Part of the series (S)Low Tech vs. High Tech
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
In today's digital world we all – well not all of us really but a great many of us – rely and depend on our contacts list via computers or cell phones, whether stored on the device or online, and often this address book is only backed up digitally as well, if at all.
Consider, however, for a moment, the loss of your cell phone, a crash of your computer or its hard drive, or loss of access, for whatever reason, to your digital address book. If those contact details, those named and addresses, etc., are not “backed up”, other than digitally, it could mean that you lose them.
Many people seemingly have come to believe that digital, and thus paperless, is superior, but is that really so?
When technology fails, and it is bound to do at some stage, it is then that Low Tech shows its superiority. A paper-based address book of sorts should always be in existence for if and when technology throws a fit.
Sure, my address book is also on the PC, as far as email addresses are concerned but I also maintain a manual back up in the form of paper-based records.
The good old-fashioned Filofax kind of address book and the humble index cards in a box (you can even make your own cards; I do) all still are the most reliable form of maintaining contact records, as the the address book with the tabbed alphabetical index that you can buy most places, often for little money.
Many people nowadays believe that paper records of all kinds, including manual address book and such, are outdated and the purveyors of digital products and services most definitely want us to believe that.
However, in many instances (S)Low Tech will beat High Tech and it is always good to have and maintain paper records and drafts of articles on paper too. Says he who has, for the second time, when transferring a document from one hard drive to another, lost 80% of an article. How? Beats me!
Proof, however, that it is good to have back up and duplicates and also and especially paper records.
© 2012
