Thankful Thursdays…For Being Around for All The Tech Stuff!!!

By
Home Stager

Thankful Thursdays…For Being Around for All The Tech Stuff!!!

 

Recently I mentioned using a Rolodex back in the late 70s. It was all we had…before personal computers, the internet, and so many of the other wonderful and useful devices we have today. 

 

When we searched for our first home in FL, we drove around looking for a Stop & Go or a corner payphone so we could call an agent. No Smart Phone or GPS…only a pocket full of quarters!

I also remember when VCRs made their presence known…we no longer had to rush home so we wouldn’t miss our favorite show. Now the show or movie we want to watch is floating around in Cyberville ready for whenever we want to watch it. 

 

When I was a little girl, I had lots of dolls but what I really wanted was a real working Dick Tracy watch. I had to wait (decades) but when it came out, I finally got my Dick Tracy/Apple Watch!

 

New technology doesn’t stop with gadgets and devices. Thanks to the internet, we can access our medical records online, make appointments, and request prescription refills. If our physicians are in the same hospital system, they have access to tests and other information. 

 

When we were told to stay home, thanks to Zoom, FaceTime, and online shopping, we were not totally left on our own. 

 

 

In the way-back machine, only businesses and a few homeowners could afford a full home security system. Even then it often took extensive wiring and a lengthy installation process. 

 

 

Of course, there are some downsides that come with advances in technology…heads buried in their devices, the growing lack of socialization skills, and the misuse and oversharing of information. 

 

 

I am, nevertheless, grateful to be living during all of these technological advances. And more are coming. 

 

This is my 3rd submission for the November 2022 Thanksgiving Challenge hosted by Debe Maxwell, CRS . I hope you’ll share with us what you are grateful for.

 

Posted by

Kathy Streib
Retired Home Stager
and Interior Redesign

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Comments (25)

Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Good morning, Kathy... I'm with you on being grateful for many aspects of technology. I remember the days of carrying quarters in my pocket and looking for a public phone booth. I don't however have a smart watch and don't plan to acquire one... to me it smacks too much of being an electronic jailor... I like to unplug but at the same time I always wear a watch.

Nov 17, 2022 04:57 AM
Kathy Streib

Nina Hollander, Broker i do love my Apple Watch- since we got rid of our landline years ago, at least I can answer a call on my watch if my phone isn’t handy

Nov 17, 2022 11:53 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker

Kathy Streib hi Kathy... I get your point. Then again, I consider the phone to be a bit of an electronic jailor and try to get away from it as much as possible. At the end of the day... I can always call back if I miss a call.

Nov 18, 2022 04:42 AM
Bill Salvatore - East Valley
Arizona Elite Properties - Chandler, AZ
Realtor - 602-999-0952 / em: golfArizona@cox.net

Great information, and it makes you wonder how we all survived 40 years ago?  Have a wonderful Thursday, the week is almost over. Bill  

Nov 17, 2022 05:01 AM
Kathy Streib

Bill Salvatore - East Valley i hear you! Remember we answering machines!!

Nov 17, 2022 11:54 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Hi Kathy - we all talk about our smart phones but there is so much more, thermostats, Gps, Cameras and VCRs have gone to a number of changes but we still can time shift.  And I hear we can do that with storm shutters now on our cell phones.

Nov 17, 2022 05:37 AM
Kathy Streib

Grant Schneider we have smart plugs and I love being able to turn our lights on if we’re away from home!

Nov 17, 2022 11:55 AM
Leanne Smith
Dirt Road Real Estate - Golden Valley, AZ
Relocation to NW AZ with elbow room & more freedom

Technology advances have been present for each generation. Today's is far more complex.  My sense is must stay vigilant that technology is only a tool and nothing more. The other side is the gathering of information for further control of the population and there in lies the rub.

Nov 17, 2022 05:57 AM
Kathy Streib

Leanne Smith i agree- it is a tool for us. I love it when I see young children out playing and not on their devices

Nov 17, 2022 11:56 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Kathy, we now rely so heavily on technology, and when it fails, we are lost.   This morning, my laptop didn't work, while on vacation, and still have work to do!   Luckily, my friend is a tech genius, and I can again work.

Nov 17, 2022 06:11 AM
Kathy Streib

Joan Cox you are so right!! We have more than one laptop, thank goodness but still it’s a pain if it goes down

Nov 17, 2022 11:57 AM
Eric Bouler
Gardner Realtors, Licensed in La. - New Orleans, LA
Listening to your Needs

Happy Thursday. Like your Blog today. I did one a few minutes ago. 820.

Nov 17, 2022 06:23 AM
Kathy Streib

Eric Bouler i will have to check it out!

Nov 17, 2022 11:58 AM
Jeffrey DiMuria 321.223.6253 Waves Realty
Waves Realty - Melbourne, FL
Florida Space Coast Homes

Although tech makes me a lot of money, I am not a huge fan with the exception of GPS. LOVE IT

Nov 17, 2022 07:00 AM
Kathy Streib

Jeffrey DiMuria 321.223.6253 Waves Realty i love our GPS . We used it a lot when we moved back to Houston 

Nov 17, 2022 11:59 AM
Norma J. Elkins
Elite Realty Group - Morristown, TN
Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team

Technology is always changing and I have also learned to embrace it with much help from my kids and grands.  Applewatches are great and I now would be totally lost without mine.  Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous day!

Nov 17, 2022 07:12 AM
Kathy Streib

Norma J. Elkins tgat’s the good thing about having young people in your life- you learn tech from them

Nov 17, 2022 12:00 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

No surprise here. Nobody loves their apps and gadgets like you do!

Nov 17, 2022 07:48 AM
Kathy Streib

Sharon Tara oh yes!! But when they go wonders it drives me crazy

Nov 17, 2022 12:01 PM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

I think GPS on our phones has probably been a god send for us Realtors. How things have changed since the Rolodex! 

Nov 17, 2022 07:52 AM
Kathy Streib

Lise Howe i agree! There are so many reasons why I love my smartphone and the apps!

Nov 17, 2022 12:02 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

I am still behind on technology. We need to get a new TV and I am uncertain as to what to select.

Nov 17, 2022 08:38 AM
Kathy Streib

Roy Kelley not like it used to be. We just replaced the one we had on the office!!!

Nov 17, 2022 12:03 PM
Ed Silva
Mapleridge Realty, CT 203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Central CT Real Estate Broker Serving all equally

My how times have changed. I have 2 Rolodexes on my desk and remember the fun my grandson had turning the wheel and watching the cards flip

Nov 17, 2022 09:57 AM
Kathy Streib

Ed Silva you still have one?? Isn’t it nice not to have to write out the cards

Nov 17, 2022 12:04 PM
Anna Banana Kruchten Phoenix Broker
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

OMG I had forgotten about Dick Tracy watches!  We all wanted one!  Very fun!  I was ever so happy to be an early adapter to all things techie. I couldn't believe at times how easy it made my job - and it keeps getting better and better! 

Nov 17, 2022 12:49 PM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Kathy it is amazing the technological advance that have been made during our life time, and continue to be made at an amazing pace.

Nov 17, 2022 01:22 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

Me too, Kathy.  I still remember back in 1983, a fellow agent said, "Myrl, you gotta get a computer."  I didn't really know why, but he was convincing enough that I followed through.  My first computer was a 1983 Apple IIE.  It wasn't connected to the Internet.  I didn't really do much with that first computer, other than a little word processing.  Fast forward 10 years to 1993. I purchased a Dell computer, with a version of Windows.  I remember standing in line at midnight at a computer store, to get an upgraded version to Windows 95.  I was off and running.  

Finally, in 1997, I took a temp job at an international software company called, CableData.  I was supposed to be there 2 months, but ended up going permanent at their Research and Development Center for 8 1/2 years.  It was like working in a toy factory.  I love tech.  My sister hates it!

Nov 17, 2022 01:31 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

CONGRATULATIONS Kathy, on having this blog FEATURED in the Old Farts Club group!  

Nov 17, 2022 01:39 PM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Kathy,

I am right there with you!  Because of what we had to go through, such as using a Rolodex,  we can appreciate the new tech even more than those who grew up with it. 

The last time I was in Maui, there was a pay phone outside of the post office.  I had to take a picture of it because I haven't seen one of those in at least a decade.

Nov 17, 2022 02:11 PM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Kathy Streib I am with you love tech who would think we would have a phone by our side 24/7  with a camera - a Dick Tracy watch liked my dolls better - Zoom I do not know how I would have gotten through  the Pandemic without my AR friends 😉

Nov 18, 2022 12:36 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Kathy:

What a fun walk through our changing technology over the years. No doubt many cannot imagine living without the technology we have gotten used to and perhaps take for granted, and having to face some of the issues you mentioned before these tech advances. And it just keeps changing.

Jeff

Nov 20, 2022 05:05 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The right Charlotte REALTOR!

Like you and Anna Banana Kruchten Phoenix Broker, Kathy, I've always done what I can to be an early adapter. I'm so very grateful for all things technology and like you,

I LOVE my Apple watch! It is so handy when I go on walks with my Madelaine - I don't have to carry my phone and I can still take client calls and they are none the wiser that I'm not sitting at my desk!

I very reluctantly got rid of my home phone so, I sleep with my watch on in case one of my boys or other family or friends need me in the middle of the night. I don't play on it or check emails or texts when I go to bed - it's simply on for emergency calls...so Ray doesn't have to get me another home phone! LOL

Thanks for another post of gratitude, Kathy! I love that you stepped out of the normal family, friends, faith topics!

Nov 26, 2022 08:17 PM