For some strange reason people think that technology is limitless, all curing and all powerful.  The simple truth is that technology is only as good as the people using it and the goals that they intend to achieve. Computers have advanced tremendously since the days monochromatic monitors and floppy disk.  In the 1980's people only dreamed to do the things that most of us do frequently on our cell phones.  With all the goodness that technology brings, we must not allow ourselves to be fooled; no matter how intelligent machines get, they are still our tools.

I read  a lot of digital design magazine and the critical first step is still to pull out a pad of paper and doodle, sketch, write, and organize ideas.  A poorly organized project will only become more complicated and harder to manage when separated into 5 spread sheets, 6 word documents, a 30 layer Photoshop file, and 20 email. It is much better to take a hand full of drawings ( good or crudely scribbled) and using those as a road map to success. Email and the internet are both tools and not an  end-all-be-all solutions. Both have very real limitations.  While email is a great way to send a few files and a note, most email systems work poorly to actually manage communication in a natural manner. Similarly, the internet is a great way to do preliminary research, yet the actual reliability of much of the data out there at best can only be regarded as sketchy.  The true successes on the net are those that provide solidly crafted human content.  The most popular videos on Youtube are usually the work of the witty. The most followed blogs are typically insightful.  Simply being on the net just does not cut it, content is king.

So the next time you begin a new project, switch off your computer, turn on your coffee pot, sharpen your pencils, a lo-tech approach might save you a high-tech headache.