A Vision for Technology

Over on the Buzzard Blog, there is a great post on using Facebook.  I am a Facebook user and I thought the article was great.  Here is a the part that hit me most:

9 Potentially Negative Uses/Dangers of Facebook
1. The trend of using status updates to complain
You should be honest/authentic, but not a complainer
2. Measuring your worth/identity by number of Facebook friends/Facebook interactions
Facebook measurements are opposite of gospel measurements
3. Greater concern over forming Facebook (virtual) friends rather than real friends
4. Diminishment of face-to-face time with people/enjoying and working on real relationships
Disengaging from face-to-face time with people to check what’s going on in your Facebook world
5. Dual identities
Being someone online who you’d never be in person
6. Hurting and excluding others (intentionally or unintentionally)
“Favorite friends” application
Misunderstandings:
“Is he talking about me?”
“She wrote on her wall, but never writes on mine…”
etc.
7. Facebook and online life can make you more distracted, changes how you think/attention span
8. Can tempt you away from your calling/work
Your heart isn’t engaged in something great and big, but constantly distracted by silly little status updates (“I’m chewing gum”) and Wall writings…
9. Thinking about yourself more than you already do
You weren’t created to think about and focus on yourself. Facebook can tempt you to become a more self-focused person than you already are.

6 Facebook Opportunities: 6 Ways to Love God and Love Others Through Facebook (Leveraging)
1. Can get back in touch with old, far-away friends in an easy way, showing them how you’ve been changed by Jesus
2. Can use Facebook as an extension of face-to-face relationships/can be used to enhance time with people
Get to know people better/better love and care for people when you’re with them because through Facebook you know more about who they are and what’s going on in their life
3. Can use Facebook to think about yourself less and others more
Facebook can be a tool for getting outside of yourself/your problems
4. Can use Facebook to sharpen/discipline what you do with your time
Status updates and built in accountability
5. Can use Facebook to quickly announce/make great things happen: events, face-to-face time
Instead of taking 45 min. to call 10 people to come over for a spontaneous evening of fun and fellowship, use Facebook
6. Can use Facebook to influence other people for Jesus. Create a new culture with your status updates: use to influence, love, encourage, teach, and challenge people towards greater love for God and other people.

What I took away from the post was to do a re-thinking on my vision for the technology that I use.  So much in my life is cleared up when I have a clear vision for why I do what I do.  My husband is an incredible visionary and has aided me in this in all areas of my life.  So why do I use the technology that I do?

1. E-mail: This is clearly to keep in touch with people I am not close to.  I typically do not do forwards, etc.  For me I am using it to love the people God has put in my life through writing specifically to them to encourage them.

2. Internet: My internet use, besides things like writing on my blogs and Facebook, is typically for staying informed.  I stay informed of news and events thorugh the internet, as well as others lives through their blogs and writings.

3. Skype: This again is just for staying in touch with those at home, but has a more limited scope.  I talk to my parents almost every weekday morning for an hour.  We also talk to Joe’s parents, my brother, and a few other friends.  For me this medium has its best use in my life when I schedule times to talk, instead of just answering every call.

4. Family Blog: This is a way that I keep family and friends informed in the generic happenings of our life.  I am able to share stories, photos and videos through this.  This is not a place for me to get on my soapboxes or recommend blog posts and other things, like I do here.  I fell into that trap before and I think it clouded the purpose of my blog too much.

5. Married to a Baller Blog: This blog is mainly to track my journey as a wife and mom.  If I can encourage a few others through it as well, that is an added bonus.  It also helped me to hone my writing skills a bit.

6. Facebook: Facebook is a new addition to my technology world.  I only started using it on a consistent basis in the last few months.  For me, it has been a great way to be in touch with people from high school and college, who knew a different “me” (aka pre-Jesus).  My point on Facebook is really to be in contact with people I would not normally have any contact with and to encourage them in simple ways (wishing a happy birthday, commenting on a nice picture, etc.)

The problem I have run into is that if I do not have a vision for my technology, I end up wasting lots of time (or at the other end, having technology, like a Facebook profile, and not using it)!  That is a constant struggle for me.  I can easily waste time sitting at the computer.  But my goal is to follow my priorities in a day:

1. Spend time with God
2. Care for my family
3. Do my calendar items for the day (things that need to be taken care of on a specific day or time- this is a David Allen GTD concept)
4. Next Action Items (sort of like a “To Do” list- another GTD concept)
5. Technology (in order of e-mail first, blogs (I use WordPress so I can time stamp posts so that when I have more time I write a few posts at a time.  Plus I keep a running list of topics I would like to write on), and then Facebook)

I fail often at this, but am continually striving to be faithful with time God has given me.