I’m not a hater of technology, quite the opposite. I love the progress we’ve made where let us count the ways.
Social media has allowed us to reconnect with many we never likely would have. We all remember our first cell phone and how it changed our lives forever. GPS is one of the best inventions of all time, are you with me?
Love Zoom, Facetime, the ability to download a song on your playlist in seconds (remember those dial-up internet days?) We’ve come a long way.
But there are some exceptions….
We have WAAAAAYYYY too many apps. It’s out of control and frankly getting obnoxious. My “APP”athy has built up over time, where it’s clear this area of tech-savviness has gotten a little too cute.
For example, I know part of this is due to the pandemic, but with it subsiding, can we get back to non-app menus? I’m talking real menus that I can hold in my hand? I never liked putting my phone to an app where it often either doesn’t take or simply takes too long. I know much bigger problems in the world but…
And can we at least have the option of holding an actual ticket for a concert or game in our possession instead of being forced to present it off an app? I remember taking my daughter to a Taylor Swift concert, where I add to go off the app, I couldn’t print a backup ticket, luckily we survived.
I had a friend of mine recently tell me he took his family to a Tampa Bay Bucs game, his phone went dead, and instead of having a ticket conveniently in hand, he had to wait in line for almost an hour so the ticket office could retrieve it. Why? He could only retrieve it off the app….shouldn’t be this hard.
Stop the Madness.! When it comes to apps, technology has gone overboard. Despite seeing them everywhere, many see apps trending downward.
According to my friends at webappmarket.com, statistics show that between 80 and 90 percent of apps are abandoned after just one use. Why, after a decade of dominance, are these apps less “app”etizing? This outlet gives us many reasons: finding your target market is challenging, in the end, the true potential isn’t realized, often a lack of collaboration between app developers and designers doesn’t help, along with the fact many of us now have short attention spans, or it’s the wrong fit for what we are looking for.
There are lots of reasons many apps are lame.
I know apps, I’ve been hard on you–sometimes it’s just me being stubborn. For example, for years my gym would issue this user friendly scanner that easily fit on my keychain to check in. Over time, it would, of course, wear down, but my gym would re-issue me another until recently I had to face the music….
Yes, in the last few months, my gym discontinued these handy keychain scanners with a mandate (oh no) we now had to use their new and improved app! I felt like I was being punished? I resisted using the apps for weeks and weeks and weeks, pathetically holding on to this keychain scanner until I couldn’t scan it anymore.
It was ridiculously stubborn and after months of resisting I finally uploaded my new “La Fitness App” which I have to admit, I found to be pretty user-friendly.
Until a week later when the front desk told me the app wasn’t taking off of my phone? Can I just get the keychain back please?!
Sometimes it’s not the apps, it’s the old man resisting technology but sometimes it’s just the techies going overboard. In the end, though, I think we just need to meet halfway–where how about this deal— I get my menus and tickets back, and I’ll adjust to the rest of these everchanging times if they prove to be easier?
Deal?
APPathetic, our first stop in another lap around the Naborhood. As always, thanks for stopping by.
GROHL BOOK: One guy who has adjusted over the times is legendary rocker Dave Grohl. It’s hard to find anyone who has had the career of the Nirvana drummer turned frontman for the Foo Fighters. I’ve never met Grohl but respected him and his work a great deal. Someone who can play multiple instruments at such an elite level, write songs, and ultimately sing them is amazing.
His book is amazing as well. I would highly recommend, “Dave Grohl, The Storyteller” which debuted just a few months ago chronicles his upbringing and the many ups and downs of his career. Grohl knew what he wanted to do from an early age, where he wasn’t a good student but took to music almost immediately. A self-taught drummer, he lied about his age to join the band “Scream” basically out of high school.
Grohl’s biggest supporter was his Mom as the book devotes a lot of time to the importance of her belief in him. A pivotal moment in his life was when he wanted to drop out of high school and pursue a great opportunity traveling the country with Scream, his Mom’s response? “You’d better be good.” He took that to heart.
He was, but it didn’t happen overnight. Grohl’s love for music was tested numerous times, but the book’s common theme is his passion ultimately won out where he knew this was the only road he would travel. Grohl states in the book, a mindset that got him through all the craziness to make it to the top, “There were certain things in my life that I relied on unconditionally and in which I had unwavering faith—the love of my mother, my love for her and the love that filled my heart when I played music.
Grohl’s story is inspiring and the book gives you a great behind the scenes of one of the most talented musicians we’ve ever seen, I highly recommend it!
TONY HAWK DOC: From one unique talent to another, how about Tony Hawk. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of skateboarding but have always appreciated the career of this sport’s Michael Jordan. Hawk’s road like Grohl’s wasn’t always easy but the depths of the roller coaster ride were portrayed perfectly in HBO’s recently released doc, “Until the Wheels Fall Off.” an adeptly named story of Hawk’s life. He turns 54 next month but this production shows he is still grinding nearly as hard as when he started taking up the sport in his early teens where he turned pro when at the age of 14.
This documentary is a detailed look at Hawk’s life and iconic career and his relationship with the sport he’s been synonymous with for decades. What makes it great is that it takes a deep dive from the perspective of Hawk and his older siblings, who he was the youngest of several years. They and Hawk admit interestingly enough growing up he wasn’t athletic—skateboarding was his only outlet.
The documentary features unprecedented access to never-before-seen footage. It also highlights Hawk’s signature moment where on June 27, 1999, he became the first skateboarder to land a “900,” a trick involving the completion of two-and-a-half mid-air revolutions on a skateboard, in which he was successful on his twelfth attempt. Yes, it took him 12 times. After completing the trick, Hawk said, “This is the best day of my life.”
My big takeaway was that sure Hawk has, of course, enjoyed the unexpected longevity of his career and all the fame and fortune but it’s clear for him, it’s so much more. At his core, he’s just a California kid who loves skateboarding which he admits (and after watching this I believe him) that even if he didn’t make the multi-millions he would still be skateboarding, it’s what he does.
BEST SNACK EVER: Don’t know about you, but I’m a big snacker. I’ve gotten better (and healthier) over the years, but we still have to treat ourselves, right?
Recently, in the grocery store and randomly saw this appear—-it was love at first sight…..
It got even better when I opened it. The unique combination of Golden Grahams, cocoa puffs, and marshmallows—you’re own handful of smores? Count me in! The difficulty of eating just one potato chip, has been documented. Well, it’s hard to put this one down too. Trust me, folks—you will thank me later. I need an endorsement from General Mills now!
NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT: The term empty suit is thrown around a lot in politics in terms of those leaders who talk a good game but often don’t accomplish anything. Frankly, I think the new definition should be a picture of the outgoing president of the NCAA, Mark Emmert….
In twelve years at the helm, can you name any significant accomplishment? It’s amazing a man who pocketed millions of dollars for years (over 32 million to be exact) yet, in the end, not only didn’t pass any meaningful legislation for college athletes, Emmert led an organization that is better known under his watch for being slow to adapt to change.
Emmert should have been preparing college athletics for paying athletes, finding a better college playoff, and manning the transfer portal mess but instead saw the courts dictate much of the change overriding his and the NCAA’s resistance. We now have name image and likeness measures not because of Emmet’s vision but because of the leadership of the Supreme Court.
Yahoo Sports said it best, “everything he touched turned to dust. It’s almost impossible to imagine anyone who could have done it worse.”
Can you imagine that being the legacy of your work for over a decade? It’s sad commentary because Emmert was in a position to do so many great things.
EXTRA POINT: I say this every year but it really holds true this year—I love the NFL Draft. The drama and the production value is outstanding for many who cover the hours and hours of coverage. Frankly, I don’t know the players like I used to, but as long as this guy is on TV, I’m watching….
People make fun of the hair, the fact he didn’t play the game, or even hold down a front-office job but I’ll always defend ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper. There is no one like him! He’s is the NFL Draft. I recently had longtime ESPN NFL Draft producer Bryan Ryder speak to my Sports Media class in the business school at Florida Southern College. Ryder told us that he can’t remember Kiper ever being stumped…ever! From the draft’s elite to the sixth round guard out of Pacific, Mel has done his homework and has something to say. Kiper who has been the centerpiece of Draft coverage since 1984, an amazing run!
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
@mikenabors
PHOTO CREDITS: HBO, People, Buehler’s Fresh Food, ESPN, USA Today, medium.com, thewebappmarket.com & spotmenus.com, Loudwire & HarperCollins.