Luddite has seen the light! Where to start .. twitter, fitbits, pivot tables?

S

Setanta12

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I've been relatively well-red and relative expert in my field.

But any tech I had to know, was on a case-by-case basis and a need-to-know .. ..

a-I can use Excel but am not proficient in vlookups/pivot tables etc etc
b-I have an unused twitter account but the last time I logged in was 4/5 years ago

I have only now bluetoothed my new car after a year of ownership. I was never a first-adaptor but never felt any loss either .. ..

For lifestyle - what hacks or tips or new-tech am I missing?

For professional purposes - what am I missing?
 
Get a smart phone.(That is a phone which you can carry around with you and not connected to the wall at home as your present one is.)

Ask your friends what apps. (that is short for applications) they use.

They depend a lot on your lifestyle. I don't use many, but have recently been using Dublin Bus a lot and have found their apps. useful.

Brendan
 
Start by asking yourself the "How can I ...?" questions.

For example (no connection with app or developer) "How can I keep track of my petrol/diesel mpg, fuel costs, fuel receipts and motoring service intervals?"

Have a look at an app called Fuelly which runs on your smart-phone, syncs via your laptop/desktop, tracks costs, stats and reminders for several of your vehicles and produces custom reports for €4.99 / annum or less than €0.10 / week. This isn't the only app that provides these services but gets a thumbs up from me.

Over the years I've found the key to using useful technology or technology usefully if you prefer, is not to focus on tech per se but on the problem(s) it can help you solve.
 
For lifestyle - what hacks or tips or new-tech am I missing?

For professional purposes - what am I missing?
Click to expand...
What's your lifestyle?
What's your profession?
Your post has a bang of FOMO about it...
If you are getting on OK without tech then maybe you don't need it?
As mentioned above start by asking what you want/need to do and then see if tech can help.
 
Family-man, accountant. But more into the tax side of things and not debits/credits.
Definitely FOMO :)
Fuelly from mathepac sounds interesting ..

How many Excel users out there use pivot-tables, vlookups, macros as de-rigeur these days ..

If not free spotify, then ..

If not netflix, then ..

If not ..., then ..
 
As a quick example, I've avoided Facebook - should I create a profile, get with the program!?
 
Setanta12 said:
How many Excel users out there use pivot-tables, vlookups, macros as de-rigeur these days ..
Click to expand...

Your lifestyle requirements are very different from your professional requirements.

You won't really need Excel for your personal use a lot, so I doubt spending time learning the advanced features would be worth it.

If you have been doing your tax work without need of these advanced features, then you probably don't need them. But best to ask one of your professional colleagues what they use.

Brendan
 
Setanta12 said:
As a quick example, I've avoided Facebook - should I create a profile, get with the program!?
Click to expand...
If there are well-moderated FB groups that cater for a special interest area, hobby or professional group, then yes, otherwise I suggest not; they're feral out there and FB don't care!!

I moderate for a couple of FB groups, one is an absolute doddle, the other means work at times.
 
Setanta12 said:
As a quick example, I've avoided Facebook - should I create a profile, get with the program!?
Click to expand...

Short answer - NO.


Longer answer -
mathepacs advice is relevant here. Think about what you are missing in your life.
Do you want to post pictures of your wonderful life for your "friends" to see ?
Do you ever wonder where the people you went to college with go on holidays ?

If you have answered yes to these questions, the join facebook. If not, move on.

A lot of small businesses are using Facebook and it can be the best way to find out opening hours etc, so I find myself searching facebook regularly for practical reasons, but you dont need a profile to do this.

mathepacs advice is the best advice. The next time you have a problem to solve, think about how technology can help. Maybe it can, maybe it can't, but have a look.

One example is that Youtube videos on diagnosing and fixing simple household and car DIY problems are great.
I have got far more confident about buying parts online and installing them myself.
 
Was having a look at some YouTube videos about Pivot Tables today after seeing your topic.
Never got to grips with them before either. Never looked too hard either though.
 
Setanta12 said:
As a quick example, I've avoided Facebook - should I create a profile, get with the program!?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't touch Facebook if I were you. Nor would I get a smartphone, if you've avoided one so far. Maybe you have a touch of FOMO but it will pass. I'm a Luddite with JOMO (joy of missing out).
 
Get Lastpass as a password manager. Best app I ever got. I now know about 2/3 passwords, the rest are all kept on this app and all in gobbledygook

There's a free version but I get the premium one so it syncs across all devices. Used to be $1 a month but they're after doubling their price to a whopping $2 a month.


Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
 
SBarrett said:
Get Lastpass as a password manager. Best app I ever got. I now know about 2/3 passwords, the rest are all kept on this app and all in gobbledygook
Click to expand...
Needing to store or remember lots of passwords may be a consequence of using technology extensively but is not a justification to adopt tech.
 
Purple said:
I hate it when a business only has a Facebook page and no website. It would definitely turn me off using them.
Click to expand...
i was like that but recently I have had a few great experiences of using small local businesses without websites and I was reminded that a nice website is not an indicator of good service or better prices.

I needed a part for the car which I felt I could install myself. Two large well known web based businesses gave me no help finding the right part and very poor customer service. I was advised to try a particular motor factors. I had to find their details on Facebook. On the phone and in person, they were helpful and knowledgable. They helped me find the right part, gave me advice on installing it myself and the price was lower than the same product on the web based businesses.

They probably are losing a bit of business without a website, but given how good they were, I would say word of mouth recommendations and repeat business is very good.
 
huskerdu said:
They probably are losing a bit of business without a website, but given how good they were, I would say word of mouth recommendations and repeat business is very good.
Click to expand...
A static website with a description of what services/goods are provided, contact details and a few photo's is all that is needed. The cost is minimal. Why just use Facebook?
 
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