In a marketing/communication company like ours there are varying levels of technology knowledge and interest. We have a lot of tech geeks because we do a lot of digital work. They’re great to have around because it seems as though there’s nothing they can’t create; seemingly out of nothing.
Extreme Tech Geek
The tech geeks seem to come in two basic types, on the extreme end there is the ‘fanatically obsessive’ “there’s nothing online I don’t know, there’s nothing digital I can’t figure out” geek. These guys are kind of funny. If you want to kill them you don’t have to use a gun, all you have to do it beat them to the latest version of some electronic gizmo – and they lose the will to live. They are also the ones who have difficulty hiding their horror at those slightly less gifted in tech knowledge. Some of them have to be hidden when clients visit.
Digital Trailblazer
On the more mainstream end there is the ‘extremely competent and creative digital trailblazer’, who gets that there are people whose entire lives and every waking moment are not dedicated to the pursuit of digital exploration and creation. They’re a little more realistic than their extreme brethren, although they do have trouble understanding why grandpa isn’t euthanized if he can’t use e-mail. Clearly, these folks are a bit more approachable.
The rest of the company breaks out into two other basic groups: the ‘obsessive
Obsessive Tech Wannabe
tech wannabe’, and the ‘teach me tech on a need to know basis’. The ‘obsessive tech wannabe’ is vaguely respected by the tech geeks. They’re really trying, but they’ll never be ‘us’ because they just don’t have “our gift”. This group is mortified when hardware defeats them – they don’t go down without a fight before calling IT. They are eager to learn at the feet of the masters, and for that they are acknowledged as “having promise”. They are fairly competent navigating through what already exists and can ideate, but are rarely in a position to actually create anything digital.
Need to Know
At the very bottom of the barrel we have the ‘teach me tech on a need to know basis’ folks. They view technology as a tool. When they need to know something they search for the tool that will enable them to do what they need. They’re not incapable of learning, they learn what they need. ‘Fanatically obsessive tech geeks’ usually wear a garlic necklace or carry a cross when entering a room inhabited by the ‘need to know’ group. They don’t just disdain them – they detect a marked disability.
‘Need to know’ folks can figure some things out themselves, but they’re not as adventurous as any of the other groups. Having a competent instructor increases their comfort level dramatically, and often the ability to find the right instructor is the number one thing holding them back. When the only choice of an instructor is a ‘fanatically obsessive tech geek’, which is logical since they are the self-acknowledged gurus who know everything; ‘need to know’ is left in the dust. This happens because ‘fanatically obsessive tech geek’ is also “extreme control freak who would rather just do it themselves”, so that’s what they do. Instead of teaching ‘need to know’, they do it for them, which only serves to confirm their contention, that ‘need to know’ can’t fight their way out of the proverbial digital paper bag. So unfair! Or is it a form of protecting one’s territory? Hmmmm.
‘Extremely competent tech geek’ is a much better teacher – partly because they actually DO teach – although sometimes they’re a bit too technical to understand easily; and ‘obsessive tech wannabe’ can help ‘need to know’ move mountains!
So take a hint ‘fanatically obsessive’ and put your money where your mouth is. If you want everyone in your company to ‘make you proud of their digital savvy’ be a teacher!
And by the way, we used to have yet another group comprised of ‘I hate technology, keep it the hell away from me’. Those dinosaurs have not walked our earth for many moons.
