For many people, the worlds of technology and humanity might seem separate. Technology is all about numbers, coding and machines, right? Isn’t that the complete opposite of human emotion and connection?
The truth is, the role and nature of tech professionals is commonly misunderstood. While it’s true that tech professionals do excel with coding and calculation, the human element is still very much at the forefront.
Technical construction, human application
Tech and IT professionals excel in the maintenance, installation and application of hardware and software. That’s why we rely on their expertise when the broadband goes down or when we’re having internal network issues.
So when you compare their duties to the duties of, say, a customer service team or PR consultant, you might be inclined to place their roles in entirely separate categories.
But the goal of any technical endeavour, ultimately, is to meet human needs:
- Internet and telecommunications technology allows for instant connection with other people anywhere on the planet.
- SEO is all about ensuring people find what they’re searching for quickly and without stress.
- Digital marketing is about making useful, potentially life-changing information readily available to anyone who seeks it.
Meeting human needs is always the objective
At the heart of any endeavour, even a technological one, is a real human need. Technology covers many fields, including communication, education, finance, entertainment, and shopping. Each one of these areas can have life-changing impacts in people’s lives.
Business as a whole is no different. Whether it’s a humble startup or a giant Fortune 500 corporation, it’s comprised of humans trying to figure out how best to serve other humans.
So why is this so important to keep in mind for business owners?
Technology is about people
The technical side of business can have a certain allure. Why wouldn’t you want your code to be perfect, or your content to be optimised for SEO? Why wouldn’t you adjust your marketing plan to maximise measurable ROI and post on social media at the optimal times?
The truth is, humans aren’t innately logical. We’re capable of using logic as a tool to solve problems, but the thing that drives action is always going to be emotion.
As an example, while SEO is a wonderful tool for bringing the right traffic to your content, a fully SEO-optimised piece might not be fully “human-optimised”. SEO is a technical solution, but the objective is about meeting human needs and driving action. It needs to work with your content to provide a rich human experience.
And while social media can be measured and optimised, the most successful at it use it organically. Gary Vaynerchuk, for example, is posting on various platforms at all times – and he’s posting different types of content to suit different platforms.
It’s real and it’s genuine, which is why it works. Embrace digital solutions, but always remember: There’s a human at the other end of it all.
