Recently I was working with a friend to figure out an easy (free) way for her to create a place for her coworkers to share documents and connect with each other from remote locations. The half an hour we spent setting up the site showed me just how easy it is to collaborate with coworkers using free and readily available tools.
There really isn’t any reason not to do it, but you’ll still get some pushback in several ways.
Too Technical
With thirty minutes of training, I can get someone up and running with a basic understanding of a Wordpress (my preferred web software) site. And that’s for the administrator. Users can usually handle the interface with relatively few problems. These things have been developed by people much smarter than me to be used by people who are beginners in the technology area.
Too Expensive
In the aforementioned solution, I incorporated two tools that I also personally use on a daily basis: Wordpress and Gmail. These two highly capable pieces of software come at the steep price of zero, and they’re not alone. With the extensive availability of free options, there are more useful tools than ever available at no cost (and little risk).
Too Time-Consuming
I’ll admit that I’m a geek. But like I said before, I can teach someone the basics of one of these things in under an hour. If you invest that time block in learning to use a new technology instead of chatting at the water cooler, you might be surprised at how much benefit you get from the experience.
You have to be willing to learn.
As you can see, it’s really not too difficult to handle. You have to be willing to learn, but if you are, I’m sure there’s someone around you who can teach you the basics of one of these tools. And if there’s not someone nearby, there’s no harm in trying to go it alone. I’ve done some of my best learning by trying and failing half a dozen times, and that type of experience leaves you with a better understanding overall, too. And if worse comes to worse, just let me know if I can help in some way.
Are you one of those people who has one of these three issues with technology?
