So once upon a time I, an absolute filmmaking novice, had a job where I had to make videos. 

The Olden Days

I went down to a fancy camera store to get a camera and an expensive software package to go with it. Then I sat down to do all the tutorials so I could figure out how to edit them. Then I learned that we had to get external microphones, which came with another software package. And then I learned that the file formats from the microphones were not compatible with our photo editing software, so I had to start all over again.

(Do kids today understand how exhausting technology used to be? (And I’m not referring to that time I had to finish an essay and the library was closed, so I lugged a CPU through Chinatown during a snowstorm.) I mostly find such challenges satisfying, but I am very familiar with that sinking feeling you get when you realize that you need to learn a new tool to solve an urgent problem.)

Newfangled but Useful Tools

By the time I finished that job, YouTube let me upload and edit the files directly through my browser. My mind boggled and still boggles at the speed of change. There is a massive cultural difference between kids growing up with TikTok, and adults who grew up with technology that looks almost quaint  in comparison. 

And it’s not even segregated by age any more. One of the most computer literate people I ever knew was an 80+ year old woman living alone in the far north of Ontario. (She powered her computer with a generator, and kept her chicken coop heated with a 60-watt bulb). At the same time, there are elementary school geography teachers who are not aware of Google Maps’ satellite overlay feature. 

But what if it’s not worth all the fuss?

This is a constant challenge for small businesses and nonprofits. Some people want to try all the new things while some people resist change, for good reasons and otherwise. As with all things, the best way forward is to find a balance. Change for its own sake is not a good thing, but nor is staying the same.

It’s common to feel like you don’t really understand what the fuss is about with this new thing your colleagues are pushing. (I remember when this “new thing” was Microsoft Word. An entire department of the large organization I knew flat out refused to use it. You can imagine how that went.) It is sadly too common for new initiatives to end up adding work without adding value, and it’s understandable to be wary of change for its own sake. 

It’s easy to stick with the old ways because they’ve worked for you so far. But if you want to grow, you need to keep asking yourself – do they work for the rest of your team? Do they scale? And, are there better ways to achieve the same thing?

People fear change because they don’t understand it. But just as YouTube made it worlds easier to edit videos – in the space of a single decade – there are tools that can make your life that much easier as well. Do you know about them? Are you ready to learn? Want to find out more? Give me a call.