Each of us likely longs at times for a bit more downtime or a short break back to the days before cell phones, instant email, texting, 24 hour a day TV news, and being “connected and running” at what seems like every hour of the day. Ideally, technology is brought into our lives to enhance it, not overwhelm it. I have recently gotten to see a load of cool examples of how the power of technology can really enrich our lives, and give us the chance to spread the good news pretty easy and quick.
This week I saw technology:
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Make the world stand still for a submarine Chief half way round the world when he could “be” in the delivery room through Skype with his wife and new baby.
- Give me the opportunity to read a short post from a nice school bus driver on Facebook about her job, and have her sharing her great perspective about what she does, and who she does it with and for, and post it on the site with a story less than 24 hours later.
- Allow a very proud and creative mom with a love of photography to easily share her photos of the Andrean boys soccer team with the rest of the team and community, and not just the boys that play from Valpo.
- Allow another proud and creative mom to make sure I had the first home game of the season between VHS and soccer rival Chesterton on my schedule of key games to cover, and made it quick and easy for her to let everyone on the teams know so they can check out the photos online.
- Give a nice woman in Valpo an easy and quick means to send us her thoughts on Someone You Should Know in the community.
- Create an immediate response from businesses, and fast turnaround on our end, to our own little Valpo Business Stimulus Plan where 30+ companies are now offering coupons or special offers to the community.
- Offer the chance for a proud Dad of his newborn son to share a photo of his pride and joy with us, in a Look at These Valpo Babies article that we will keep updating, along with a photo of Dad wearing the ValpoLife gear holding his son and telling him about what kind of cool stuff he will find when he grows up on the site. (That last part is my wishful thinking)
- Allow us to quickly post literally dozens of stories to Facebook and Twitter that highlight many of the great events going on in the community, and unique stories that we are covering in articles, video, and photo form.
Like anything in life, balance is ideal, and nothing beats a good old fashioned sit down chat or spending time in person for all of us. It is just nice to know how easy and fast good news can travel with the help of a bit of technology, and how fun it is to be at the center of that positive force.
Best,
Chris Mahlmann