Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age, it’s critical that your business runs on the most up to date technologies possible. Likewise it’s critical to keep your systems up to date. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology.

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There are aspects of your business that are ever in flux. Your ideas need to evolve; your customer’s experience develops in accordance with the feedback you receive, your staff learn new skills, and so on. One thing that you may think holds steady is the nuts and bolts of your business: the location of your office, the furniture, the technology and software you use to push your business forward. But in fact, these things should also be in flux, especially your technology Below, we take a look at a few reasons why you’ll want to consider upgrading your business technology.

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You’re Behind the Times

You might think that you’re operating at full capacity, but are you? F you’re using outdated technology, then the chances are that while you’re running at 100% with the technology you’re using, in comparative terms you’re only doing things at 75%. You can only do the best with what you have, but what if the best you have isn’t good enough? If it’s been some years since you last updated your equipment, take a look at any developments that have happened since then — you might just see what you’re missing out on.

Your Competitors Are Doing It

Even if you think you’re working well enough with what you have, it’s worth keeping in mind that what you’re doing is only one small piece of the jigsaw puzzle of running a business. What your competitors are doing is also important to your long-term business success, too. So while you may assess things and decide that you’re happy with what you have, cast your mind to the companies you’re in competition with for customers. Would you be quite as confident in your decision if you knew they were upgrading their technology?

It’s Easier Than You Think

There are normally two big considerations that prevent a company from upgrading their technology: the time involved to make the transition, and the cost. Both of these issues, however, are based on incorrect assumptions. For starters, let’s think about the cost. You shouldn’t think about the technology as a dead cost, because it’s not — if it helps you work more productively, then it’ll boost your profits. It’s an investment. In any case, the costs will be offset by the sale of your old equipment, which can be achieved by working with a company that offers data center liquidation. On the time front, if you transition your data into the cloud, then there’ll be no great data migration process. You can just have your new equipment installed, and be back to work at full speed in a day or two.

It’s Safer

Finally, keep in mind that keeping your technology and software up to date is an important part of staying protected about malware and other cybercrime threats. This type of crime has risen significantly in recent years and is especially targeted at small businesses. With the latest tools at your disposal, you’ll be in the best position to keep the threat at bay.

The Highest Tech For The Best Business

Three key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. If you’re in business, it’s important to know the best technologies to use for your business and purposes. The following contributed post is thus entitled, The Highest Tech For The Best Business.

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Technology is something a business swears by, and if you can’t say this for your business, then you definitely aren’t doing things how you should be doing them. But sometimes we aren’t using the best technology, but you just don’t know what potential is out there! So, if you want to know what the highest tech out there is at the minute, and how it can easily better your business, we’ve got a few tips coming your way. There is a whole world of technology being designed out there, all feeding off information that clients such as yourself provide. The companies developing them adapt and learn, until they get to the stage where they’re at the top of their field. So, keep on reading, and hopefully by the end of this you will have at least one piece of technology that you can look into further, and hopefully use within your business.

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Communication Systems

Every business uses communication systems, and some use them in ways that others don’t. It all depends on the line of work that your business is in, and how you might need to use said technology. But we have to admit, some companies are just completely stuck in the stone ages when it comes to technology and their communication systems. For example, you can now get state of the art gps antenna systems that will allow you to see and therefore communicate with clients, unknown people, and whatever else you might need to find in your line of work. But there are some shoddy antenna systems that will barely pick up anything at all. The same goes for things like your IT serves, which is a different type of communication system in that they will be talking to other components of software to ensure your business is running properly. If you were going to go for a server, you should definitely go for a professionally managed one so that you don’t bear the brunt of a bad server.

Office Essentials

Now to the things that you might use more and more on a daily basis, and one thing we definitely thing you should utilise is software to help you with the day to day running of your business. It really has become an office essential to have software, such as ones that help you run payroll. It’s a long task to do such a thing, but it can be made so much easier with the aid of software. So, sit and have a think about all of the things that you find hard to do in a day, and then have a quick Google search and see if there is software that can really help you with it.

Tech That Will Push For Growth

Now isn’t this something that will have got your ears up. Growth is the number one goal of a business, and it’s best done by using software that allows you to monitor your sales patterns, rather than you trying to work it all out manually. It becomes an easy process to figure out what it is that your business needs, and where the sales might be going wrong.

Liquid Technology Which You Use Every Day

A key focus of my blog is Technology. Liquid technology is around us and something we use daily. Few people know about liquid technology and what its applications are. The following contributed post is entitled, Liquid Technology Which You Use Every Day.

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When most people think about technology, liquids aren’t often the first thing on their minds. Being notorious for killing the devices which people love the most, it’s natural to want to keep them away from the stuff, but this isn’t always possible. To give you an idea of where liquid technology is found in the modern world, this post will be exploring three different options, giving you a clear picture of what you have available in this area. There are few areas more interesting than gadgets which have the power to fry themselves.

Smart Water

Crime is always something which people are working to tackle. Regardless of how much time and resources are put into an area like this, though, you will always find people who are able to break into things. Smart water promises to help with this, but not in the way which most people imagine. By using a special chemical compound which can be altered very slightly for each bottle, companies making this material can leave a criminal’s skin stained with a liquid which is completely unique. This is the modern equivalent of being caught red handed, as you simply won’t have a way to argue with a court if you’ve been found with loads of this material on your body.

Lubricants

Modern cars move faster than ever before, and often have to rely on manufacturing methods which don’t make room for much error. To make sure than engines are able to cope, lubricants are used, usually coming in the form of oil. Companies like Peakhd have been working for decades to create products in this field which are able to outperform their more traditional alternatives. Creating a liquid which doesn’t change its state as temperatures and pressures around it vary is no mean feat, though this is exactly what you need in your vehicle, making it hard for companies to hit the sweet spot.

Phase Changes

Not a lot of people know how their refrigerator works. Much like the radiator in your car, these large appliances use an array of fins to cool down a fluid on the inside. As the fluid changes temperature, it also changes state, becoming a gas as it heats up, and a liquid when it cools down again. This sort of system is found in loads of different types of machine, not just fridges. Of course, though, it also isn’t the only way to cool something down, and there are modern methods which don’t require any harmful chemicals to get started.

With all of this on your mind, it should be a lot easier to see the power which liquids have to support society. A lot of people struggle to see where these tools can fit into the world, even though they are already commonplace, and this keeps the wider population oblivious to the liquids they are using on a daily basis. It’s always worth working hard to build a good understanding of the technology and tools you use on a regular basis, especially when they are so strange.

3 Major Ways Technology Has Transformed Healthcare

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. The healthcare industry has been transformed by technology over the last decade. Whether you’re in a healthcare profession, a consumer/patient or an investor, it’s important understand these impacts. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 3 Major Ways Technology Has Transformed Healthcare.

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Technology has always been considered rather a driving force behind the healthcare improvements that hit the headlines today. It’s easy to come to that conclusion when you see the rate of innovation with technology in medicine today. Any graduate of health will agree with the fact that technology is having a positive impact in our lives today, from the data collection breakthroughs to the research and treatments that allow leaders in medicine to find fresh ways to practice medicine in the years to come.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the three ways that technology has really packed a punch with healthcare and medicine in the last decade.

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Better & More Accessible Treatment
One of the biggest technological observations of our time is the way that we have more access to better treatment due to the innovations that are occuring. For example, geneticists have managed to deliver healthy cells to the right places using non-viral PiggyBac DNA Modification. The efficiency in which this works enables a large amount of genetic cargo to be delivered into T cells to create therapies that weren’t around in the early CAR-T therapies. Most therapies are viral based, which presents problems relating to safety concerns. Instead of the viral vectors to create therapies, the NVPB delivers CAR molecule genes to T cells.

Improved Care
It’s a growing area, but the biggest area that has grown in medicine and continues to do so is the care of the patients. The use of IT has made patient care far safer than it used to be and the fact that doctors and nurses in front of the patients are using tablets and smart devices to record their data, and then sharing it right away is indicative of the benefits of health IT. The accumulation of lab results and the recording of vital signs and other patient data into one system is only going to result in better patient care and more efficient services in a medical setting. Scientists need new ways to study the trends in healthcare and with better access to data, and medical breakthroughs can be studied at a quicker rate.

Disease Control
There have been huge developments in software programs that resulted in the WHO being able to classify illnesses along with their causes and symptoms and putting all of these into a huge database. This database gave each individual illness and their symptoms 14,000 individual codes and allows medical professionals and researchers to track, retrieve and use all their data in the fight to control diseases. The better research that is done, the better outcomes in general for the wider world. The software that is created for the medical community plays a huge role in tracking procedures, reducing waste and paperwork levels. These also allow doctors and healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care and the all round efficiency of what they do.

As there is a drive toward better health IT, doctors are getting enormous benefits from the drive toward a better system and it’s expected that there will be more developments in the future.

4 Technologies Changing Manufacturing

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. If you’re running a manufacturing business, it’s critical to understanding the current technologies and how they can help you operations. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 4 Technologies Changing Manufacturing.

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Quality manufacturing is at the core of many businesses. While some companies simply purchase pre-manufactured products, others rely on either outsourced manufacturing or their own manufacturing setup to create custom products. Like any other area of business, the world of manufacturing is evolving, and technology is moving at a fast pace. Any businesses that rely on manufacturing should be aware of the technology available, whether they’re looking for the right outsourcer or want to update their own manufacturing setup. Here are some of the technologies that are changing manufacturing and the relationship that many businesses have with it.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) involves how devices connect to each other, including computers, manufacturing equipment, vehicles and much more. It facilitates the transfer of data more easily and makes essential information more accessible and easier to analyze. Many manufacturers have already begun to use connected products. It’s not even necessary to invest in all new equipment. Many older items can be updated by adding sensors or other connected products that help to collect and share important data. The IoT makes everything more efficient, keeping everyone in the know. For example, a sensor could pick up on a problem with a piece of equipment and immediately let an engineer know about it.

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Automation

Automation in the manufacturing process is another technology that is playing an increasingly large role. Automation from your outsourcing partners such as an injection moulding company means they will use the tech to monitor manufacturing, ensure consistent quality and transfer parts. Automation means less work for humans, so they can concentrate on doing other things. It can help to improve accuracy and quality during manufacturing, and speed things up too. There has been an increase in automation solutions in the last few years, so there are plenty of ways for manufacturers to benefit from automatic.

Augmented Reality

While it might not be in common use yet, augmented reality has been pitched as the next big thing in manufacturing and other business areas for a while. The use of AR could help to improve efficiency and it’s also popularly used for training purposes. Augmented reality could be used to help people with complex assembly or can make it easier to carry out maintenance, providing clear and visual instructions. Expert support can be provided through AR, and it can even be used to carry out quality assurance.

Mobile Technology

Within manufacturing companies, mobile technology can also prove to be useful. Mobile tech allows people to access the information they need whenever and wherever. Workers need to have access to data that helps them do their jobs properly, and employers shouldn’t ignore the growing need for mobile apps in the workplace. An app can be used to log working hours, check schedules or receive notifications about tasks that need to be completed. When employees benefit from being connected to what’s happening, the rest if the company benefits too.

Technology will continue to change the manufacturing industry. It will pay for businesses to keep up with what’s happening.

How Is Car Technology Changing The Face Of Public Transport?

A major focus of my blog is Technology. Right now we’re seeing the incorporation of new technologies into cars. What are the advantages of these new technologies in the are of public transportation? The following contributed post is entitled, How Is Car Technology Changing The Face Of Public Transport?

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In recent years, it seems as if humans are moving far closer to truly autonomous cars than ever before. Loads of companies are throwing their hats into the ring, coming out with options which are promising the shape the future of this industry. What does this mean for a field like public transport, though? To give you an idea of how this might change the way you get around in the future, this post will be going through some of the changes you can expect to see over the next couple of decades. Of course, this sort of change is dependent on technology and the way that it develops.

Rapid Growth

As more cares are starting to be able to drive themselves, there becomes less of a reason to own a personal vehicle. Without having to reply on drivers to get you around, taxis using modern technology could get you from place to place at any time of day, and it wouldn’t make anyone’s lives unpleasant. Coupled with less and less people having space for a car at home, this could see the public transport industry boom like never before.

Hybrid Systems

Traditional cars are always looked at as a standalone item, and very few people will see them as holding a dual purpose. Nowadays, though, a lot of companies are looking for new ways to use cars creatively. A great example of this can be found in the Hyperloop, a project being undertaken by a large group of businesses, schools, and enthusiasts. This system promises to allow driverless cars to be launched through underground systems, dramatically lowering transport times and making public transport more promising.

Lower Costs

When you don’t need a driver for the public transport you’re using, the cost of driving goes down by a large margin. Coupled with the fact that electricity can be produced for far less than traditional fuel, this whole experience gets a lot cheaper than using your own car. It’s rare that you find something which both costs less and provides greater convenience, but this is what the world of public transport is set to achieve.

Safer Roads

Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the safety on the roads. While companies may not be able to get rid of their motor accident lawyers just yet, the future is bright when it comes to automated vehicles. If companies are able to produce the systems they are planning, the roads are set to become far less risky for people, and this is a change worth working hard for.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to get started on using public transport more often. As time goes on, companies like Uber are only going to become more popular, taking over the a market which has existing for a long time. Of course, though, like most fields of technology, it will take some time until this is something which everyone has access to.

Utilizing Technology In Your Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age it’s important to properly utilize technology in your operations. Not everyone is savvy in how to go about this. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Utilizing Technology In Your Business.

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Photo by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The world around us is becoming more and more technology-based, from the telematics in our cars to the hardware in our phones. No matter where you are it seems that you can’t escape some sort of technology. So, with that in mind let’s look at how your company might try to then make the most of tech and the digital age.

Marketing

For starters, one of the ways that many companies are utilizing technology around the world is by investing their time and money in digital marketing campaigns. As referenced above, our phones have become almost like miniature computers in our pockets and therefore are perfect places for companies to target their advertising. The way they will do that will quite often be via social media, so where you start with this form of marketing?

Social Media – From Facebook to Twitter and every Instagram or Snapchat in between there is a social network out there these days for all of us to use. Rarely before in history have you as a business has such eahsy access to so many captive eyes and making the most of that is vital to your success.

It is important to remember with social media that each one has a specialty and users who are active for that reason. That means you need to target your marketing campaign carefully, don’t start a YouTube plan if you have no need for video based promotion, for example. So, the first thing any social media marketing campaign must do is identify its audience and find where they are online. Facebook has the highest number of users so if you cast a net you’re likely to catch some fish, but are they the right ones for you. A mistake made by many companies is thinking that because a social media account is free they should dive head first, far from it. Your time is currency to the company and wasting it by spreading yourself thinly over several social media websites rather than targeting a few is not a good use of it.

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Productivity

In addition to improving your ability to promote your business, the tech industry has delivered a vast range of applications that will help your workforce being more efficient and productive with their time. The classics of the genre include Evernote and Dropbox, both of which are regular features of many offices with the latter offering cloud-based storage and the former a type or organization tool.

However, keep your eye out for startups that are looking to revolutionize the productivity market. As we learn more about the digital era we are seeing more and more applications come to the fore that can help your business with communications, meetings and sharing information. Some of these companies that you might want to keep an eye on include: Mindmeister, Todoist, and RescueTime.

New Car Tech From CES 2019

A key focus of my blog is Technology. As our world continues to technologically evolve, the automotive industry is evolving right along with it. Many of the new automotive tech will be showcased for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show. The following contributed post is thus entitled, New Car Tech From CES 2019.

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The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is almost upon us and, as a result, automakers all over the world are releasing teasers for what’s in store for 2019, a year when many expect to see big leaps forward in automotive tech.

Let’s take a look at what the various car makers are promising and what we can get excited about in the days to come.

Emotional Recognition Technology

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When face recognition technology first began to mature back in 2014, technologists predicted that it wouldn’t be long before it could start assessing our moods. And lo and behold, that’s precisely what happened. AI-powered technology soon learned what a stressed-out or happy human looked like and could theoretically be programmed to respond.

The market applications of this weren’t clear before, but now Kia has introduced what it calls an “emotional recognition system” that’s designed to pick up on cues from drivers and then adjust things like lighting automatically. No, the mood options are not yet installed on any Kia vehicles, but the company will be showcasing the technology using a pod at CES this year. Visitors can try the system, whether they’re feeling happy, sad, angry or pretty much indifferent. https://www.zigwheels.com/ gives more details.

A Modular Car

Mercedes-Benz has long been at the forefront of automotive technology, but at this year’s CES, the car company is looking for a way to outdo itself once again. It’s come up with such a wacky concept that it’s hard to imagine how it would work in practice, but the company wants to push the idea nonetheless.

The idea is for a modular car. The car would be small – perhaps only large enough for a single occupant – but would have an expandable bay at the rear so that people could take more luggage with them when they wanted to. The car would also run on batteries, making it one of the smallest cars in the world. It’s clear that the vehicle is inspired by Smart, a subsidiary of Mercedes that produces small, compact, eco-friendly city cars.

New Autonomous Tech

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No, we’re not likely to see fully self-driving cars from any of the major manufacturers anytime soon, but companies are looking at ways to make life safer. According to emrochandkilduff.com/fredericksburg/virginia-automobile-accident-lawyer/, car manufacturers still have a long way to go to protect drivers and pedestrians. But Audi says that it’s working on technology that will expand on the current array of autonomous driving options to help protect pedestrians too. Audi says that it will be introducing sensors that will help prevent an accident involving a collision with a pedestrian, as well as other road users.
The car company also wants to update its infotainment system to make it less demanding to use while on the road. Expect to see gesture technology as well as voice activation.

CES looks like it’s going to be another interesting year for the automotive sector as it plays catch up with the tech industry. Greater integration with tech products is leading to more opportunities to improve the driving experience.

Big Tech Wants To Create Software To Keep You Safe. But Will It?

A major focus of my blog is Technology. Today there are numerous new technological advances which were designed with the intent of increasing safety. What are some of these new technologies? The following contributed post is entitled, Big Tech Wants To Create Software To Keep You Safe. But Will It?

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Although the news around big tech, especially the Facebook scandal, is overwhelmingly negative, there’s no denying the fact that software has the potential to keep us safe. But exactly how companies intend to do this remains a mystery for many people, so here are some of the applications of software that are already keeping you safer and doing a good job of it.

Door Alarm Software

Over the last few years, specific IoT applications have gained traction in the market, including door alarms. Rather than just having an alarm next to the door which sounds if somebody tries to break and enter, new technology now allows homeowners to get alerts direct to their phone telling them that somebody is trying to gain access to their home.

Companies, like Ring, take this one step further by integrating camera technology. People can see the person at their front door and talk to them through their devices, no matter where they happen to be. Not only does this discourage burglary, but it also creates a record of people that have been to the front door: helpful in a possible investigation.

Blind-Spot Sensing

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Data from Aitken Aitken Cohn trial lawyers suggests that there were more than 3,100 fatal accidents in California alone last year. What’s more, around nine out of ten of those was the result of driver error.

Perhaps the most critical application of software technology, therefore, is in the realm of motor vehicles. New technologies are coming on board all the time which promise to keep drivers safer than they’ve ever been before. One of the most promising of these is the so-called blind-spot sensing technology. This is a kind of technology that will keep the car in a lane if it can sense a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot, even if the driver turns the steering wheel.

Facial Recognition

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In the modern world, keeping your data safe is just as important as keeping your property secure. Software is helping people to achieve this by reducing the traditional reliance on passwords and using alternative authentication methods instead.

Perhaps the most interesting of these is facial recognition. Already companies like Intel are using facial recognition (Intel uses an app called Security True Key) to unlock mobile devices if and only if they detect a person’s face. Although the technology sounds futuristic, advanced AI is enabling devices to recognize one person’s face from another based on a set of important input characteristics. Even small changes in the distance between the eyes can make a difference to whether the software decides that it is looking at the owner of the device or not. Expect this technology to make a big splash in the coming year.

Device Tracking

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The cloud opened up a whole new bunch of possibilities for people to protect their devices using their other devices. There are now apps like LoJack and Prey, which allow you to remotely secure devices that you may have misplaced. All you have to do is log onto the app on a trusted device and then instruct it to lock all linked devices – great if you ever leave your laptop on the train.

4 Benefits and Dangers of Technology

“The world we all live in today is completely dominated by technology, to an extent that would have been considered all but unthinkable even a few short years ago.”

A key focus of my blog is Technology. While the many inventions in our new digital world have made our lives easier and more pleasurable, they’ve also created numerous dangers. What are these? The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Benefits and Dangers of Technology.

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The world we all live in today is completely dominated by technology, to an extent that would have been considered all but unthinkable even a few short years ago. We work at our computers, we arrive home and recline in front of our flat screen TV’s to indulge in a Netflix binge, and when it’s time to pick up groceries, we likely as not order them online, too.

Technology is by no means all good or all bad. It brings with it both tremendous benefits and potential downsides. The specific technology in question, and the context of its use, determine whether it’s ultimately positive or negative.

Here are a couple of benefits and dangers of technology, just to get you thinking about this issue more deeply.

Benefit: increased safety

Certain technologies undoubtedly lead to a safer world for the majority of people. Medical devices can detect potentially fatal conditions in the early stages and result in them being successfully treated. And even reviews of products and companies can prevent us from being exploited.

Then, of course, there are inventions like the police speed gun, used to prevent dangerous behaviour on the road, and catch people who flagrantly violate speed laws.

Not only are there broad social benefits to these kinds of technologies, but even on a personal level, you may benefit immensely from certain safety-oriented tools and devices.

That’s where organizations like Genesis Reference Laboratories are becoming so critical. These institutions are used by private businesses and governments to explore the effects of specific technologies further and to understand them more before rolling them out to the general population. Given the power of today’s innovations, it is no longer appropriate to move forward and break things in the name of speed. Things have to be done properly.

Danger: the risk of being lost in an artificial world that plays on our psychological weak spots

It’s no secret that the creators of the world’s leading social media platforms, not to mention videogames, employ a variety of psychological tricks and mechanisms in order to exploit our basic human impulses to keep us invested in the services or products they’re offering.

This becomes a danger, especially when we’re unaware of the fundamentally addictive — and often intentionally manipulative — nature of these platforms and tools.

Author Adam Alter, writing in his book “Irresistible”, describes many instances of people whose real-world lives have been negatively impacted, often to an extreme degree, by their inability to escape the more instantly gratifying artificial world of technology.

Benefit: new ways to communicate ideas and seek knowledge from around the world

Virtually yesterday, historically speaking, the internet didn’t exist — and even for years after its creation, it was nowhere near the kind of all-encompassing encyclopedic resource that it is today.

With the development of the internet has come a previously unprecedented opportunity for the average person to communicate ideas and seek knowledge from around the world.

Personal blogs and videos bypass the need for traditional media and publishing gatekeepers. Tools like Wikipedia render a virtually limitless pool of facts and trivia accessible to all.

Danger: a more shallow and distracted kind of awareness

The Shallows” is a book by author Nicholas Carr, in which the author underlines some of the evidence for the fact that the internet has made us all more shallow and distracted than ever before.

This is an idea that’s been corroborated by various findings and theories, for years now. Simply put — with the internet, we have a pool of information as wide as the ocean to play in. But it’s as deep as a paddling pool, and means we have a broad but shallow, and distracted, awareness of many topics.

Reading books and doing traditional studying, on the other hand, theoretically helps to create a deeper and more focused kind of awareness.