We were cleaning out a storage area in church office last week, and we found a nice little stockpile of these beauties (pictured above).
I posted a picture of these bad boys on the ChurchMag Authors Network, and the conversation quickly turned to “wasted tech,” technology purchased that’s never used. It’s lack of use can be for several reasons:
- The person buying the tech lacks the skills to use it.
- The tech is poor quality and incapable of doing what it was purchased for.
- The purchase was poorly timed and the tech is obsolete as soon as its delivered.
Now, before I go further, this isn’t meant to be critical. Any one of us could fall victim to “wasted tech;” it’s a pretty common phenomenon.
Just this past spring, one of the twenty-year old sorority sisters in my history class bought a brand new MacBook Pro.
Why?
“I can, like, check Facebook really fast.”
It was not easy to sit behind her and watch her waste those 8 gigs of RAM. Last year, my Mom bought a video projector from Kohl’s—first sign of trouble, right there—that I had to test. It was garbage, of course. Even I’ve fallen victim to this. A few years ago, I bought a USB recording utility that I used on a variety of projects until I upgraded my OS without checking to see if the utility’s drivers were supported.
They weren’t.
So now, I have to use a six year-old laptop to make it work.
I could go on.
The first school I taught at had a closet full of reel-to-reel projectors, many never used. They were most likely purchased with a grant, and then technology changed and film became obsolete.
So how do you avoid “wasted tech”?
1. Resist the “bigger is better” pull of materialism.
If you don’t need a dodeca-core processor and 32 gigs of RAM, why spend the money? I’m not saying that we should “bargain” hunt our tech purchases. Let’s just be prudent and resist the urge to buy a Formula 1 racer when we have trouble handling a Ford Focus.
2. Do your research before you buy.
I wish I had done enough research about my USB recorder before I pushed it into obsolescence by updating my OS. You can avoid this by checking out the product —and any supporting tech you might already have at home—on the Internet via blogs and support forums.
3. Watch product cycles and market trends.
I had a friend buy an iPhone 3G two weeks before the 3Gs was released. Why? He paid no attention to the mounting evidence and Internet speculation that a new phone was coming and instead bought the 3G on impulse. To save yourself from a similar fate fight to urge to buy anything more than a candy bar on impulse. When you feel that impulse, take a step back and check to see if you really need/want the tech you’re craving. If so, refer back to step two and do some research.
Have you ever fallen victim to “wasted tech”?
[Editor’s Note: Phil has 100 or so tapes to “repurpose.” Any ideas?]
Look for a follow-up on this, tomorrow! The Church’s Waste of Tech: How to Redeem It!
April says
I ALWAYS stress doing your research first! Especially when it comes to church tech where money (at least at our church) is always tight!
Phil Schneider says
Research can really help to avoid a lot of “wasted tech.” Great job, April.
silentfool says
A few years ago I was giving away mix CDs and doing data backups/transfers for friends via DVD regularly. I bought a handful of clamshell cases and went through them in a hurry. So I bought more…lots more. Unfortunately I didn’t foresee the demise of physical media and now have a box of several hundred cases in my basement.
Other than that particular case (no pun intended), I’m usually pretty good about doing my research, especially when it’s on the church’s dime. Others…not so much. I’m still not sure why one of our tech’s thought buying a slingbox was a good idea? Maybe to stream the services or something? Several years have passed and it’s still in it’s box waiting for duty.
Phil Schneider says
Do those cases eat away at your each time you see them? I bought a bunch of mini CD’s for me to use during college when I had to burn a PowerPoint or something for a professor. And then I go a Mac, whose side loading CD drives don’t support mini CD’s. I hate seeing them, but I can’t throw them away. Do you feel the same way about your cases?
As far as the SlingBox, did that tech leave or did he run out of steam for this idea? That happens to me a lot. I get really excited for an idea, make some moves, and then fall on my face.
Glad that you do you research when using church money. That’s called “stewardship.”
Anthony Coppedge says
Great, concise article! I believe good stewardship has less to do with how much money was saved and more to do with how much money isn’t wasted.
Technology is a financial black hole: the spending never stops. You simply have to decide up front on a clear upgrade path, understand the realistic lifespan of each technology component/area and how much you will spend (budgeted for new & maintenance) in order to justify the costs (people, time and money).
I think for some churches, they have not because they ask not. For others, they have not because they clean not; take care of the little well to have much later. I wrote about this a few years ago: http://anthonycoppedge.com/problog/2011/01/a-unique-way-to-increase-your-tech-budget/
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Phil Schneider says
Thanks for the comment! Tech is definitely a black whole, especially when we just focus on having the “new” and wonderful. And I definitely agree that some churches don’t need new stuff until they learn to take care of what they have. Great point! Thanks for sharing your post. Great work.
Craig McConnell says
Recently, I found a box of 1.44MB floppy disks. I now use them as coffee coasters…
Check it out 🙂
http://twitter.com/#!/craig_mcconnell/media/slideshow?url=http%3A%2F%2Finstagr.am%2Fp%2FM2zyl3u56l%2F
Craig
Phil Schneider says
Sweet! That’s a really neat idea, Craig.
Eric Dye says
Classic.