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There you go. Thank you very much.
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I'm Christopher Johnson.
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I play at the intersection of technology and people.
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It's interesting that, hey, this technology situation happened because
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those are two of the areas where people have anxiety, apprehension.
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I come in and I quell the qualms.
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Let's start with the question, have you ever signed up or bought a new
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piece of technology because it was new and shiny,
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only to realize later that you didn't really use it.
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Or you might still be paying for something that, well, it's not
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working the way you need.
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Okay, it's fine.
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You're not alone.
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Let's talk through it.
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On the next slide, we'll see what we're going to cover today.
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What we're going to cover is the tech overwhelm
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and how you can get past that.
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So one of the keys for addressing tech overwhelm,
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be curious and always have an escape hatch.
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So in this case, you've seen a live escape hatch.
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Hey, I shared my slides with Brenda Meller who is now sharing them for me.
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So if you plan these things out, that prevents panic.
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Panic is rarely, rarely called upon.
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So we're going to go over a few things that can
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quell the qualms of the tech overwhelm and
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keep you in line with what your goals are.
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Now, on this next slide, there are a few items I want to cover.
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So earlier in the session, Brenda went over the five P's, I believe.
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I also have five P's, pure coincidence.
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Mine Purpose, people, process, price, and proof.
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Now, what do each of these mean?
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Well, all right.
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Well, let's go to the next slide and look at purpose.
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So purpose is understanding what the goals are for this piece
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of tech that you're getting.
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If you understand purpose first, and this is how I work with my clients.
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I ask them what is the outcome that they
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want, what What is the thing they want to do?
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Because oftentimes people hear about bells and whistles.
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I have to use all the bells and whistles.
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No, you really don't.
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You can use as much or as little as you want.
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An example I like to use, when my father got his first computer,
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he used it for two things.
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He said, I like to check the movie listings because I want to know when I
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need to go, and I play a lot of solitaire.
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He asked, Am I wasting all that it can do?
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I said, If you're happy getting those two things
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done with your computer, you have not wasted a dime.
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It can do more.
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Whenever you're ready, I can help you with that.
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But right now, it's doing exactly what you want.
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So don't feel pressured to use all the bells and whistles.
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So with purpose first, be aware of the engagement and where your audience
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is and the conversion in the community.
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So But these are just things that you should have in the back of your mind
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when you're looking at purpose first.
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Now, the next slide is people.
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So people refers to where is your audience that's where you want to be?
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What tech do you need to be where your audience is?
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There's a quote from David Pogue from years ago.
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He kept getting the question because he was a tech columnist
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for the New York Times, and people kept asking him,
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What's the best camera for fill-in-the-blank situation?
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The answer is always the same, whatever you have with you.
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These days, most of us have our cell phones with us
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all the time, and they are so robust.
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They can do a lot.
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So don't stress about all the tech that you need.
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Use the tech that you have and use it efficiently.
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So where are your people?
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And up next is the process.
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So make your tech work for you.
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What does that mean?
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Well, going back to the example with my dad, you don't have to use all
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the bells and whistles, you only have to use what you are
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comfortable with and what works for you.
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So one of the things I always have, because we rely on our phones so much,
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I have an external battery that I can just pop onto the back of my phone.
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So when my phone battery is getting low, and I'm one of those,
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I don't like to let my phone battery dip below 40%.
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I always have a charged phone battery that I can just apply to the back of my phone.
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Whether you are on a Android or an iPhone
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device, there is an attachable battery
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available for your preferred phone.
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I use headphones because sometimes it's easier to create out in the world.
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If I'm working on something, sometimes I will choose to work on that
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in a Starbucks or my favorite coffee shop.
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Having headphones helps me block out what I need to and concentrate
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on what I'm doing.
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Another favorite place to do this, the library.
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You can have your headphones and you can create a lot of information in a nice,
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quiet space that is well suited for you.
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Now, the DJI microphone.
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You have probably seen this in a lot of
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videos on TikTok or YouTube.
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It is that microphone that people can attach
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to their iPhone, all their iPhone's in another spot.
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I always keep one of those with me, and I always keep it charged up.
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They all work with my and they do it nicely.
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Here at home, I use a Blue Yeti
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microphone, and I've heard complaints.
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It's like, Well, okay, here's the thing.
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The Blue Yeti has a few different settings, and when you understand what
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those settings are, you can make it sound better.
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So it doesn't have to sound...
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The most common problem I have seen with people using Blue Yetis is not
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understanding where the actual microphone is and how to make it work for them.
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So they complain and instead spend a lot of money on a more expensive mic when
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it could have just been a setting.
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Now, next up is price.
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When we look at price, we're
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looking at the value versus the cost.
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Now, all right,I'm a geek. I'm a nerd.
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I know that's shocking.
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I know.
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But anytime I can use a greater than symbol and have people recall that they
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actually do remember some of their math, hey, it's a fun thing.
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Value is greater than the cost.
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What does that mean?
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If it's a tool that you're going to use, great.
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Spend the money on that tool.
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If you are not going to use it, then okay,
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Are there ways you can test it out
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before you actually purchase it?
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Sometimes there is.
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You might have a friend or a buddy that has a tool that you like and you
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can say, Hey, can I borrow that?
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I want to see if it will work for me.
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Also, don't be afraid to return anything.
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Anything? Yes.
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If the tool is not working, you don't get bonus points for keeping
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it when it doesn't do the job for you.
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And return returning it will get rid of that anxiety.
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It's like, the treadmill in the corner.
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Okay, you had the best of intentions.
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Tech is the same way.
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You had the best of intentions when you bought it.
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Don't be afraid to return it.
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I've already shown you the rechargeable batteries or a rechargeable
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phone battery I use.
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I also use a lot of electronics, and a lot of them take batteries.
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I also use rechargeable batteries because that's a lot easier than
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constantly looking for a AA or AAA batteries for my keyboard,
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my mouse, those things.
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Now, after price, it's proof.
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This is our ability to test first.
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As I was just saying, pilot before you purchase.
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If you have someone or a way that you can test it out, go for it.
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Try it in the store.
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When my wife is looking for a new laptop, she says, What do I recommend?
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My recommendation is always the same.
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Go to the store, see what you like.
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Tell the person in the store exactly how you're going to be using it.
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Are you going to be using it to edit videos?
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Well, that's going to require something different than just reading emails.
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She's always reluctant to listen to me because she says, Well,
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but you work in tech. You're supposed to have an answer.
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I said, well, the answer is individualized for you.
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I don't know how you're going to use it and how I use my laptop will be
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different than you use yours.
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So your best bet is to go to the store and try it out and see which ones you like
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because that makes sure that you are getting what you need.
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Again, you can test it with one project and see how that works for you,
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and don't be afraid to return.
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Now, real-world choices is what we're going to talk about next.
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This is really how I compare tools.
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Video and streaming.
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I use StreamYard and Restream and Zoom, and I see how well they
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all play with each other.
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I am platform agnostic, mostly.
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I use whatever platform as my clients want me to use.
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I'm comfortable and conversant on all of them, so play around and I
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can talk about the benefits and the features with each one.
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So my advice, be curious and play with them and see which ones work for you.
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Also, Canva has been mentioned a lot today.
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That's a place that you can play.
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The free version is robust and you can do a lot of things there.
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You can also try the do it yourself model.
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Is anyone still using paint?
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Okay, I still use paint.
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Sometimes that's the tool that works in the situation.
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There's always Adobe.
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So the right tool with the right purpose helps you align with the right people.
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Now, your tech decision checklist is what is next.
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Here, what I want you to do is
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look at your tools and decide
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which align with your purpose.
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How will your audience see it?
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How does it fit your process?
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And is it worth the cost?
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After you've been in the real world and had that experience,
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then you can have your tech decision
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checklist on the next slide, and you can
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see what tech aligns with your goals
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and how you can how it works
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for what you need it to work for.
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So yeah, at the bottom of that slide, it's better to go deep with a few
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tools than be overwhelmed.
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I'm always trying to prevent the overwhelm.
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Now, here is how we can keep the conversation going.
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On the next slide, you will see connections for connecting with me
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on LinkedIn, my YouTube channel.
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Everyone should have one.
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I was taking notes during that last panel, and I've got homework.
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My company website, they're all right there,
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so feel free to reach out and engage and connect,
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and we can resolve your tech overwhelm.
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That next slide.
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Well, that is a QR code so that you can go
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to my LinkedIn profile and reach out and connect if we're not already connected.
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Now, I have a request that I would like you all to do.
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I saw this earlier in this magnificent session.
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The number of likes on the YouTube in the live has been static for a little bit.
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So please like the video.
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Telling people what you would like them to do is one of the methods for engagement.
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So yeah, go ahead, like the video, and let me know how I can
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help your tech overwhelm.
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Thank you.
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Well, thank you so much, Christopher.
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That was amazing.
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And this is obviously why we all come to you.
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I mean, I've had you on my podcast a couple of times,
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so I could pick your brain.
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And secretly, I want to pick your brain, but I want to share you
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with the world as well.
