Don't blame it on Y2K
© Douglas E. Welch 1999
April 16, 1999
You have all heard about it. Some are scared to death of it. Most
of it is hype but all of us, as technology workers will have to
face the Year 2000 problem whether we want to or not. The trouble
is, most of the problems that occur between now and several months
after January 2000 will have absolutely no relation to the Y2K
problem. I am already seeing it happen and it will only get worse
as we approach the end of 1999. Every hard disk crash, every corrupt
file, every misplaced document, every burp, snort, crash, hang
and beep of computers will be blamed on Y2K.
It's all in a name. The American public loves having a name to
attach to a given threat or problem. You only have to look at
our reaction to "El Nino" last year. Once we had a name to attach
to a particularly wet year, every single crisis was blamed on
it. While there was certainly major damage caused by the rains,
I personally had experienced much more rain-related damage in
other non-El Nino years. It seems that having something to blame
makes us feel better when faced with our inability to control
it.
Y2K is exhibiting much the same news coverage and panic that El
Nino generated but with far more wide-ranging results. Instead
of just the West Coast seeing doom in every rain cloud,, the entire
world sees doom in every PC. Unfortunately, as technology workers
we will all carry at least some of that burden, as well. The burden
of extra work correcting the problems and the burden of blame
for creating the problems in the first place.
It's all your fault
Human beings can paint stereotypes with a wide brush, especially
during times of crisis. It is only a small leap from blaming computers
for Y2K problems to blaming technology workers in general. Already
we are seeing reports of stupid programmers, irresponsible IT
professionals and uncaring technology people. I can see the focus
moving from dislike of computers to dislike of those that work
with them. The only way to combat these stereotypes is to meet
them full on. We all need to show that while there are reasons
to test and prepare, the hype of Y2K far outweighs the actual
danger.
Preventing Panic
An important new role is being thrust on technology workers this
year, that of preventers of public panic. Such doom, gloom and
misinformation is being broadcast that the average computer user,
ignorant of the realities of the Y2K problems, is beginning to
wonder if it is the end of the world. It is up to us to help dispel
rumors, help users and companies develop intelligent contingency
plans and otherwise let them know that everything is going to
be alright.
There are many people out there who have no compunction with using
Y2K as a way to fleece the sheep. In some cases I have been asked
to provide some sort of magic bullet to solve a companies Y2K
fears. When I explain that there is no such magic bullet, some
people, in their fear, feel that I am unwilling to provide a solution,
not just unable. We need to be very careful around situations
such as this. Any sense of exploitation on your part could be
seen as a threat or extortion. While the absurdity of this situation
is apparent, fear often clouds peopleís judgement. Watch your
clients
for signs of Y2K fear and work to alleviate them as much as possible.
Doing so could prevent everything from losing a client to losing
your business.
We need be vigilant for situations where Y2K is being blamed without
merit. By confronting those situations and explaining them we
can help to lower the level of fear and hype. Computer users need
to be shown how many of the warnings about Y2K are being generated
by those most likely to benefit from a panic.
Never before have we technology professionals found ourselves
in such an important public role. We all must realize that our
words and actions carry more weight than ever before and we should
be careful of speaking flippantly. While, many of the dangers
of Y2K may be half-truths, the fears involved are very real to
computer users. We cannot treat them lightly or dismiss them out
of hand. Fear is caused by ignorance and ignorance can easily
be cured. Like all computer problems we need to educate. We need
to take on the mantle of responsibility and lead people wisely
through the end of this century and into the next.
As the months pass you will want to continue to monitor the Y2K
fears of your customers, clients and users and seek to alleviate
them as much as possible. We must fight the hype battle on a person
by person basis. Failure to do so could severely damage the technology
industry that we all depend upon for our livelihood.
Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant
in Van Nuys, California. Readers can discuss career issues with
other readers by joining the Career Opportunities Discussion on
Douglas' web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/
He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com |