MacNation is happening…

As many of you know, I switched to a Mac laptop last year – see this post for my reasons.  Based on anecdotal evidence,  I have gotten the impression over the past few months that the Mac was making inroads into the corporate world.  An article on MSNBC today confirms these impressions.

If you are thinking about a new computer, think about a Mac. I have been using a Mac and living in Google mail, calendar, and documents for nine months now, and I don’t plan on switching back.

Tags: apple, mac, Technology

Technology is not the problem

When I teach my class on the management of information systems here at Biola, the first thing I present to the students is the concept of an information system being much more than just computers. My students learn on the first day of class that the five components of an information system are hardware, software, data, people, and processes. And it is the people and processes where information systems have the biggest impact on an organization. As I study how the Internet is used for ministry, I am becoming convinced that this breakdown of an information system can be modified slightly and used as a model for the implementation of Internet ministry. For a ministry to successfully implement a web presence, they must deal with three key areas: technology, people, and processes. And again, as with information systems, it is the people and processes components that are the biggest impact.

You can find books, blogs, vendors, consultants, and volunteers to help with technology. In fact, it seems as if everyone I know has an idea or is a self-proclaimed expert at one sort of technology or the other. And technology changes so fast that there is no way to always be doing the best and greatest of everything. Of course, technology is very important and a lack of good technology will get you in trouble, but it is not the key factor to success of an Internet ministry.

I am working with our church to develop a new web presence (to be unveiled soon). The technology we are using is suitable to our environment and is a huge step forward from our existing web site. As we are getting closer and closer to being ready to go live, though, I am getting more and more concerned that the people and processes will not be ready to go. I am finding that implementing technology is a whole lot easier that changing people’s work habits. Because of this, I have delayed the “go live” date of our web site by a month so that we can have adequate time to be sure that the people at the church fully understand their role in keeping the web site current and the existing processes can be modified properly so that the web site becomes fully integrated into the day-to-day activities of the church.

I think one of the biggest mistakes a ministry can make is to focus solely on the technology and the features of their web site and forget about who they are: the people who work in the ministry and the different tasks performed by the ministry. Both of these must be taken into account before any technological solution can become successful.

Tags: information systems, people, processes, Technology

Using Technology to Improve Your Life

Recently, I questioned whether technology was really morally neutral. For much of my life I have seen technology as a tool for progress, for improvement. In fact, I am focusing much of my time right now into research on how technology can be used to improve the ministries of churches and missions organizations. I am generally an optimist when it comes to technology and think that it generally has a positive influence on society, so it was somewhat of a revelation for me to consider that technology is not morally neutral, but may in fact be morally negative.

So lately I have been thinking about the technology I use day to day in my life and wondering what sorts of effects it is having on me. More specifically, how is it affecting the things that I value most highly: my faith and my family. Is it improving or detracting from my day to day relationships with my God and those I most love?

In this post, I want to focus on a positive impact that a specific technology is having on my relationships. Specifically, I want to focus on my High Definition Dual Digital Video Recorder Satellite Dish Box. So, what is the positive impact that this is having on my relationships? Besides allowing me to watch my beloved Lakers and Angels in glorious high definition in surround sound (not to mention “24”, if it ever returns to the small screen this year!), it also allows me to decide when I want to watch.

You see, it is not the high definition or the Dolby 5.1 surround that improves my relationships. It is the DVR. I can now be intentional about what television I watch. There are two specific uses for this that have greatly improved my relationships, specifically with my family. First, I can time shift. This time of year, I love to keep up with the Lakers, college bowl games, and the NFL playoffs. But the rest of my family does not. So I can now record the games during the evening and watch them after everyone has gone to bed. The dual receiver function of our box also comes into play here: I can record the game on one receiver while we watch something else on the other.

The second way the DVR improves my relationships is that we, as a family, can select the shows we want to watch ahead of time and then sit down when we have time and watch them (and skip the commercials as well). It allows us to be highly selective of our time in front of the television and it gives us the chance to decide based upon what we are interested in, not based upon what’s on right now.

So, here’s a thumbs up to technology, at least this time. As I come up with other uses where technology has an impact on my family or my faith, I will post them here. What about you? Have you noticed technology’s impact on your family or your faith? Let me know in the comments.

Tags: DVR, morality, Technology, TiVO