Daily Archives: July 31, 2009

I am someone who has grown up with computers. My first memory of a computer was watching my dad printing documents on his Windows 95 system. The paper was the type that was connected together with perforations on the top and bottom and perforated edges to cut away the printer holes (I have no idea what the printer or paper was called.) Needless to say, that was a different era.

Today, computers no longer move at the speed of snail, pen and paper are becoming obsolete, and the idea of working without a computer seems taboo. Unfortunately, today’s workforce is split between those who grew up with computers and those who still have not come to realize a PC’s inner beauty.

Since most of today’s managers and supervisors lived in the pen and paper era, the transition to digital technology has a major hurdle to overcome. Many of the people who make the technology decisions in their organizations hesitate to tap into new technologies because they find them intimidating, confusing, and unnecessary. How is this mindset overcome? My philosophy is to lead by example. If your company or organization sells merchandise, give them success stories. For example, Dell reported earlier this year that it had made over $3 million in profits from Twitter within a six-month period! If your company sells services, display the thousands of organization that recruit clients through social networking sites (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.) and the amount of connections made by organizations without its employees ever leaving the office.

West Virginia Students Against Destructive Decisions (WV SADD) has resolved to take steps toward more technology-friendly communications. Not only does WV SADD have a Web site, but they also have a profile on each of the social networking sites MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Someone may ask, “Why does an organization need the Web?” The answer is simple. If you are at home, school, or work and you would like to find more information on any given topic, chances are you will go to a search engine site like Google or bing and search for the topic of inquiry. If it happens to be “WV SADD,” then the first link that will appear is the WVSADD Web site. If the site is appealing, you are likely to take an interest in the organization; if it’s confusing, you will probably be turned off to the organization; and if a Web page is nonexistent, you will probably assume that the organization doesn’t exist altogether.

I hope that any technology nay-sayers rethink their positions. Today’s new technology will soon be commonplace. The issue stands whether we would like to let precious weeks, months, and years slip by and not tap into the resources already developed, or take advantage of the exciting new technologies that are available now. Like it or not, tomorrow’s world will be even more concentrated on the Internet than it is today.