Technology: Creation, Life, Society & The Environment
| Kelsey Ruger | Jan 8, 2010 | 2 Responses | Technology |
Yesterday I talked about why I believe innovation is not just about technology. To really understand where I was coming from, I think it’s important to understand the definition of technology:
Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science. (From Dictionary.com)
That’s it. No mention of code, microcircuitry, no discussion of resolution, platforms or languages. The truth is the technology part is the easiest part of the complex issues we will face in the coming year. Anyone can create technology, but not everyone is creating technology solutions that people really want to use.
To consistently create solutions that people want to use you have to pay attention to the life, society and environmental components that so often get over looked in today’s business world. Therein lays the problem. While companies have become really good at making business efficient, they have ignored the things that actually made Da Vinci, Edison, Bezos, Berners-Lee and Jobs pursue their products, inventions and passions – human need, necessity and relevance.
Next up I will explain why creating meaning is more powerful than creating artifacts.
