trapped by technology

What do you do if your cloud-based mission critical application is down for an indefinite time? Illustration from a reader for RSS feeds.

Update: The Old Reader back up at end of work day Thursday – that makes 1 1/2 days of the weekend and 4 workdays it was down.

Your tech provider may go off-line for an indefinite time. Another reason not to let your technology hold you captive.

The Old Reader went down around lunchtime on Saturday, 7-20, and isn’t back up just before lunch on Wednesday, 7-24. That’s four days – most of the weekend and one-half of a work-week. No public estimate when it will return.

Don’t be held captive by your technology.

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Jim Ulvog

5 warnings on how technology can trap you

There is danger in letting any vendor have too much control over your life. That warning applies doubly so to software and double again for social media.

I have five different ways to tell this story. 

A simple change in rules or pricing can devastate you.

That big ol’ company can dump a software that doesn’t have enough customers for them to bother with but is mission critical to your operations. 

If some of those little things happen, you will suffer.

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Jim Ulvog

Don’t let your social media platform control you

There is danger in letting any vendor have too much control over your life. That warning applies doubly so to software and re-doubled for social media.

Don’t let your marketing be controlled by Facebook or MySpace or anyone else that can wipe you out with a rule change or by fading away.

Many businesses build their entire marketing campaign on Facebook. I even made that suggestion. Nonprofits can do the same.

One rule change can wipe out years of marketing.

Mark Schaefer explains the risk in his post, A cautionary tale: Putting your business in the hands of Facebook.

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Jim Ulvog

To drop your web site or not drop your web site – it depends on your assessment of risk

Looks like I’ve taken both sides of this issue: suggesting you drop your web site and put all your effort into developing a Facebook ‘page’ on this post, and then saying taking that approach is such a significant risk that you should seriously consider not doing so on this post.

Which is it?  (more…)

Jim Ulvog

On being trapped by your technology provider – 3

There are new risks to go along with all the great technology we have available today.  Previously discussed the risk of not owning your domain name and being trapped by your tech provider.  This post goes the opposite direction of discussing the risk of getting shut down by your social media provider.

Illustration 3 – being shut down by your social media platform  – don’t put all your eggs in one basket

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Jim Ulvog

On being trapped by your technology provider – 2

Along with the incredible opportunities from wonderful technology we get some unusual risks.  Previously discussed the risk from not owning your domain name and the chance you could wind up without the ability to use it.

Illustration 2 – being stranded by changes made by your vendor (more…)

Jim Ulvog