Technology: Tool or Distraction?

Behind all of the pixels, popping graphics, and usability of DotLoop lies a tool. Our website is to agents what a microscope is to a microbiologist or a level is to a contractor - a tool to help get the job done. Our tool just happens to use the power of the Internet to do its job.

So, it was with interest that we read about President Obama's keynote speech this Sunday at Hampton University when he seemingly chided the growth of technology as a diversion rather than a tool of empowerment.

I say seemingly, because, looking at the transcript of the speech itself, it seems all the hoop-la over his hypocrisy (he uses a Blackberry and an iPod, even though in the speech he joked he didn't know how to use them) only further highlights the exact thing he was talking about - a lot of information is out there, but very little context surrounds it.

As one who is online most of the day, I constantly see ill-informed articles designed to grab attention rather than educate the reader. Articles entitled "President Obama Bemoans Technology" may be great for garnering Google's attention, but it completely misses the point of the speech - that education, not just lot of information and cherry-picked quotes - is what we need. Every last detail of the attempted Times Square bomber has been laid out, but how many news outlets are reporting on the flooding in Nashville?

Information is power, but the real distraction is not the technology that provides the information, but a lack of context surrounding it. The out-of-context opinion pieces floundering around the Internet ironically prove the President's exact point - technology should be a tool to assist the citizenry, not a divisive distraction to amass more click-throughs or higher ratings.

At DotLoop, we understand this, which is exactly how we differ - we don't just store all of your transactions, we put the information in context, so that agents and clients can get a full picture of the negotiation, not just bits and pieces.

After all, DotLoop is a tool, not a distraction.