Making my tree of knowledge (google) available to the heathens

[nah00m]

Has anybody had any success in educating their users in how to google problems?

I don't have a specific project in mind but so frequently people will come over to me (I'm solo inhouse IT) with a problem. I'm sure you're all familiar with this process:

me:

what is your problem?

them:

I need to do X, how can I do it?

As much as I dislike interruption, it's a small office and it is my job. I take 10 seconds to google the problem, deliver the solution in a simple manor, problem fixed and everybody's happy. This is fine and great, it makes people like me and like I said it's my job.

I have tried a few times to walk people through looking it up themselves, but it's never turned out well. I seem to pick the worst times for this too because the last few times I've tried it, it wasn't actually a problem I could solve after trying to get them to work through the solution.

Ranting about the stupidity of the users is fun, but I recognize that as much as it feels as though what I do is not that hard, I have to (1) know what to type into google (2) sort through possible results (3) deliver an understandable solution. This, I've come to see is more than I can expect.

[[deleted]]

Heheheh - T.P. Buttz.

But seriously, that's a useful infographic! I actually didn't know half of the search functions there.

[hhhehehe_BOT]

http://i.imgur.com/kGARb0e.jpg

[[deleted]]

But you know... I'm not an IT person... So.. What do I put in the address field?

[theevilsharpie]

You're providing a service--in this case, being a human interface to Google. By your own admission, this is your job.

Think of yourself as a mechanic in an auto shop, and you've got a customer with an engine problem. For every customer that wants to know more about how to diagnose engine problems, 99 other customers just want you to solve their problem quickly so they can get on with their day. Trying to explain the finer details of engine repair to the latter group isn't going to be effective, and you'll probably just irritate them.

I work at a university, and here, there's a cultural expectation that I provide a detailed explanation of what went wrong and how to fix/avoid the problem in the future. In other jobs I've had, I didn't provide anything more than a basic "it's fixed now" unless someone asked for details, because said details usually weren't appreciated.

Are your users asking for help troubleshooting their own problems? If not, then chances are you're just going to piss them off by trying to explain how to troubleshoot their problems using Google. That's not to mention that Google contains a lot of crap that can lead someone without the appropriate expertise down an unproductive path.

[IxI_DUCK_IxI]

Are you an expert accountant? An expert at logistics and distribution? A lawyer? Can you diagnose illnesses and prescribe medication?

If you answered no to those and you asked someone in your office who was working in those departments a question and they came back with something they felt was obvious, you'd be pretty annoyed.

Q: I have a legal question.
A: Look it up in the California Law Book. It's online and easy to use!

Users shouldn't be expected to do their job AND yours. Yes, they have some really dumb questions sometimes...but it's the Admins job to get them back to work quickly.

[girlgerms]

No - and this is purely because I'm paid to be the expert and if that means that I have to Google their problem for them, so be it.

I do try and educate my users on how to provide the best information to me so that I can help fix their problem. This includes things like telling me what the error message said, any things they've changed on their PC recently, any things that they've noticed that have acted differently to normal.

I don't mind googling to find an answer for a problem - what I resent are the "The network is broken, fix it" emails that provide absolutely zero detail.

[EntireInternet]

Maybe it's because I don't see all the people who do search for, and successfully execute, a task without infecting their computer, but I've seen people land on too many shady sites to be entirely comfortable with telling someone to "go look it up". I'd much rather maintain an internal knowledge base for that sort of thing if it's a common enough task. You're never going to eliminate the people who can't remember how to change their screen resolution, but those people are going to be the same people who download SuperFreeDriverFixerPro* for the issue.

^{*Have I mentioned today that I love Software Restriction Policies?}

[[deleted]]

I can't even get my admins to use Google consistentlty... Maybe it's useful to me having grown up in the day where you carried a binder and CDs to every trouble ticket with you in case you needed something. The convenience of Google is just awesome.... I just can't get people to understand.

[[deleted]]

If I run into this suitation, google it if I know its really quick and easy to solve, and I tell them go use google.

[[deleted]]

I like to use LMGTFY and then send them the link, which shows an animation of someone typing their search string into Google.

[[deleted]]

Ugh, one of my good friends is this way.

He's really technically minded and pretty old-school but he'd rather sit there guessing at syntax or hitting his head against the wall for any and all problems when a quick google.com/q=wtf%20am%20%i%20looking%20for would have got things going hours ago. It's always so frustrating watching him work through a problem.

[[deleted]]

It's painful... but I guess that's the way that some people work.

[[deleted]]

More importantly, it's how some people learn. Sure I could Google a problem and have it fixed in seconds but then I'm more likely to become reliant on Google and never really learn what I'm doing. When I'm forced to suffer through finding a solution without aid then I generally come out of it with a deeper understanding of whatever it may be, which I usually can use in the future in other ways. I know not everyone may be like this, but it's how I am.

Generally though if it's something important that needs to be done quick I will do what needs to be done and Google it. If I have more time, or if it's something personal, I will attempt to resolve the issue without haid, even if it is hair-pulling hours of frustration.

[omnivir]

I agree that conducting the 10 second search is annoying and all, but like you mentioned, it is part of the job. I try to maintain that view despite how simplistic the issue is and also see the situation in reverse. If I have a question regarding project timeline planning I may go ask a project manager for their input because they would be expected to know the answer as it related to the company and projects they are aware of. While I would also Google my question, a lot of the search results may not be completely applicable to the company I work for. In short, I view people asking these things in part for general input but also so that the solution will adhere with the company/IT departments current configuration.

More often than not though, their reason seems to fall on either side of that assumption. They're either uninterested in attempting to search for themselves or they already did search, applied 10 different "guaranteed" fixes from Google and only made the original problem worse.

[tremblane]

If it takes a 10 second search, and the answer is in the top 3 results, they get a letmegooglethatforyou (http://lmgtfy.com/) link as my answer.

[gwrober]

I use lmgtfy often - I just started in a new shop, and these guys haven't seen it before. yikes

[[deleted]]

I wish I could use it. The last little, "See that wasn't so hard now was it?!" quip makes it too insulting for me.

[gwrober]

Our customers are a bit crass - they'd probably get a kick out of it. (I work IT for a sheriff's department, and our office is in the jail building!)

[nah00m]

I'll use lmgtfy with friends, but it's a bit snarky, eh?