Have you ever heard someone say – I’m a slave to technology. I can’t live without my cell phone, iPod, laptop… whatever? Sure… whatever!!!

I recently came back from a web design conference in Seattle. It was a new learning experience for me. I appreciate its real world, right here/right now kind of training experience. The problem, though, was that there was so much to chew. Too much information, not enough time. But maybe, it’s just me. An important feature of the event wasn’t as much creating and using technology in itself but more on wrapping everything that we do (as web designers/developers) around user-experience. People first, technology second. But this is a deep topic that might be better off being posted on another blog another day.

Though, one thing that became clear to me was the fact that, in this day and age, there’s just way too much information flooding our brain all at once. And a lot of times, we’re left to deal with it. Sink or swim. I remember the joke about the VCR’s clock blinking all the time. It may have been funny back then, but when you think about it now, that may have started the global shift of culture that is now in itself… our culture as we know it. The joke made it obvious that we’re unable to catch up with the times. I mean, it’s not rocket science or anything, right? Just RTFM and set the effing clock already! How hard is that? But no, it wasn’t a matter of whether or not it was difficult, people just did not want to waste their precious time with having to listen to and figure out what and how others want them to do stuff. They would rather go out and jump in the pool with the kids. More fun, less thinking. A no-brainer!!!

And yes, I totally agree! It is a no-brainer that I’d rather enjoy my life the way I want to and not how others might tell me so. If I need something, I shouldn’t have to go through a step-process to get it, or at least not through way too many steps. Technology should be a tool, a helper… not your boss, or worse… your evil master!!!

And so, back to the conference. What did I bring back home with me? Well, a sense of change, for one. A desire to infuse more of that human element into my craft. Sometimes I feel like everything I did in the past was wrong. But I realized, it is good to see the past for what it was today… that, yeah, it could’ve been better. And it could! And should! I could at least do my part, right?

That said, I better get to work already… for tomorrow might not be as forgiving.