I run a small computer tech support company and I am amazed at how little people know about the computers they use daily, and especially when they use them to build their businesses. I thought this was very strange until a customer said to me, “I own a car. I don’t want to know what goes on under the hood. I just want to get in and drive it.” That put things in perspective. It made me realize that many people, as computer users, don’t want to know what’s under the hood, they just want to use their computer.
That is all well and good but it opens the door to disaster. I’ve seen grown adults actually cry when they learn their hard drive has crashed and they have lost all their business data. Important business data that should have been backed up. I find, usually, that people have no idea what, exactly, a hard drive is. Most people point to the big box that sits beside their desk and ask, “That thing?”. Nope. But worse, they don’t know what data is, how to do a backup, or even what a backup really is.
When I dig a little further I find that most computer users have no real concept of what a program is, or an operating system, or a file, or even the real meaning of common terms like browser or upload or download. These are basic, every day terms that every person who uses a computer for business, and especially if the computer is the gateway to their online business, should know and understand.
I spoke to the Executive Director of the OSA and I am going to be writing a series of articles on basic computer use and understanding and they will be posted in the Basic Computer Use section. I encourage everyone here to take the time to read the articles there, not only mine but the others as well. The computer is your most important piece of office equipment when you are running your own online business. You need to know how it works and how to use it correctly. Just because you can poke keys and move a mouse around doesn’t mean you know what you are doing.
[Robert Nugent is a computer service technician with a small shop in San Diego, CA. He loves to share is computer and business knowledge with others.]
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