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Joy of Medina County Magazine | April 2021
BUSINESS: FROM A TECHNICAL MIND
BUSINESS: THE NETWORKER
Important Update Pending
People Before Pings
by Tyler Hatfield
by Bob Arnold
In the world of computers, phones, tablets, and even smart watches, it may seem like something is updating every day. While this may feel excessive, it happens for a good reason. Every day, the engineers and coders behind every piece of technology are hunting for issues and potential security holes that could put devices and information at risk. When they find these types of problems, they design coding patches to cover those holes or stop specific bugs from occurring. Because the updates are designed to ensure safety, it is important to install them as soon as they are released. These are not the only kind of updates, though. While patches and bug fixes are the most common updates, there are also new features or large amounts of changes that a company might want to release for a device, making full software updates necessary. In that case, the updates can be much larger and take longer to complete. Full software updates are intended to offer new functionalities or refreshed visuals and typically are not as important as patches. While keeping up with software updates is important, they can be temporarily paused if the timing is not good or if it would disrupt work. In some rare cases, there might be something called a firmware update. Firmware updates are not aimed at the software but, instead, are fixing issues or adding features to the hardware code. These updates are not common, but should be handled as soon as possible as they may be intended to fix larger issues or security holes that the software cannot handle alone. Also, these updates are communicating with the hardware more directly so it is important to be careful not to turn the device off while they are running, or it could cause damage to the device. While the timing can be inconvenient, in the end, updates are intended to improve and protect devices and should be done as promptly as possible.
One fallacy of networking is the misunderstanding that it is instantaneous. One of the most notable enablers of this misunderstanding is the 'ping' on our devices, especially the cell phone. A friend commented recently on a call with me that his phone kept pinging over the last few hours as messages came in. To his credit, he said he had not looked at them yet. You are probably thinking, "What do you mean 'to his credit?’” Let us set something straight, we are human beings and science has found that we can focus on only one thing at a time. We, falsely, think differently. https://cle.clinic/3lhy4H7 The ping (technically, a notification) is an interruption, meant to let us know someone would like our attention. It is usually noted in our brain as, “Drop everything and answer me!” In reality, a very small percentage of these pings are urgent, I would say fewer than 2 percent, unless your situation depends on instant communication. What this tells us is that we are putting more importance on our availability then we should. This hurts our networking and relationships. We are telegraphing to the person we are talking with that someone else is more important than they are. Take notice of how you feel when someone does this to you. So, how to change this? 1. Completely silence your notifications. (Yes, even on vibrate, it is intrusive), 2. Turn off the notification option for some of the apps, such as Facebook and Twitter. 3. If you are expecting an important call, let the person you are talking with know you may have to take a call, and set up an automatic message for the caller that you are unable to answer right now. Then, enjoy your new friend. People love talking with people, it is important to respect that. Those actions will work wonders in your relationships and networking. By the way, my friend was at a trade show, meeting new people, and did not distract himself with the pinging phone. I told him, “Good for you!” He said, “Bob, I was networking, having conversations.” I smiled.
Tyler Hatfield has a passion for technology that he would like to someday turn into his own business. He runs a small media group, hatsmediagroup.com, and works on computers on the side. He can be contacted with questions and for recommendations at hatsmediagroup@gmail.com
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Bob Arnold is the founder of ONward Networking and the international best-selling author of “The Uncanny Power of the Networking Pencil,” which can be purchased at zMore networking tips are available at “Bob’s Pencil Points” blog at http://onwardnetworking.com/ or by contacting Arnold at TheNetworkingPencil@gmail.com
