Why don’t people trust technology?

I had been thinking about buying a Kindle. I travel often, and wouldn’t mind having a device that is light weight and provides access not only to books but newspapers and is also eco-friendly. Even if I cannot exchange them with my friends or donate them to a school, etc. I was content a Kindle would be a good thing. That is until now.

 

I ran across an article on InfoWorld’s site that presented a scenario of Orwellian “Big Brother” control. It appears people who made the purchase of George Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm” books, Orwell being the one who coined the phrase “Big Brother”, awoke to find that their purchases had been rescinded and the books removed from their devices without permission and without their knowledge. I am amazed this would or even could happen, not technologically but ethically. Apparently these books were not authorized to be sold in that manner and as such, something had to be done so Amazon recalled them. In my opinion, the right thing to do would be to pay the fines for unauthorized distribution but no, they recalled the books.

 

This brought about interesting discussions with several friends who know I am a technology enthusiast. First item on the discussion list was about the method in which the distributor apparently just entered the Kindles and took back the materials. If you buy a book in a book store, you bring it home and it stays there. The bookstore manager does not come in to take it back even if they were not supposed to sell it to you. The other question that arose in these discussions focuses on the idea that if they know what you bought and have a way to get back in to retrieve it, what else can they or would they be able to do? Perhaps track the books you order and create a profile that could be sold to others?

 

I know this sounds a bit paranoid and like a conspiracy theorist but the point I am making here is when we are asked to trust in technology, like anything and anyone else, that trust has to be earned. To his credit, as pointed out in the article, Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos did post an apology and recognition that this was not the best course of action. This is a good thing that for many was accepted but for others, it is yet one more incident held up as an example of why not to trust technology.

Will I buy a Kindle? Probably, but I will wait a little longer and see what current Kindle users think before making that decision. Do I trust technology? Yes and I have for years. This is but one incident that when compared to the digital world as a whole, is minute in comparison. Trillions of documents and bits of information are stored electronically everyday so we can find it. How we approach it and what processes we put into place operationally, makes all the difference in the world. In order to get people to trust, trust has to be earned.

 

This is one of the many things I teach in my classes, how to earn the trust and respect of the user community with respect to technology adoption and use. Reluctance is a hard thing to overcome. The best way I have found is to engage the user community early on and establish a clear understanding of what will be used, how it will be used and what policies will be put in place to govern it use. For example, when I teach about Enterprise 2.0 technologies, we discuss the use of wikis and blogs not just from a technology perspective but a use perspective. It is one thing to say you will use a wiki and another to fully understand why and how.

  

What say you? Have you or are you now encountering technology reluctance? Do you have a story to tell? I want to hear from you and learn what you and your organization are doing.

 

Bob Larrivee, ECMm, ERMm, BPMm, IOAm, E20m, EMMm – AIIM

Follow me on twitter – BobLarrivee and remember to visit www.aiim.org/training and www.informationzen.org, AIIM’s free social network created just for you.

Comments

[Omri Duek]

Publishers have always fought against the second-hand market, even starting a campaign against "book sneaks" (who borrow/lend books to others) in the mid-20th century, when mass-book culture began to take hold and the $1 book became popular. I believe the term and campaign was spearheaded by the famous Edward Bernays, by the way. With the e-book, the technology to apply this level of rights management across the distribution channel becomes more feasible...

This struggle over "book ownership" (but really, over any information medium) is discussed thoroughly in The Late Age of Print... highly recommended.