If you were really lucky, then less than a week ago you got to watch the faces of your children, nieces, nephews, god-kids or any young relatives light up in wonder at a mesmerizing display of lights, new and wonderful musical or a gift more perfect than anything they had imagined.
Well, that’s not what I’m going to talk about.
If you were unlucky, then you were roped into teaching a slightly older relative how to transfer their holiday pictures from a digital camera or how to save a number in their new smartphone. For those of us without the patience of saints, it’s one of the most dreaded holiday tasks. And the worst part of it is that you never know when it’s going to hit. It sneaks up from behind.
But just yesterday, I found the upside. Let it be noted, that my mother is entirely tech-savvy. New things don’t make her nervous and she keeps herself up to date on how to take advantage of the latest gadget. My parents just came for a visit this week from a different time zone. When my mom turned on her smartphone after the long flight she discovered that the clock had automatically updated. It was completely out of range of her phone service provider and she hadn’t connected to a wi-fi network yet, but there it was. My peers may or may not have been impressed by something like that but the kids opening presents almost certainly won’t be. But whether they’re in their 40s, 60s or 80s we can still count on our parents to appreciate how fast technology is moving. One of the greatest gifts I ever gave was arriving for a visit to my 95 year old grandfather with a laptop in tow and a youtube playlist full of Gene Kelly movies from the late 40’s. Besides the fact that we both adored Gene Kelly, seeing that technology allowed me to go back in time with him absolutely fascinated my grandfather.
With the new year coming in, this is probably the best advice I can give to the tech-savvy consumers and small businesses of Consumer-Rankings.com: Don’t lose your fascination. As the year progresses technology will continue to change and the world will change along with it. And for once, try to keep the wonder of the generation before you instead of the generation after you. By appreciating how really wonderful the newest technological tools are, you can find what will impress your customers. Whether that means new ways to keep up or even new ways to go back a little bit.
Happy New Year from Consumer-Rankings.com
