive that they don’t have enough time to do so. They continue to play Busy Man, or Busy Woman, loaded down with bits, hoping that they can catch up if they run just a little faster. Taking a moment to learn new skills seems far too expensive an investment, even if the results are immediate and last a lifetime.
As different as they are, both types of users have something in common: they live by reaction, never taking an active role in managing their bits. Whether floating along or rushing around, they’re trapped in a continuously overloaded state, living at the whim of technology, and too intimidated or busy to do anything about it. Besides, most people see it as the job of the technology industry to make them more productive. They await an external solution to their overload.
Seeing this as a market opportunity, the technology industry enthusiastically sells promised solutions to the problem. Overload is a technology-related problem and thus, goes the pitch, the solution must be yet more technology. “Leave it to us,” the industry says to users. “Buy our tools, and all their many upgrades, and we’ll take care of you.” Those who have faithfully upgraded any software tool over the years can judge for themselves whether the tech industry lives up to its promises.
Although we need hardware and software to work with bits, no technology company has the solution to bit overload. It’s far too rarely stated that the technology industry is not in the business of making people productive. It is only in the business of selling more technology. Granted, some companies make better tools than others, and users can be productive with some of today’s tools. But in the technology business, users’ productivity is secondary to profitability. No matter what a company claims, feature lists and upgrades are designed for the company’s success, not the users’. This isn’t a judgment against technology companies; to the contrary, they are a vital part of the economy and do the world a service by creating new and useful innovations. The point is merely that users should not look to the technology industry to deliver the solution to their overload. Doing so cedes control to companies that, whenever they have the choice, would rather have paying customers than productive customers.
Users themselves, and no one else, are responsible for their success with bits. The only way to guarantee your own productivity is to manage it yourself.
Taking responsibility for your own success is an essential step toward bit literacy, just as important as acknowledging that bits are heavy. It’s a conscious decision that requires a Copernican change in perspective: technology should revolve around the user, not the other way around. Yes, tools are essential; but the most effective user is the one who can use her tools freely, in whatever way is best for her, rather than being