Why It's Hard To Keep Up With Technology
The pace of technological innovation grows faster with every passing year. Seemingly futuristic innovations have been consigned to history within a decade of their launch in favor of more sophisticated offerings. Over the last couple of decades, we’ve seen the rise of social media, streaming media, search engines, and SEO, tablets and smartphones, ecommerce, online gaming, cryptocurrencies, cloud hosting, and virtual servers.
Entire market segments have come and gone since 2000 – MP3s, the dot-com sector and Geocities/MySpace pages. Millennial tech giants including BlackBerry, Nokia, and Friends Reunited faded out of the spotlight, replaced by newer industry disruptors like Honor and Facebook. Today, there’s excited talk of biometric identification, self-driving cars, and ultra-fast 5G connectivity. It’s even rumored that the family of 2030 might even benefit from self-cleaning fabrics, hydroponic kitchen units, and nerve-stimulating VR implants. Or not – who knows?
Tomorrow’s world
This latter point defines the biggest problem many people have with technology. It’s getting harder to keep up with the disruptive technologies already in our homes, let alone with prototypes at CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Samsung is now pushing 8K televisions, yet there’s hardly any 4K content to watch. Huawei is marketing a four-camera smartphone which splices together separate color and black-and-white images – as if anyone posting a picture of their breakfast on Instagram really cares.
Modern technology is outpacing our ability to understand or even appreciate it, let alone use it. And all the while, the environmental impact of plastic consumption and water pollution becomes harder to ignore – potentially sparking unprecedented changes to the way we harvest our planet’s dwindling resources. Yet it’s still impossible to ignore the effect disruptive technologies are having on our lives, as the influence of Amazon and Google grows ever stronger. Back in 2000, who could have foreseen Alexa or SEO?
Keeping pace with change
A handful of simple steps may help you cut through the clutter, directing you towards disruptive technologies which will enhance your lives rather than detracting from them:
1. Identify where technology could be of value, or benefit.
There’s no point investing in the latest advances if you don’t need them or fully understand them. However, if your teenage daughter keeps losing her house keys, a biometric door entry system makes perfect sense. Regular home workers and the self-employed should consider collaborative online workspace tools like Trello or Slack for project-based work, while cloud storage ensures documents are accessible to anyone, anywhere.
2. Look for relevant news in areas of interest.
Daily updates keep you in the loop, whether you sign up to news aggregators or follow known influencers and pioneers on social media. Even obscure terminology will soon feel familiar, while trends quickly emerge. These aren’t always worth embracing – this time last year, bitcoin’s value was spiking amid the hysterical excitement. Since then, a tranche of bad news (not always reported in the mainstream press) has seen its very future called into question.
3. Look to simplify wherever possible.
Technology becomes confusing if program A only works on device B, once it’s connected to peripheral C. Compatibility, is central to building an easier life. For instance, less technically-minded users often applaud the seamless synchronization between a suite of Apple devices. It’s vital to ensure Internet of Things devices will dovetail with existing virtual assistants or domestic hardware.
4. Trust impartial reviews.
Avoid clickbait websites or sponsored posts. Instead, look for unbiased news/review outlets like the BBC, CNET and Buzzfeed Tech. These reputable outlets are staffed with knowledgeable reporters whose articles at least aim for balance and transparency. You can also trust Midphase and its sister brands UK2, WestHost, VPN and 100TB, as we will only promote products and services which we believe could genuinely benefit our customers.
5. Ask for help with setup and training.
There’s no shame in saying “this is a bit confusing” when it comes to setting up disruptive technologies. There’s always going to be someone more knowledgeable than you. People like to be helpful and show off their expertise, while bribery might encourage friends, neighbors, colleagues or relatives to help out. Finally, if your issues are server, storage, or website-related, the team at Midphase is ready to offer jargon-free assistance at any time…