Fifth Annual Small Business Summit 2010 - 16 March

February 6, 2009

When Technology Gets In the Way

For the past few months I've been using a variety of wireless, blue tooth headsets, with my cell phone. The latest head set I'm using does not have clear reception. Often times I can hear the person fine, but they can't hear me so well.

I love technology, and in fact, the particular bluet ooth headset I'm using is made by one of the premier brands.

Yesterday, out of frustration I went back to using the wired headset that had been gathering dust and feeling neglected. Guess what, everything sounded so clear, crisp and loud. No static. No disconnecting. No problems.

Lesson learned: Although the "latest" technologies are nice, sometimes older technology is better.

For example, Microsoft has poured millions of dollars into advertising Windows Vista, which we all know, and Microsoft would agree, is poorly designed. Windows 7, in fact, has been touted as really being an upgrade to Windows Vista. Many businesses, including myself, are using Windows XP. It works quite well. Sure it might not have all the slick features of Windows Vista, but it's solid, doesn't crash, nor get in the way of you doing your work. In this case Windows Vista is the "latest" technology while "XP" is the older technology. But XP is better.

Maybe you feel pressured to buy netbooks (mini-notebooks) instead of notebooks for your employees. Are netbooks the best mobile device for your office? Maybe not.

Another example, at this time there is not a lot of attention on email marketing. The attention of the media, or so it seems, is on blogging and other social media communication tools. While these tools are good, your experience might indicate that your audience really prefers email or even a paper based newsletter.

Don't let the latest technology get in the way of the best technology for your business. On the other hand, don't be a technology dinosaur and use technology that is so old it hampers your growth, reduces efficiency and causes employees to flee your employ!

What has been your experience with using older technology?

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