On being good enough

I was reading an article on Wired about “The good enough technology” recently and it made consider how Internet is changing our work environment.  It is now possible with a relatively low cost computer and an Internet connection to do many things, who were before that, exclusively reserved to professionals.  We can even feel the change in our work environment.

In fact this blog is, in itself, a professional work done by an unprofessional person. OK, I’m cheating a little here since I am an IT professional but I am not a writer, journalist or paid to do a job related to writing.  Not long ago, a graphic designer, a web programmer and maybe a network specialist were needed to get the equivalent of the World of SF blog running.  Now, we only need an account on a service provider, a little knowledge and some work to do it.

The quality is not the same than professional work.  An experienced writer or journalist possesses a very unique skill set that no beginner can reproduce easily.  But, the job get done.  I write, you read and maybe add a comment of your own.  It’s good enough.

What is good enough?  Good enough is where you fill a need in a simple manner.  Just look at the Flip video camera.  The functionalities are basics.  It is almost archaic in comparison to any other video camera.
Still, the Flip is new buzz in video cameras.  Why?  Its filling the need to share videos in a simple manner.

Is good enough changing our world?  Yes and no.  Good enough was always there.  When the United States launched the Apollo mission, they were using a special pen designed to work in almost any environment.  The Russians faced the same problem:  they sent in space a couple of pencils, some erasers and a pencil sharpener.  It was good enough for them.  Now, we are only seeing some new changes in “the good enough way”.  Technology is becoming the new good enough field.

Will it affect the science-fiction?  I hope so.  Its becoming easier now to find new stories, arts and podcast than ever.  Many works are free and self distributed rather than filtered by the distibuting economy.  Its a good time to be a reader (or listener depending on your preferences) but its also a hard one because its time consuming to filter the best works.  Some writers are hinting about this change in their writings.  Think about the 3D printers in Charles Stross “Saturn’s Children” and the paranoid Xbox in Cody Doctorow “Little Brother”.  They are technologies becoming simpler for everybody use.  They are commodities and no longer a specialized hardware requiring a professional to use it.

The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine on Wired