Comments on: The Two Types of Technology Users

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:15:52 +0000

I’ve got a slightly different slant on this.
If you’ve ever watched the TV program The Woodwright’s Shop, you’ll be amazed to watch what can be done with the simplest tools handled skilfully. I once watched him take a very sharp axe and a log and create a chair.

On the other hand, there are people with a shop full of expensive power tools who cannot construct a well made box.

My point is, some people take the time and effort to master a simple set of versatile tools and can accomplish more with these simple tools than others with much more elaborate tools.

By: David M. Brown

David M. Brown — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:37:17 +0000

It’s true that one can buy stuff like a kid finding new toys, without real thought to bottom line productivity gains. But that didn’t quite seem to be the distinction made in the examples given.

Whether creating/identifying a problem is counterprodutive depends on how one defines what one is doing and whether the technology fosters it or just turns out to be a plaything. That can’t always be known in advance. When I was using a typewriter and carbon paper, the advance was from manual to electric to electronic. Then electronic to electronic+monitor. One question is: How can I use a typewriter more efficiently? Buying a PC does not help me with that question at all. But if the question is: How can I be a more productive writer?–it’s obvious the PC helps. It also helps solve problems I didn’t know I had or would have, like how to surf the Internet, and how to surf the Internet without being assailed by viruses.

Surfing the net wasn’t something I was “already doing” with my typewriter. Looking for information relevant to my chores and pastimes was something I was already doing, of course. Bill wasn’t already carrying around electronic pix of his products.But he was already trying to inspire enthusiasm in his products and make sales. You’re onto something about more purposeful and less purposeful ways of considering technology. But I think finding problems, or questions we hadn’t thought to ask, is one one of the essential things creative and productive people do.

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:00:11 +0000

@David – You are correct that sometimes technology helps us find new things that add value. However, most of the time when people create a problem in order to justify buying technology, any benefit is going to be short lived.

By: David M. Brown

David M. Brown — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:34:03 +0000

There’s still an open question about the second user, who started with a feature and “created” his problem. He thought it would be helpful to be able to display product pics to his clients. Well, is it? The “decline” in productivity may end up being a net gain if he can find a way to do the new chore efficiently. I’m sure that as a technology user I’ve often fallen into both categories — finding a way to do a current task more efficiently, and realizing there’s a solution to a problem I didn’t know I had. The real issue is whether it’s all that important to solve the problem you didn’t know you had.

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:24:25 +0000

This post was excellent.

I think this is also an excellent thing to do when you are ready to make a new purchase of any kind. Think of the things that you need first, and then find the product that meets those needs. It doesn’t matter how many features a product has if it doesn’t solve your core needs.

As a Professional Organizer, I often find a lot of people in the second group-they also want to be the first ones to have a new product. Ironically, they aren’t always the best technology users.

I think everyone can always use the benefit of learning more efficient ways to use technology, myself included.

By: Hailey

Hailey — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:43:59 +0000

I really like your distinction. I’d say that there is a 3rd group, albiet a rare 3rd. This group is going along fine and dandy, not knowing they have a problem. A friend proposes a deal to buy/get a solution that they had never thought about. They do it and it makes their life so much easier! They weren’t like either guy, but a sort of mix between them.
This happened to me. I was taking my computer everywhere because I couldn’t stand to be without my info (cal, etc). A friend of mine offered me a deal on a treo so I got one. it has truely changed my life.

By: David Hoelscher

David Hoelscher — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 04:40:09 +0000

That’s a pretty good distinction you’ve made. It can be subtle, but in general it seems like a pretty good way to gauge buying decisions. It can be diffcult to decide if you haven’t fully defined the problem. For example, Joey may have been just fine with manually updating his cell phone because he didn’t know alternatives existed. But then he sees a friend using automatic syncing softwarwe, and he recognizes that he could use it as well. In that case, he wanted a feature and “worked back to a problem”, but it seems likely that he will benefit equally well, and have long-term sustained use of the solution.

I would say that if someone expresses a problem and looks for a solution, it would signal a definite benefit from finding said solution. Finding a problem from a solution can make you more productive, it cannot do so with nearly as much certainty as the problem->solution path.