Posted on 19th April 2024

The growing demand for digital expertise, help and advice

The majority of us have to live with technology

It is possible to live a life avoiding digital technology in the 21st century, but when you think about it, it's certainly not easy. For most of us, a significant part of our lives is spent interacting with the digital world and it cannot therefore be thought of as something separate from our physical reality. Obviously we still can be present in the real world without relying on technology, but it is so important to so many things we do that we should not ignore or underestimate its significance. Digital technology is a vital piece of infrastructure for most of the world. How we build and use that infrastructure matters a lot.

Why thinking deeply about using and building digital technology is important

Forging new paths with digital technology should be considered a significant endeavour. Building something in the physical world can be a complex problem, for example designing and building bridges and roads. These are a huge undertakings encompassing issues such as planning, drainage, ecology, engineering, and crucially, many people to accomplish. The impact on people living in the area must also be considered and to be successful negotiation and diplomacy needs to be deployed. Building a bridge is not just an engineering problem, it has integral environmental and social components too.

Taking into account the importance of digital technology in our lives, creating digital technology should be no different, and there are many human elements of it's impact that require decisions to be made which can't be automated and shouldn't be ignored.

Consider also the foods we produce and eat. We regulate these on an individual and collective level. The idea that we should do the same in our digital lives is something people are increasingly paying attention to. But just like with our diets we won't always do what is best for us when it comes to our digital behaviour, even with an awareness of the personal risks and wider impact. Sometimes we need a bit of help in making the right choices for us. The same is true of business decisions when it comes to technology.

Compared to many other things our interactions with the digital world have historically been an aspect of our personal lives and our society that we tend to regulate or monitor the least. Thinking about our digital constitution in the same way as we think about physical problems should be encouraged and it should be recognised these things are never just solved by technology itself.

Getting the most out of the digital world by understanding it

We must recognise the impact (both positive and negative) that thinking carefully about how we use digital products can have on our lives. There is plenty to gain and plenty to lose from our behaviour 'online', just as there is 'offline'.

Part of what determines how money is made, people are influenced and power is gained 'in the real world' is an understanding of interactions and behaviour of things 'in the real world'. The same is true in order to gain these advantages in the digital world: we must understand the behaviour of things in the digital world and how we interact with them.

There are numerous facets of how things operate in the digital world, for example:

These are just some of the features of the digital world that are evoked during our interactions with it. The context of how people interact with them is what makes them useful and interesting. The social implications of utilising these aspects of digital technology show what possible differences to our lives they can make:

If we can understand how some of the facets of the digital world influence us and how we influence some of them, we can start to figure out how to make digital technology work better for us. This can be done both on an individual and collective level.

Learning and deploying a deep level of understanding of the influences of the digital world is not a simple task. And in trying to master digital technology we will not get everything right all the time, just like in the physical world. But by working to understand how digital technology can work for us we can implement strategies to improve our chance of succcess and get better results. To do all this we undoubtedly will need help from those who can guide us.

Digital guidance: an emerging need?

From the most basic of needs (such as "how do I pay my taxes?") to the more complex (such as "how do increase the sales of my business?") people need help and guidance. And it is not possible for the majority of us to ignore the fact that many aspects of our daily lives, such as these, require us to be successful at interacting with the digital world.

Clearly, there is a role for people who have mastered some of the facets of digital technology to help others utilise them. This may occasionally also result in the creation of new 'products' or 'services'. But often all it requires is people who can use their expertise to understand others needs and help them use or adapt the technology and resources already available. We need people who are willing to ask, and capable of answering, the question: "How can I use my knowledge to efficiently get a better outcome for the user?"

Sometimes getting a better outcome for people also means considering when restrictions, rules and codes of conduct should be placed on the use or implementation of technology. In this case experts in the relevant aspects of how people interact with technology and it's effect on them are very important to inform regulatory policies and processes.

So broadly it seems we need people who are good at providing guidance and advice on the digital world and its social impact. I think it is more fitting to think of this as a capability that anyone can have, regardless of their specific digital skillset. The capability being: having knowledge of certain elements of the digital world, how people interact with them, and an ability to use that knolwedge to help others.

The result of applying this capability could be anything from creating and deliver training courses to informing the design of new software. But the capability could be broadly summed up as guiding others in understanding and influencing the digital world to achieve an outcome of value.

What should we call a person who fulfills this need?

The best name I've come up with so far for this capability is 'Digital Navigator'. I think it's apt for people with the acumen to help others explore and find a way forward with digital technology. A Digital Navigator would ideally be someone with a combination of technical expertise and social science knowledge.

I think Digital Navigators can be thought of as different from any existing roles or titles we have. It is broader than being product-focused (e.g. product designer, owner or manager). It is not solely confined to specific 'IT', software development, business analysis or design roles either. Though someone who is a Digital Navigator is likely have some skills in any of these areas. This isn't a fully formed idea, but I do think there is an increasing need for something like 'Digital Navigators'.

How you qualify a capability like this is something I'm not sure about. Some sort of certification, accreditation or guild might be appropriate, but before we go too far down that road let's try to understand more the motiviations for promoting this idea: First and foremost helping those most in need of understanding and using digital technology so they are not left behind is an important and noble goal. But the benefits of providing guidance when it comes to technology go much further than this.

Digital inclusivity affects us all

People from all walks of life struggle with digital inclusion, including business owners. This in turn has an impact on everyone else. I think organisations of all sizes could benefit from investing in Digital Navigators with specialisms in the facets of the digital world most appropriate to them.

I have been fortunate to work at times with some established SMEs who are only just starting to embrace digital technology into some aspects of their business. There are many people running businesses with significant turnover that have little knowledge of the digital options available to them to streamline aspects of their work. If they are already using some digital products they might not know what alternatives are out there, whether they can or should build their own systems, or how to go about making changes in their approach to digital technology. They may also have no understanding of how much any of this could or should cost.

It can be surprising how high up in large organisations there is also a lack of understanding of the impact of technology. Despite using a lot of technology, even some large corporations are blinkered to the possibilities beyond those they already use, or alternatively have been seduced by the hype of new technologies not ideally suited to their needs.

Many businesses are also institutionally terrified of moving away from the comfort of their current digital tools and processes, so they continue doing things the same way until they hit an iceberg which they kind of always knew was in their path. Of course sometimes the right decision is to not change anything, but without assessing the options and having expert advice, how can you know?

The integrity of digital navigation

All this lack of information and knowledge leaves people like business owers vulnerable to the ethics, or lack thereof, of technology companies proferring solutions. Perhaps 'Digital Navigator' could serve as a stamp of authenticity and integrity by indicating a person has signed up to a genuine code of conduct to guide stakeholders in making decisions, championing digitial initiatives, but not coercing their clients into choosing a particular solution.

The reality is the digital world is vast, complex and people in leadership positions need experts guiding them in making an informed choice. This relies on them having humility themselves as well as trust in the credentials of those advising them. For Digital Navigation to work, it needs to be a well-respected endeavour.

There are many existing roles that might cross over: from software architects to service designers. So perhaps I'm over-complicating things. But regardless of who is involved I feel that helping someone find a general sense of direction and establish the way forward with digital technology is a problem that is neglected. I believe the more it is neglected, the more 'digital debt' we are accruing as a society.

In any case taking a step back and asking - "what is my digital diet and is it healthy?" - could be an important first step to making the changes required to master digital technology in our lives and our work. If we accept the premise that we will all need help finding our bearings in the digital world from time to time, it seems logical that we should value and listen to people who can help us answer such questions.

The demand for digital knowledge

The digital world has become so important to our lives that our interactions with it cannot be taken lightly. Increasingly, with every click, swipe or tap we are performing real actions that affect the real world around us. We must therefore do so responsibly and when we feel it is necessary with the help of others who can guide us in what we are doing.

There are also many advantages to be gained by understanding and manipulating the digital world. Having experts who are proficient at advising and guiding us in digital matters can help us define effective strategies, succesfully design new systems and make sure individuals and organisations don't get left behind when digital change happens.

My concept of Digital Navigators may or may not become a necessity as technology evolves. But I believe demand will continue to grow for people who understand our digital world and our interactions with it. How people will gain the required knowledge and how these roles will be filled is a big question not only for the technology industry but society as a whole.

We must increase the opportunity for the learning and transfer of digital knowledge and skills. Though I'd welcome more people to get into software development, I'm not sure another crash course in coding really does anything to help society in the long term. Nor do I think a one-off digital skills bootcamp for businesses (e.g. covering social media and SEO) really does much to stimulate the wider economy.

I also don't think it's a good strategy for governments to have a hands-off approach when it comes to the technology industry. It's an industry that is building critical infrastructure, fuelling our economies and that has an impact on pretty much every aspect of life. Irrespective of politics, we would live in an utterly disfuntional society if we didn't take the view that some things are too important for the market to decide.

We have to start thoughtfully designing and planning our digital world at every level. A good starting point would be encouraging, galvanising and listening to those in a position to help. We need to value people with digital expertise who want to improve outcomes for others, not just those that want to hawk a particular technology for profit.


Footnote: other roles that need filling

It strikes me the more we recognise that digital technology forms vital infrastructure, the more we gain an insight into the growing need for more people working together to make sure it reliably provides the services we require. It feels to me like the tech industry currently cutting jobs (particularly amongst some of the biggest firms in the US) could not come at a worse time given what is at stake.

It's not just my idea of the Digital Navigator role which may be required: there are many roles particularly in design and testing that seem to have been hit hardest by so-called 'rationalisation' of the workforce. Of course like many trends in tech, this will probably follow a cyclical path, as it always has in the past. One of the ways I think we fix this is training, educating and stimulating interest in the areas we need people.

In order to do that we need to examine the demand in sustainable areas of growth. This blog post is one way of exploring this. I think it's a good idea for people to discuss this and think about all the possible roles past, present and future and the value we place on them. We will need to gather data to truly be confident in investing in particular areas, but without having this debate the cycle created by leaving this to the industry, and by extension largely luck, will continue.