Does your car have a name? Are you driving Audrey Audi, or Big Red? When your computer has problems, is “he” or “she” to blame? (I put the disk in and he crashed.) When things technological go wrong, do you put yourself into the situation and say, “My Palm says I’m disconnected?”

These are just some ways that we tend to personalize technology. Why? I think it’s because adding a personality to things gives us a feeling of having some control over them. When we name things, or give them with a personality, they are more likely to be thought of as “friends,” and are easier to deal with.

Technology becomes an actor

So what happens when those friendly things break or do something we didn’t anticipate? We tend to react in exactly the same ways that we do when people are involved. If we feel we have been slighted, we get angry. If we feel that we have been put on the spot, we get embarrassed or we feel stupid.

Think these very human reactions don’t surface when technology is one of the players? Of course they do—it happens all of the time. You can pretty much predict how people will react when technology fails, as well.

I volunteer for one of Rochester’s gems—the Wegmans Rochester LPGA tournament. There sure is a lot of technology in play there! Over the years, the reporting of scores at each hole has been enhanced and improved with technology. We have used everything from 2-way radios and cell phones to Palm Pilots and wireless networks for reporting scores as each golfer finishes a hole.

I have always been fascinated to hear how the social network of reporters and scoring control develops and grows, and occasionally breaks, throughout the week. Many of us don’t know each other, or even meet each other. We are known in our social network as “This is Hole x”” and “Control.” Our communication system is quite simple. I would activate the device (2-way radio or cell phone) and say, “Control, this is hole 9.” Control then comes back with, “Go ahead hole 9.” And I reply, “Hole 9, group 33, 2-3-3.” And Control replies, “Hole 9, group 33, 2-3-3.” And then I say back, “Confirm.” Very simple, very efficient, very quick.

So what can go wrong in our highly efficient social network? Technology! But there are two different aspects to consider.

When technology fails

The tournament staff is terrific, so things rarely go wrong. Devices, networks, relay links, and the like are tested and tested again. But sometimes, the unexpected can happen with technology. Batteries on the devices can fail, especially if the play goes on for longer then expected. Data entry can become difficult, especially using the small stylus on the Palm Pilots or on a bright sunny day when reading the display is hard. (Although both of these should have been discovered during usability testing.) Sometimes the network link goes down unexpectedly, or sometimes the Palm Pilots go off into a diagnostic routine that we users have never seen before, and we don’t know how to get back to our familiar data entry screen.

When technology fails, our simple routine is disrupted. Scores aren’t reported on time. Snatches of the dialog are broadcast, and reporters have to repeat their scores over and over. Because our simple routine is so well established, there isn’t time to explain when there is a problem, or sometimes the volunteers can’t explain exactly what the problem is. Nerves become frayed, voices are raised (speaking louder doesn’t always help understanding), and social niceties get ignored. We’ve personalized the technology to such a degree somehow we feel that we are at fault and we have to overcome, not the technology.

When we “fail”

Sometimes, we are not familiar with technology and how it works, or perhaps our mental models of how things work is different than how things really work. (See my column on our archive.