Power to the People: How We Guide the Direction of Technology

Mike Donoghue is a member of a multinational information technology corporation where he collaborates on the communications guidelines and customer relationship strategies affecting the interactions with internal and external clients. He has analyzed, defined, designed and overseen processes for various engagements including product usability and customer satisfaction, best practice enterprise standardization, relationship/branding structures, and distribution effectiveness and direction. He has also established corporate library solutions to provide frameworks for sales, marketing, training, and support divisions.

  Communications Management   Knowledge Management   Lessons Learned  

While it has been said that we are the benign users or even the victims of the technology we craft, there are others who have studied its effect and have a slightly contrary view. These findings have discussed the roles of both technology and individuals and the impact each can have on each other, not just with technology in the leading role and users as the bit players. As a result, we are discovering more about how, through the impact of a social context, technology is actually being shaped so that it adopts and adapts to the needs of people, both as unique members and as a society.

The environments created in communities, those in business and other forms, are affected by the dynamic relationships created in their respective “infrastructures” of contributing members (employees, customers, citizens, social media bloggers, etc.). As a result, individuals are responsible for developing the evolving standards that ultimately define how technology is used and how organizations act.

New, Pretty, and Shiny
It is easy to look at the glistening power of a newly implemented technology and think that it is in charge of how it is to be used and incorporated. Perceived as bigger than life and sometimes acting in a manner similar to that of a living organism, this kind of device, service or what have you is quickly recognized as having authority and influence (don…

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