How things have changed.
I was born four months before the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The Moon landing was, of course, one of the greatest human achievements in history. It took tens of billions of dollars and thousands of people to send the crew across 356,000 kilometres of space to the surface of the Moon and back again.
But, like I said, things have changed. For example, my last iPhone was over 120,000,000 times faster than the computer aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The phone I use now is even faster. In my lifetime, the advances in technology have been greater and more impactful on our species and world than any other period in human history.
So, what does all that mean? And how can any of us be expected to keep up?
The truth is, most of us do pretty well keeping up with the times. If you’re reading this online, you likely have at least one internet-connected device—smartphone, tablet, computer, or any combination of those. You’ve also learned how to use those devices to varying degrees. You’ve probably learned to use the remote control for your TV (as frustrating as that can be), to answer an email, watch Netflix. You can probably open a social media account, program the clock on your microwave. You might know how to take photos with a digital camera, and even to buy something or pay a bill online. Maybe you do many more things aided or afforded by technology every day.
However, keeping yourself and your family safe and secure online requires a bit more knowledge than memorizing the steps to send an email or post a photo on Facebook. Developing some “street smarts” to keep yourself safe online means having even a basic understanding of how things like your smartphone, wifi network, and the internet work.
Indeed, this is true of the offline world as well. If you have a rudimentary understanding of how the tax system works, you’ll have an easier time filing your income tax. If you understand that electricity can harm you if you accidentally connect to a power source with a metal object or water, you’ll know not to stick a fork in your toaster, or make toast while you’re in the tub. These examples may seem silly or extreme, but the truth is that we all learn a vast amount of skills throughout our lives. Although, we tend to be better at the tasks that we understand more.
And that’s how The Grumpy Designer website came to be.
As a website and software designer for 20 years, I have dedicated my time to making systems easier to use. And as a writer and marketer, I have made things as easy as possible for people to understand. In my own life, I get pretty grumpy when websites, apps, or objects aren’t designed as well as they should be. I also get cranky if things are not well-explained.
Over the last couple of years, we have all become more and more inundated with online scams, fake emails, and hacking attempts. I’ve seen two groups of people emerge through this time. The first group consists of people who could protect themselves better online if they understood the systems and mechanisms that make the online world go. The second group are the people who they rely on to keep them informed.
An example of the first group is my Mom. At 81, she is a spitfire and is completely connected online. She has a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, watches Netflix, sends emails, and even occasionally posts on Facebook. My Mom does well, but she also asks for advice about which emails are scams. She wants to know how her devices work. She also wonders why certain steps are necessary to keep her data and identity safe from hackers and scammers.
In the second group are many of my friends. These are folks who have a good deal of sophisticated technical knowledge. Unfortunately, they also have a hard time translating that deep understanding into simple, clear explanations for others who don’t have a technical background.
To all the people who want a better understanding of the digital world we live in, and the people find themselves regularly explaining difficult technical concepts at dinner parties, this website is for you. I’ll post regularly about online safety and security, privacy, and how our digital world works.
And remember that old Apollo 11 computer, the one that was 120 million times slower than my phone? It was built tough—to be reliable, to never freeze up, to never crash, to never get a “blue screen of death.” It may have been slow, but it got Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins to the Moon and back again safely. The lesson is: there’s hope for all of us.
Have fun, and be safe!
Rob Parker, aka the Grumpy Designer