[Sigia-l] Technology is just a tool (was "NYT article" on sigia-l)

[Matthew deStwolinski]

I'd like to see ASIS&T, the IA Institute, and other organizations and educational institutions put a series of ads in the NY Times and other places both print and electronic with a message like this:

---
TECHNOLOGY IS JUST A TOOL
It's not a solution.  FIRST, understand how people actually interact with each other and with the information in their lives, in all the complex, nuanced, often unintuitive ways that they do.  SECOND, design ways to help support and enhance what people do in order to help them meet their goals.  THIRD, use technology as one of several powerful tools to bring these solutions to life.

Viewing technology as a solution in itself, you're almost destined to fail.  Many have.  Many will.  And the costs are staggering.
---

Set up an independent website where business and technology people could find easily-accessible information on why viewing technology as a solution is destined to fail.  Include information on disciplines like user-centered design, IA, IxD, etc., how they can help, and where people can go to get help or learn more.  Have the site "brought to you by" the .org's and .edu's that sponsored it.

I'm willing to start drumming up support.  Who's with me?  Who has comments, concerns or questions?  Who's sitting back laughing their *** off at my idealistic naiveté?  :-)

Seriously, what do you all think?

Matthew deStwolinski


(Apologies for cross-posting, but I've added the aifia-members list to this since I've suggested that organization's support.)


> Marcy Jacobs included from a NY Times article:
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/technology/09compute.html?th
>
> Doctors' Journal Says Computing Is No Panacea
> 
> ...
> One paper, based on a lengthy study at a large teaching hospital,
> found 22 ways that a computer system for physicians could increase the
> risk of medication errors. Most of these problems, the authors said,
> were created by poorly designed software that too often ignored how
> doctors and nurses actually work in a hospital setting.