Importance: 40%
The Big Idea
Sometime we can react to new technology or tools in two unhelpful ways:
- Avoidance: We can run away or avoid new tools because they are unfamiliar or seem hard to learn or use. Or we just are comfortable with the way we have gotten used to doing things.
- We miss opportunities to be more productive and effective. What if Paul refused to use the then premier technology of Roman roads? His missionary trips would have been much shorter.
- Blind Acceptance: We are quick to dump resources and time into a new shiny tool because it is marketed well or seems like an exciting up and coming tool. (Think Betamax or floppy disks).
- What was true of ancient organic tools is true of our silicon technology as well: “The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.“ - Psalm 33:16-18
In order to healthily engage with, learn and employ technology, I have found a few important principles to keep in mind:
- Avoiding Vendor lock-in
- Be aware of tech churn. Always start with a plan of exit.
- Be aware of where your data is stored and how you could be cut off from it or lose it.
- Be aware of data storage format and reliability. don’t get stuff locked in a format that is impossible to get out of.
- Favor Open source for general tools and services. They are cheap and generally have the core functionality needed (even if maybe not the full “professional” features).
- Favor Big name companies for security and data sensitive tools. They have huge security teams and a reputation to uphold.
- Make sure the problem a piece of technology addresses is worth the overhead of time and money needed to keep it running.
- Make sure a new piece of technology will play nice with other currently employed tools. If not is it worth the added workarounds to make things work?
- Every piece of technology is oriented toward a particular type of client or way of life. Make sure this underlying narrative will not work against our core mission.
- For example, think of trying to use a point of sales system made for a business to collect church offerings. They are similar but do not solve the same fundament problems.
Helpful Articles: Article on a Dude’s attempt to deGoogle his life
Article on the development of Religion of Technology and how it’s left a void in society today
Article on How Technology has lead to the loss of the Night Sky