Amish Social Media
Several days ago I was locked out of my Facebook account, an integral part of the Jim HInckley’s America network. After exhausting the myriad of options for resolution presented, I called a service number.
Needless to say my sense of humor had been sorely tested by this point. Still I had to smile. The recorded message at the other end of the line said that my call was important and that all service technicians were currently busy. I could hold for the next available technician or leave a call back number. The estimated wait time was 120 hours! I wonder if anyone has actually said, I will hold?
So, I have a question. How did we allow ourselves to become so dependant on companies such as Facebook and Microsoft? Have you ever attemtped to resolve an issue such as having your Facebook account locked? Two days spent wandering through the labryinnth of issue reolution offered by Facebook has left me feeling like I walked in at the middle of a French film dubbed in Russion with Japanese subtitles.
I have come to the opinion that there is a direct correlation between our age and how frustrated we are with technology. With the passing of time, and the daily dealing with issues such as being locked out of my Facebook account with no reason given or apparent way to resolve the problem with a modicum of common sense, I am starting to think that there is a conspiracy. Is it possible that the manufacturer of blood pressure medications are the powers behind Microsoft, Facebook and other modern evils masquerading as conveniences?
Times change. I understand and accept that, but with a bit of occasional reluctance and grumpiness. And I know that to survive we must adapt, even if it is uncomfortable. To the best of my ability I have adapted to, and even embraced, a few of the conveneinces made possible with modern technologies. But dealing with these gadgets has required a little Tennessee whiskey induced patience on more than one occasion.
When I first began trading my abillity to paint word pictures for dollars, meals, or perks those words were added to paper by me pecking away on a 1948 Underwood typewriter. Now, I use Microsoft Word, and can even adjust fonts, create reports, and insert photos. And in all honesty I admit it is an improvement even though there has been a marked decline in my ability to spell since spell check has become my crutch.
In my minds eye the old ’98 Jeep Cherokee is a modern vehicle. But this is the latest model vehicle I have every owned. So, it was a rude awakening when in conversation my insurance agent noted that it was a vintage vehicle. If this had been said about the The Beast, the ’51 Chevy panel truck that is being converted into a rolling Route 66 infromation center and mobile studio for Jim Hinckley’s America programs, that statement would have made more sense, at least to me.
One of ma’s favorite adages was that I was born ninety and never aged. In retrospect I see some validity to this. The “costume” that I wore in high school, during my John Wayne period, and note in my senior years is pretty much the same. It is the same outfit I wear to the beach in Malibu or Germany.
I am most most comfortable in towns with less than three stop lights. I still enjoy driving my old trucks on back roads and old two lane highways like Route 66. And I still feel that a company, a business, has an obligation to its customers.
Apparently that is an outmoded way of thinking. It seems that many companies, tourism departments, and utilities are adapting the Amtrack principle. We are going to get paid whether we have customers or not. So, why put up with customers?
Well, those are my thoughts of the day. Here are a few more courtesy an episode of Coffee With Jim that until this morning was broadcast live every Sunday morning on the Jim Hinckley’s America page on Facebook.
Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and enjoy a couple of old codgers talking about the changing world.