Overcoming Tech Barriers

Draw an imaginary map.

Put a goal mark on the map where you want to go.

Go walking on an actual street according to your map.

If there is no street where it should be according to the map, make one by putting the obstacles aside.

When you reach the goal, ask the name of the city and give flowers to the first person you meet.

The map must be followed exactly, or the event has to be dropped altogether.

Ask your friends to write maps.

Give your friends maps.

1962 summer

Yoko Ono – Grapefruit: A Book of Instructions and Drawings by Yoko Ono (public library)

We’ve all been there. We have great ideas and want to improve and implement them as soon as possible. Everything is clear: the steps, the parts, the how and why, but suddenly we encounter a barrier… Technology.

How is it that something that has changed the way we connect, communicate and consume restrict us from achieving our goals? It’s important to remember, as my former coding professor always said: “Computers are not as smart as we think, they only do what we tell them to do.”

If you think about it, all forms of technology behave this way. We establish a set of instructions and expect a certain result. However, problems start when that instruction is not as clear as we thought it was, causing undesired results and frustration. The end result? You will probably waste a lot of time and energy fighting with technology, or drop the idea altogether.

To avoid that, let’s think of some basic instructions we can give our computer to help our businesses grow. The first thing that comes to my mind is the almighty website. (I’ve seen this word make some entrepreneurs nervous, others angry and frustrated, and even happy with pride. Behind every website you visit there are clear sets of instructions that were given to establish a structure and placement for all the items (otherwise known as our dear markup friend, HTML).

There are also instructions detailing what each headline will look like, including fonts and sizes, button styles and graphic elements. These items are specified by your CSS style sheet. Once we become more advanced, we’ll have increasingly complex behaviors that will determine functionality and responsiveness.

I really want to encourage you not to let technology overcome you and your business (tweet this!). Your website’s look and functionality should define the experience you want to provide for your customers. Sacrificing how they connect and engage with your business will not be best for you in the long run, so if you are open to the idea: experiment, test and iterate. You’ll find your own way to provide a rewarding brand experience that people will follow.