experience matters

I had a couple of recent technological hiccoughs in my personal sphere. At the time, I passed them off as mere inconveniences — although I ranted quite loudly (warning, objectionable language) on one of them. But it was only when I stopped and took a step back that I wondered something:

Do I put too much faith in technology being there for me?

Which then led to some interesting questioning as I looked at the world around me. How much are we dependent on technology being there? It’s so pervasive now that most times we don’t even think about it.

At least not until it doesn’t respond.

There are countless examples in movies and television shows (not to mention sci-fi novels that take the concepts to whole new levels) about what happens when our technology support system breaks down — or disappears entirely. Given, these are largely fictional accounts and often taken to disastrous (and even silly) extremes.

But allow me to explain three my recent failures.

If you followed the link at the beginning of this article, you know how I locked myself out of my online banking account. This is because of a need for greater security. I agreed (despite my rant) with the need, since lax security often leads to phishing scams and a depletion of your formerly-abundant bank account.

But what happens when you can’t access that account? For me, it was an irritant because I couldn’t pay bills (or transfer money). What if I couldn’t access my account through an ATM? No money. Possibly no debit card. I would be reduced — the horror — to having to actually visit a branch. Meet with a person!

Okay, so that last bit is Hollywood over-dramatics. But think of the experience of not being able to use your bank card. No direct access to your money. Easy to imagine, but I assure you — the reality (if you’re as wired as I am) is a lot more awkward.

Number 2: My cell service burp. The phone worked. I could get data. But due to an oversight on Telus’ end when they switched me to the unlimited data plan, I lost my voicemail and caller ID features.

It’s really minor, when it comes down to it. But if you’ve trained yourself to be dependent on voicemail to catch your missed calls — or your screen calls by phone number — it’s likely to be more than minor. It was a simple oversight by the tech who’d switched my plans.

The last example happened to my wife. She made a decision some time ago to not go the route of iPods and iTunes, and bought a Windows Media Player-based MP3 player. Against expectations, songs that she had purchased lost their licensing for no apparent reason. This isn’t just annoying — it’s like being told you can’t read a magazine you’ve just purchased. Frankly, I’m amazed she got the access back at all.

But let’s be honest — in the grand scheme of things, these are pretty wimpy. They’re annoyances, inconveniences, and irritants. None of them will cause serious trouble. We have backups for this: we can go to banks, answer phones, and pull out CDs.

Our clients expect this kind of redundancy, too, to prevent technology from failing completely. The experience their customers expect must be maintained at all times. Multiple redundant (and cross-linked) servers, content distribution networks, fault-tolerant electrical systems and multiple network connections. All of it to ensure that when someone wants to buy something online, it’s there when they want it.

Things could be worse. Identity theft, anyone?

So a question for our readers: How much faith do you put in technology being there? Do you put your digital existence in the hands of others? Can you survive without your iPhone? Hotmail? Google? TiVo? ATM?

Last 5 posts by Cory Brunsel

• 2009 Predictions: Rough Seas Ahead – January 1st, 2009
• 2008 Prediction Recap: History Repeating – January 1st, 2009
• Blog or Die – October 31st, 2008
• I (heart) Google Chrome – September 2nd, 2008
• “Here I go again on my own…” *sigh* – May 13th, 2008

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