The big question was is technology working for us or against us?

Do we rely too much on technology today?

The discussion was interesting to say the least, give it a listen if you want.

What I took from the conversation is very simple.

Technology, and by technology I am talking about electronic technology that has evolved since roughly 1985, has created an artificial time environment that is not serving us well.

The nice thing about technology is it has blurred time and space creating the basis of a global village.

Through the global technology village we have access to people and ideas our grandparents could only dream of.

The downside is via this global village  we can transmit messages, ideas, content of any shape and form at the tap of a key.

And because technology has enabled instant delivery of content we are increasingly finding ourselves in a situation where responses, action, decisions are also expected instantly.

I think because we feel pressured by technology to speed up our interactions we are actually impairing our actions, reactions, responses and decisions.

We don’t tend to sit on email we deal with it in the here and now.

But I think more times than not we need to think, talk, ponder and debate, even if it is you alone, a response to an email before we ever start to respond.

But if you don’t get a response off fast then you get a reminder or the question, “did you get my email.”

Technology is great but I think we need to step back and remember it is a tool and the content and the thought that goes into the content is what is important and there is no rule or directive that says you can’t think a while before you fire off a reply.

Today’s gem in the rough was Bono talking about how in 2000 it felt to him like he and the band members were “re-applying” to fans to be U2 the band they had grown to love.

That idea got me thinking about my own tenure as a professor and as a radio host, are we in for life once we get the job OR do we continually need to symbolically re-apply for the position?

Maybe the re-application is through the demonstration of skills, maybe it is through the way we imagine and deliver content, maybe it is through our continual demonstration that we are not just repeating the same old thing but bringing new value to those exercises we are responsible for, be them in the classroom, office or in my case on the radio.

How is the changing world being brought into what I am doing?

And this to me is the big problem today, too few people are in the habit of re-applying for the position they hold, and evaluations do not count unless they are going to see you asked to leave!

Look at what you are doing and ask the simple question, “if I was applying for my job today would I be the candidate most suited for the position?”

If you can not say,”yes”, without question  you are the best candidate for the job and you would hire yourself then you have some work to do!