Digital Ethnographer, Dr Jonathon Hutchinson, has recently engaged in new research with Microsoft, which has revealed Australia’s six technology personality types – a study which has never before been explored in the Australian technology realm. Australians can now identify with the character that best represents their tech behaviour and habits. The types include, the creator, the sharer, the tinkerer, the self improver, the spectator, and the make doer.
The impact of technology on Australian’s lives is profound, and we are reliant more than ever before – 76% of Australians now use a smartphone and 45% use a tablet*. A clear indicator that the notion of work-life balance is evolving with technology accessible mobile, everywhere and anywhere.
What is your Australian Technology Personality Type?
The study looked at consumer use, adoption and personal behaviour in relation to technology. The result is six different personalities that consumers will be able to identify with, incorporating the whole technology use spectrum from tech experts to those who choose a running track over a trackpad.
The best way to find out what’s right for you is to figure out your tech type, it makes it easier to find your way through the maze of new devices, apps and services, and find the ones that work best for you or your loved ones – just in time for the holidays!
The Six Tech Types of Australians
The Creator
Creators are always working on some new project, and regularly post ideas, creations and inspiration all across the web. They’re excited about making new ideas come to life, and using technology to put together their next great project.
How to spot them: Creators care about how they are perceived, so they’re usually dressed with flair, and working away on the next big idea to pop into their heads. They’ll have a stylish looking device and will probably be translating the world into stories, pictures, movies or code.
Where you can find them: In coffee shops working on screenplays. In the front row of a TED talk. Sitting in the park writing blog posts. Hauling a DSLR around city alleyways.
How to approach them: Talk about ideas. Have a phone full of cool stuff you found on the web. Sit down and chat to them about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.
What to give them as a gift: Something that helps them see the world in a new way, or something that helps them tell their stories to the world.
Why they’re great company: Creators can change the way you see the world. They’re excited about new ideas, and about using their skills and voice to design solutions, create art or help their friends and peers connect with new ideas.
Ideal Devices and services suite: Office 365: OneDrive, Publisher, Adobe Creative Cloud, Surface Pro 3 and Nokia Lumia 930.
The Sharer
The Sharer loves sharing life and new experiences with their wider social community, creating an ongoing visual diary that‘s passionate, literate and bursting with energy. They’re happiest when showing the life they love to the people they care about.
How to spot them: Sharers will be pointing a phone at anything they find worth sharing. They’ll be out and about, using their phone to capture, share, interact and consume, all with an energy and pride in their story that’s palpable.
Where you can find them: At festivals. At beaches. Photographing amazing lunches or parties. At the front of every selfie-cluster.
How to approach them: Get them to a party. Show them a cool series of photos from your life. Ask them what they did on the weekend.
What to give them as a gift: Something that gets them out there in the frantic, joyful chaos of life, armed with phone and camera to tell the world their story.
Why they’re great company: Sharers embody the joy of discovery and the excitement of curiosity. They’re the promoters, connectors and distributors of memory and experience they give their friends and family.
Ideal Devices and Services suite: Office 365: OneDrive, OneNote, Apps: Instagram, Twitter, FB, HP Pavilion X2 10 and Nokia Lumia 730
The Tinkerer
The Tinkerer is curious about technology, exploiting new hacks and taking things apart to indulge their passion for finding solutions and shortcuts. They’re huge fans of knowing the how, why and what next of the techno world.
How to spot them: Tinkerers are usually equipped with powerful devices and tend to pick functionality over styling.
Where you can find them: In JB HiFi out-geeking the sales guys. In Dick Smith looking at monitor connectors. Perched in corners reading Whirlpool and Stack Overflow.
How to approach them: Ask what their device is. Throw them a technical challenge. Talk about petaflops and online storage solutions.
What to give them as a gift: If it’s not the latest tech or vouchers to buy new tech toys, it’s something that helps them explore new technology better.
Why they’re great company: Tinkerers are great advisors on what technology can do to make life easier. They can explain the possibilities and technical aspects of technology, and help people find new ways of operating to reclaim time, achieve great outcomes and make the most of their devices.
Ideal Devices and Services suite: Office 365: Word, PowerPoint, Apps: MSN News, Project Siena, Lenovo YOGA 3 PRO and Nokia Lumia 1520.
The Self Improver
The Self Improver is all about getting the job done, and finding out how technology can help them do more of what they love doing. Happily engaging in blitz learning to upskill, they thrive on delivering the best outcomes for their career and life.
How to spot them: Self-Improvers are career-focused, outcome-centric and driven to deliver. They’ll usually have technology that helps them stay connected to work and the people that matter to them, they’ll eschew the latest device for a trusted, reliable but powerful tech-set.
Where you can find them: In the office, late at night. Working in cafes. Browsing the Dummies Guide section at a bookshop.
How to approach them: Talk about what they’re working on. Show them a cool shortcut or tip to do things faster.
What to give them as a gift: Something that helps them win back time, do things faster or ultimately self-improve. Business books or self-improvement guides are a hit.
Why they’re great company: Self Improvers are awesome at translating features into benefits. They can help other user types get more done, and happily use new skills to transform projects from challenging to complete.
Ideal Devices and Services suite: Office 365: OneNote (shopping lists), Excel (manages budget), Outlook (for scheduling life). Apps: Bing Health & Fitness, Bing Food & Drink, and Nokia Lumia 830.
The Spectator
Whether it’s through their device or in real life, the Spectator is constantly consuming experiences, stories and great moments. They’re happy getting by with their devices, using them to see cool stuff wherever they are.
How to spot them: Spectators are digital introverts, and will probably be either watching, reading, listening to or talking about great stories. They’re dressed for comfort and probably have a permanent squint from all that screen time.
Where you can find them: On park benches watching YouTube clips. At amateur theatre performances. Standing around street performers.
How to approach them: Ask them if they’ve seen anything cool lately. Prepare to listen patiently.
What to give them as a gift: Something that enables their love of stories – a book, a WiFi password, a bigger screen, or some killer headphones so they can enjoy those videos on the bus with sound!
Why they’re great company: Spectators are connectors that bridge the gap between Creators, Sharers and the rest of the world. They’re cultural barometers of what’s cool and new, even though they never tell anyone online about it. They’re informed and great fonts of knowledge.
Ideal Devices and Services suite: Office 365, Apps: MSN News, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ACER V11 AND Nokia Lumia 635.
The Make-Doer
The Make Doer just gets on with things, using technology when they need to, and otherwise concentrating on the other parts of life. They’re living low on tech, big on real-world interaction and are humming along just nicely.
How to spot them: Make Doers have a great personal style, they know what works for them and they stick to it. They’re not into fads and they know that all trends come round again.
Where you can find them: Out enjoying life without technology. Using an older device sparingly to finish work before heading out. Looking puzzled at other people’s tech habits.
How to approach them: Talk about life. Take them somewhere where technology isn’t integral to the activity. Give them a book.
What to give them as a gift: Something tangible that helps them achieve their own goals.
Why they’re great company: Make Doers help create balance and extend life beyond the digital world. They achieve without fanfare, and celebrate the tangible side of life, while still interacting in a digital ecosystem.
Ideal Devices and Services suite: Office 365: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Toshiba Satellite L10W and Nokia Lumia 530.
To find out your or your loved one’s very own Tech Type, head to Microsoft.
*Quantitative survey conducted in May 2014 by Ipsos MediaCT
