The Perils of Technology

I'm old enough that I learned to type on a typewriter; the antique model shown in the picture looks a lot like my father's old Underwood. My formal keyboarding instruction was on an IBM Selectric, which had big advantages over the old Underwood - for one thing, less finger fatigue. On the old Underwood you had to hit the keys pretty hard to get the job done. But the Selectric was still just a typewriter - if you hit the wrong key, making a correction was a real pain and you could count on getting at most 3 "originals" of any document you typed - and then only with the help of carbon paper.

I wouldn't want to go back to using a typewriter after 25 years of using a computer, but there were advantages to a slower pace of technological progress, primarily that there was a lot less we had to be constantly learning. I think sometimes that what we have gained in speed from technology we give up in time learning how to use it. I know for me personally, I've never bothered with learning how to text or bothered to learn how to store numbers in a cell phone. I look at a phone as something for making and receiving phone calls; if I want to send something written, I can fly on a computer keyboard - why waste time fiddling with a tiny phone keyboard & getting frustrated?

I realize I am one of the only people around these days that feels this way, and that's fine. The majority of people out there probably have need of a smart phone, either because it's their only internet access or because they often don't have a computer within reach while they're working or traveling or whatever. I haven't bothered to learn much about smart phones for the simple reason that I don't have a need for one; I spend my workdays in front of a desktop computer and can get things done a lot faster with it.

That's all a pretty long lead-in to where I'm going, which I touched on in my first post: how are you using technology in your communications, and is that technology a good fit with your needs? With the internet taking the place of the phone directory, some type of online presence is required these days if you want the rest of the world to know you're in business. The question is, what type of presence is needed. The bottom line is, how much does your business depend on generating leads or sales from the internet?

It's a question worth considering, if the online landscape of abandoned Facebook pages and websites last updated years ago is any indication. If you have one of these, ask yourself: what kind of a message does it send to potential customers? Essentially you are communicating that your site or Facebook page isn't important, which raises the question - what else does your business not consider important?

You see where I'm going with this. Now that the internet has become the first point of contact for a lot of customers, your online presence is the first impression many potential customers will have of your business - for good or ill.

My advice? If you aren't going to regularly update your website, Facebook page, or other social media accounts, take them down. If they're only there as a placeholder to let people know a business by this name exists, there are other ways to do that, such as online Yellow Pages, Manta, or others. Or, make your website JUST a placeholder - put up a nice picture with your logo, slogan, & contact information, and leave it at that. If that sounds crazy, consider: would you rather visitors to your site see just this bare-bones information, or see that the last time anyone did anything with the site was 3 years ago? A site with content that old isn't generating business for you anyway; there's no need to create a BAD impression by making it obvious it's neglected when an "online billboard" will do just as much for your business without creating the impression of neglect.

Other things to consider: is your site mobile optimized? If it isn't, it won't show up in google searches on mobile devices. Since around 90% of local web traffic originates from mobile devices, most of the people searching online will never find your site. Confession: MY site is not mobile optimized, but my situation is a bit different - I'm not relying on people to find it in online searches in order to generate business, but rather as an easier alternative to mailing samples or maintaining a physical portfolio. My potential clients are coming to the site, usually, from a link I've sent them, and they're accessing the site on a desktop or laptop computer.

As you can see from my aside, the needs of your business should be the determining factor in how you seek to position your business online. Ask yourself what, exactly, you want to achieve with all of your online communications and how close you're getting to your goal. If you have a site or social media account that's been neglected, determine whether you'll really find the time to keep it up to date. If you know you won't, get rid of it - it's not doing anything for you anyway. But if it could help grow your business with proper attention, start making it a priority. Otherwise you're missing out on a big opportunity to attract new business at minimal cost. I'll look at some of the factors important to maintaining an effective web presence in following posts.

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