Do People Connect You With Your Gear?
Posted on 16 August 2009, at 5:40 pm, by Travis Ehrlich
A funny thing has occurred since owning an iPhone 3GS. I am in no way an expert, but have become the iPhone guy. How many of you are known among your friends and co-workers for your gear?
I live in a small, rural South Texas town. Yes, we have electricity and plumbing! We even have high speed internet. Being a ranching community, most people here are not technology geeks like I am. There are iPhones and laptops and gadgets, but most are light users. Since much of my spare time is spent reading or writing for tech blogs, listening to podcasts and playing with gadgets, many of my friends and co-workers have decided I know everything about all of this gear. (Again, I am in no way an expert, but a wanna-be geek!)One of my fellow coaches has an iPhone, but is not an app freak like I am. He mainly uses it for calls, texts and checking Facebook. The other coaches are the opposite of gear geeks! Even though they like to give me a hard time about my love for gadgets, they have come to depend on them. On our way to coaches clinic this summer, I would settle all disputes by looking up facts via Safari. By the end of the trip I was getting, “Ehrlich! Look up blah blah blah on your fancy phone and tell me which one of us is correct.” Basically, I have become the walking encyclopedia/sports score/weather and radar source for the entire coaching staff. I have become the iPhone guy to my friends and co-workers!
How many of you have had similar experiences? Which gear are you known for? Are you mistaken for an expert due to the gadgets you carry? Share your stories in the comments section.
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travisehrlich Says:
August 16th, 2009 at 10:34 pmDo People Connect You With Your Gear? http://tinyurl.com/p7fuh5 from @iNewsApp
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August 16th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Same thing with me…friends of friends email me to ask what phone they should get, and I was the go-to person on a recent trip to Seattle regarding directions, etc. (Thank god for Google Maps walking and mass transit tabs!)
Worse though is that I’m seen as “the tech person” in the office, which means I get peppered with all sorts of questions, ranging from “how do I do this in outlook” to “why can’t we do ___?”…people get SO MAD when I tell them they need to call tech support!
August 17th, 2009 at 8:40 am
We real “tech people” have another issue. I get so many questions about “my home PC is doing something strange” and “what PC should I buy for my son?” I guess it’s like doctors get all sorts of requests for free medical advice, IT people get asked for free tech support. I get people that ask me to work on their home PCs and get mad when I decline. I’ve taken to reminding them that they don’t do their particular job outside of work either.
@Carly Z: The next time someone asks you a tech question and gets mad when you refer them to tech support simply tell them that the tech support department has agreed not to try to do your job and you’ve agreed not to try to do theirs. :~)
August 17th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Oh yes, I can certainly relate to such things. I’m one of the internet weather/politics/cell phone/PC tech experts where I work.
As the old sayings go “knowledge is power” and “access to power is power.” Being PC- or mobile technology-savvy seems to make one a valuable asset in social circles for those reasons. What I’ve observed is that what I take for granted, using my Windows-mobile phones or my iPod touch or my laptop and such, is a feat of considerable skill to the average person out there. The Internet is I think in the minds of many non-techs some amazingly complex, vast storehouse of the sum of human knowledge and means of mass communication. The problem for them is how to access, filter and interpret all that knowledge in a useful fashion. Tech geeks like us have for the most part learned how to do this pretty well, hence we become living “access points” if you will, however when people begin to come to us for every little thing instead of doing the research themselves…that becomes a nuisance. I sometimes feel like I have to be careful in some social situations telling people what I do, because mentioning that you have some understanding of the byzantine internet and personal computer/cell phone technology can be like saying you’re a doctor or lawyer: everyone starts pestering you for advice or asking about diagnosing a computer/electronics problem.
There is also an odd phenomenon that so many folks I have encountered display, and maybe others here have noticed this: the assumption that all electronics technology (hardware and software) is seen as equivalent. By that I mean that typical non-tech types assume that since I have internet access on my phone I must know how to fix a computer, or if I listen to music on my iPod I must have a good idea about home theatre systems, or if I am savvy with PCs I must know how to operate ANY piece of software for ANY OS in existence or know why their system is running so slowly. Anyone here have THAT problem?
August 17th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I think that family asking for computer tech support has got to be the worst. Just because I write about gadgets (including laptops) does not mean I know how to fix your PC! I’ll generally try to help, but there are some jobs that I have started that were sooooo above my head. One day I will get better at just saying no!
August 17th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I am constantly peppered with questions … I barely had a break when changing jobs and moving to a new state … within a few months I was recommending netbooks and helping my neighbor set up her new Mac and iPod (that her daughter gave her).
August 17th, 2009 at 11:09 am
@breley says: “…or if I am savvy with PCs I must know how to operate ANY piece of software for ANY OS in existence or know why their system is running so slowly. Anyone here have THAT problem?”
It’s an occupational hazard for support techs. While I do know quite a bit about Windows, and even MS-DOS (having been around since those days), I know squat about anything Mac-related or Linux. I’ve just never used them. We’ve had some MD’s buy their own computers, and buy Macs and expect us to be Mac Geniuses. I have users purchase some obscure software package directly (instead of going through IT like they’re SUPPOSED TO) and then ask me to show them how to use it.
Some of the personal support requests are from Mac users, and I get questions about “what do you think about Linux” all the time. I have a RAZR for personal use and an HTC Hermes for work, and get questions about iPhones. Luckily I have an iPhone-owning co-worker to refer those to. :~)
August 17th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I walked into the school this morning for teacher in-service and 3 teachers told me they have new phones and need me to help them figure out how to use them. LOL It was funny since I had just posted this last night!