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The Technology Challenged

#101
If you don't have a mobile you don't exist. It's really that simple over here. But I certainly don't expect people to always answer when I call or return text messages immediately.

What I do expect is for my friends and band members to be "in the loop". Read mail a little more than intermittently. Respond to phone messages or text messages in a timely manner.

What is "timely" will depend on the message. Some things are urgent, others can be dealt with more leisurely.
 
#102
Out here, for cancellations, bar owners call their popular bands, and see who's available for that night. Regardless of whether the cancellations are a week before, or the day of the gig.

Whoever calls back first to confirm gets the gig. It's a competitive advantage to be able to contact people quickly, or have everyone's schedule available online (days blocked off where you're not available) so the person booking can jump on it fast.

There's a reason Neanderthals went extinct. They couldn't compete with Cro-Magnon people. Being the last guy to get to the the wooly mammoth means the other guys already killed it and are taking it home. You go hungry.

Randy
 
#103
How do you deal with a techno addict that thinks actually speaking to a person on the phone is an inconvenience? Dialing ten numbers instead of four hundred key strokes is too much to grasp I guess. ;)

What a cold, impersonal society we have. Thanks tech, thanks for nothing.
 
#104
96tbird said:
How do you deal with a techno addict that thinks actually speaking to a person on the phone is an inconvenience? Dialing ten numbers instead of four hundred key strokes is too much to grasp I guess. ;)

What a cold, impersonal society we have. Thanks tech, thanks for nothing.
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I think you might be missing the point here.
 
#105
carlthegroover said:
I agree with this. I've had cell phones for a few years now (due to necessity) from different providers, and none give me a reasonably priced plan. They are all way too inflated, especially for someone like me who doesn't use the phone as a tweeter.

I'd say cell phone plans are a huge rip off. I'm pretty pissed by it.

That's very dumb to boot. If lost and caught by some undeserving hands, the device has a lot of personal info available to the finder/ snatcher. Phone numbers, photos, clips, notes
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Cell phone plans from the major providers are rip offs. I agree with that, but that's not what this thread is about.
 
#106
mboogiemanusa said:
I'm in a couple of bands ......the old fart guys in the gigging cover band barely read their emails or send one and seem to have a problem even putting a song list into a word attachment. Still everyone comes prepared to practice and gig on time. My other band has long e-mail conversation and all member have iphones and such yet that band doesn't gig much and some members come unprepared to practice despite talking about learning certain songs on e-mail chains for weeks. Technology is a nice tool but its not everything.
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All old farts are not a like, by you're standard I guess we're all a like and don't have the ability to send a text or receive one.

I find that all younger musicians know next to nothing about the history popular music, band culture or why their playing.

That's just an example of stereotyping.
 
#109
Everytime I book a gig I am not calling members of my band. They are expected to put on a band calendar if they have any issues. If they have nothing marked, I'll book it. I do make some exceptions. Last week a bar wanted to know if we could do the Sat after thanksgivng. Given it was only 2 weeks away and a holiday weekend I emaled everybody and had an I'm on vacation in 10 minutes.
 
#110
guy n. cognito said:
That's not what we're talking about. Someone that insists that all contact must be in person is a bit odd. You were specifically addressing those that don't adapt mobile technology, not eschew all forms of remote contact.
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I was and am speaking about technology in general and people who refuse to adopt a technology when the vast majority of the community has and then demand that the world adapt to them.

My landline example sounds ridiculous today but 20 years after Bell invented the phone someone who refused to get one would probably roughly be where someone who refuses a cell phone is today. It would have been an imposition to deal with that person.

In my specific case, as I mentioned earlier, 3 of the 4 members of my band - myself included - have text messaging plans on our cell phones and use text messaging regularly. The 4th, our rhythm guitarist/vocalist doesn't. That's her choice. But it means I have to either call her, if it's time critical, or email her separately instead of texting her like the rest and make sure her responses to me get routed via text to the rest of the band. In a nutshell her choice has made my job of coordinating things more difficult. And that's all I'm saying. That failing to use a common technology - like text messaging - that your peers are using makes you harder to work with. In my case it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.
 
#111
96tbird said:
Yeah, I read most of the thread and forgot you mentioned at least having a cell phone in the op. I was responding to some posts here seemingly indicating email should be the main line of communications.
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What problem do you see if with email and texting. To my mind they are less intrusive than calling someone because emails and texts can be responded to at a time that is convienent for the recieptient.

My guitar player is an MD. He spends much of his time with patients. If I call him during the day I'm either going to get voicemail or disturb him while he's busy with a patient. He can answer a text when he has a free minute.

Similarly I spend much of my day in meetings and conferences. I can't answer the phone. A text I can answer between meetings.

My wife and I text each other all day long. We could not communicate with each other nearly as much during Thr work day if we only had te phone.
 
#112
Gaius46 said:
I was and am speaking about technology in general and people who refuse to adopt a technology when the vast majority of the community has and then demand that the world adapt to them.

My landline example sounds ridiculous today but 20 years after Bell invented the phone someone who refused to get one would probably roughly be where someone who refuses a cell phone is today. It would have been an imposition to deal with that person.

In my specific case, as I mentioned earlier, 3 of the 4 members of my band - myself included - have text messaging plans on our cell phones and use text messaging regularly. The 4th, our rhythm guitarist/vocalist doesn't. That's her choice. But it means I have to either call her, if it's time critical, or email her separately instead of texting her like the rest and make sure her responses to me get routed via text to the rest of the band. In a nutshell her choice has made my job of coordinating things more difficult. And that's all I'm saying. That failing to use a common technology - like text messaging - that your peers are using makes you harder to work with. In my case it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.
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You see your singer as demanding that you conform to her preferred method of communication. I see you as doing the same. 6 to one..........
 
#113
Gaius46 said:
What problem do you see if with email and texting. To my mind they are less intrusive than calling someone because emails and texts can be responded to at a time that is convienent for the recieptient.

My guitar player is an MD. He spends much of his time with patients. If I call him during the day I'm either going to get voicemail or disturb him while he's busy with a patient. He can answer a text when he has a free minute.

Similarly I spend much of my day in meetings and conferences. I can't answer the phone. A text I can answer between meetings.

My wife and I text each other all day long. We could not communicate with each other nearly as much during Thr work day if we only had te phone.
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If he can answer a text later, he can answer a voicemail message later........right?
 
#114
guy n. cognito said:
If he can answer a text later, he can answer a voicemail message later........right?
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I use to be a voicemail Guy, now everything is text. All band communication is text. I never get voicemail from band members.

However some communication is not appropriate in text format.
 
#117
guy n. cognito said:
Why, aren't you an angry one......
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Just teasing.

As noted below, there are 3 leading edge communicators in the house. I actually found if I posted on their Facebook wall to clean their room or messaged via FB, (across the house) I would get a positive response. Easier than yelling (smoke signals).


More to the point. This is the standard of communication on the leading edge. If it doesn't apply to your fans or your venues, its no big deal.... but that is not gonna be the case.
 
#120
To be honest, the issue isn't so much about band members who don't have cell phones or e-mail. The dividing line is ultimately between those who like to stay à jour and keep in touch, and those who like to disappear from the radar and fail to respond in a timely fashion. Somehow these individuals will be equally unreliable over smoke signals, physical mail, telex, phone, e-mail, text messaging or Facebook. Either you accept what they are and how they work or you don't.
 

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