Invisible IT
In this blog Ben Murden, Phoenix Marketing Manager, looks at the role of technology in our lives and how it’s woven into the fabric of all that we now do – without us really noticing …
“When was the last time you THOUGHT about using technology? Strange question I know, but we don’t do we – we just use it. We use it to talk with others, collaborate on projects, do research, book appointments, study, read books, get directions and yes – to order food.
It’s not always been this way though and I’m afraid that I’m about to show my age …
I can remember when I would have to time my internet browsing to perfection to avoid being kicked off the phone line when my Aunty called for her nightly chat with my Mum. It was always at 7pm and I knew if I’d not watched the latest Oasis or Blur video by then I was done for. And don’t get me started on that dreaded dialing tone to connect in the first place.
I also think of the time that a trip to Blockbusters was a thing of beauty. Being a big of a fan of films it was magical to walk in and see the latest and greatest on video (yes, VHS not DVD!) ready for me to take home and watch – only a matter of months after it had been in the cinema – this was special!
How about when a mobile phone was literally that – a phone that was mobile. All it could do was phone and that was just fine by me. I no longer had to keep some loose change in my pocket or a phone card and memorise people’s phone numbers in case I needed them – after finding a vacant phone box.
These may seem like dark times, but in the grand scheme of things this really wasn’t that long ago. However, quite a lot has changed since those days …
Who even thinks about connecting to the internet anymore? It just happens when we press a button on our Smart TV, our phone, our tablet, our laptops – out watches!
Who would go out in the cold to go to a shop to borrow a film now? We just watch it on-demand, stream it via Netflix, download and watch on our phone – or buy it from an app store – sometimes before you can buy it in a shop on DVD or Blu-ray.
Who uses their phone as a phone – just a phone? I don’t. My phone is my office, my camera, my social media manager, my book, my music player – and yes, I still play Angry Birds.
But one thing that all of these have in common is that I don’t think about doing things – I just do them. I just go online when I want to check something out or find directions. I just watch the latest Bond or Star Wars trailer. I just download the latest TV show onto my laptop to watch on the go. I just open a file or email on my phone when I need to check something.
It was only while we were talking in the office one day about how technology is everywhere and how the younger generation right down to children in primary school are so ‘at one’ with it, that I realised how far things had come along and that they just adapt and adopt to all of these new technologies and will continue to do so as things transform again and again in years to come.
Children are using laptops and tablets in class to learn and study every single day, so this then becomes second nature at home, in school and as they move on through education. Colleges and universities teach students both in class and half-way around the world via video conferencing. Analysts have vast amounts of data that they can interrogate far more than before because there are systems and software to enable this. Emergency service workers can complete forms on the go instead of wasting time travelling back to the offices to complete paperwork. We can all collaborate in new and exciting ways at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world at the click of a button – and we see who we’re talking to.
Technology is with us every second of the day to make our lives easier and more productive in what we do so that we can deliver the best to the people we serve whether that be customers, staff, citizens, students or patients.
Put simply – technology is with us – today, tomorrow and always.”
