Yes, I will fix your wifi. But wait, there’s more.
In an atmosphere desperate for “quick fix” tech solutions to everything people are being forced to stop and think about tech that is taken for granted. With COVID-19 having severely limited the number of participants at FOSSASIA this year to just a handful, the few conversations and interactions have been deep and meaningful. While it’s nice for a change to have the time and space at a conference to have meaningful conversations I’d rather it happen without a global pandemic environment, heres a reflection of sorts on being a Geek. #yearOfReflection
I’m not alone in being the “techy person” in my circle of friends and family, I’m guessing many of the Fossasia speakers would agree. We’re being turned to in a time of need, and we’re in a position to be able to help. I understand most of not all of us have a desire to try and solve the problem at hand. But I’ve learned that it’s usually neither a tech problem nor a need for tech to solve it. It’s about listening and understanding. People are unfamiliar with systems and abstraction, and we fear what we don’t understand.
I’ve been following the “just shut up and listen first” approach to calls for tech help and this really changes everything. “Have you tried turning it off and on again” gets a cheap laugh but when it’s mission critical it’s just awful and unkind. Tired media stereotypes about “socially awkward geeks” don’t help any.
Our roles in society have been shifting steadily from merely “improving” productivity to one that is essential to it. In the cave of global pandemic it’s accelerated change.
People are reaching for digital to help solve problems. It’s natural because so much of what we’ve taken for granted is just that: digital; tools, products, and services. Here’s the thing though all the wonderful digital tech in the world is of no help if its not usable.
You can’t build and app for someone unable to breathe, this needs to be an IRL device for an IRL situation. It’s real life.
That said, digital skills are not useless in a pandemic, quite the opposite really. That IRL breathing device needs to be operated by a person to help another person. And people need to know and understand how to do these things, and this knowing and understanding is what helps save lives. I’d go further to say it’s not just saving lives, it is life. Digital skills aren’t just for building apps, it’s helping people live. Those skills are transferable, not just to other people but other systems. If you know and understand these “techy things” consider helping someone work their wifi, understand their software, figure out why something isn’t working. Just taking over and fixing it is not enough anymore, that just builds dependency and I strongly feel missed an opportunity for building resilience.
OH: “You’ve got a 3d printer? You’re a geek why don’t you just make some ventilators”
Yes it’s digital, so is your phone, as are washing machines. To get a 3D printer to make a Thing you need to know how to use it. Knowing how to use a 3d printer is useless if you don’t have a 3D model to print. Printing a 3d model is useless if it’s not the right size and shape, for that you need to know 3D modeling software. The software tool is only as good as the person using it, and for a useful thing it needs to be designed. For the Thing to help someone it needs to be designed well. For this Thing to help save lives it needs to be designed well, tested on many people, iterated, checked and approved. All that is of no help if nobody knows it’s a Thing or what it does, how to use it or ow to get it. For that it needs to be written up, photographs, illustrated, and shared (in a catchy jangling music video with overlay text a 3 year old child can read). Also it needs a #hashtag.
This takes time yes but more importantly people working together. People with different skills. Digital or otherwise.
That’s also how other things are made. As are vaccines.
TL;DR Help that friend of yours with a “techy” problem think through the situation in addition to just offering a quick fix. I think that’s helping. Also, share digital skills in addition to tools. Work with (not for) people with other skills. I think we’re going to get through this, now go wash your hands. #weAreWhatWeCreateTogether.
P.s. if your friend just wants you to fix the WiFi and will not listen to what you have to say, maybe get better friends.
