Why I am blogging.
Getting the hang of blogging is somewhat problematic. For a guy who is seldom at a loss for words, I find myself staring at the keyboard wondering do I have anything remotely intelligent to offer today. In some ways it is like a commitment to exercise. You know it is good for you, you know it needs to be done regularly but you often have difficulty getting going. Oddly enough, I have always had a desire to “help”. Astrologically I am a Libra and if I bought into that stuff, it might explain that desire. I put nearly 30 years into the tech environment and it seems senseless to let that experience just whither away to nothing. I am cognizant that in my age group my skill set and technology interest is somewhat unusual. Those of you 20 years or more younger than me probably don’t need input on technology from a guy who text messages at about 1.5 words per minute. (I have big thumbs and these darn phone keyboards are really small.)
Anyway, I am trying to offer the use of that prolonged and continued emersion in the technological fantasy world. Yesterday at my granddaughter’s gymnastic class, one of the young mothers was asking me about digital photo frames. I gave her some information and then directed her to my blog where she could find more details. She seemed very appreciative of the information and that appreciation made me feel good. Like I said, I enjoy helping others. I am that person who stops and asks if you are ok, when your car is sitting alongside of the road with the flashers on. (Probably will get me mugged someday.)
The afore mentioned young Mom is not stupid, she isn’t technologically illiterate, she is busy. She is raising four kids, being a wife and mom and running around crazy. If she had the time, she could research the photo frames just as well as I can. The key is she doesn’t have the time.
A friend of mind embarrassedly admitted he wasn’t sure how to get the photos from his camera to his computer. A college educated, intelligent middle age guy with little interest in technology, he had a difficult time relating to the jargon in the camera manual and no techno-frame of reference to apply to the problem. He isn’t stupid but he was frustrated. I suggested a flash card reader on his computer and pretending the SD card was a floppy disc. He understood that and was satisfied with the solution.
One of the reasons younger folks often do better with technology is they aren’t afraid to push buttons, click on links and damn the torpedoes. Most folks in my age group are somewhat timid about heading down, what they see as, a path fraught with peril. Thusly they may sit at a screen on the online banking account and bleakly search for the “right” button to find their statement. Smart, savvy, mature folks can find themselves extraordinarily frustrated in no time. Maybe I can help them defuse that frustration.
Realistically I spent many, many man hours learning how to track things down on the web in the shortest period of time and how to do some things on computers with technology. These two examples benefitted from that experience.
Therefore in answer to the few folks who have read some of my blogs and asked why are your doing this:
It makes me feel good to feel I might be helping someone.
I hate the thought of my hard earned skills going un-used.
I’m retired, I have the time to do it.
Feel free to let me know what you think or what you might want to know.
Getting the hang of blogging is somewhat problematic. For a guy who is seldom at a loss for words, I find myself staring at the keyboard wondering do I have anything remotely intelligent to offer today. In some ways it is like a commitment to exercise. You know it is good for you, you know it needs to be done regularly but you often have difficulty getting going. Oddly enough, I have always had a desire to “help”. Astrologically I am a Libra and if I bought into that stuff, it might explain that desire. I put nearly 30 years into the tech environment and it seems senseless to let that experience just whither away to nothing. I am cognizant that in my age group my skill set and technology interest is somewhat unusual. Those of you 20 years or more younger than me probably don’t need input on technology from a guy who text messages at about 1.5 words per minute. (I have big thumbs and these darn phone keyboards are really small.)
Anyway, I am trying to offer the use of that prolonged and continued emersion in the technological fantasy world. Yesterday at my granddaughter’s gymnastic class, one of the young mothers was asking me about digital photo frames. I gave her some information and then directed her to my blog where she could find more details. She seemed very appreciative of the information and that appreciation made me feel good. Like I said, I enjoy helping others. I am that person who stops and asks if you are ok, when your car is sitting alongside of the road with the flashers on. (Probably will get me mugged someday.)
The afore mentioned young Mom is not stupid, she isn’t technologically illiterate, she is busy. She is raising four kids, being a wife and mom and running around crazy. If she had the time, she could research the photo frames just as well as I can. The key is she doesn’t have the time.
A friend of mind embarrassedly admitted he wasn’t sure how to get the photos from his camera to his computer. A college educated, intelligent middle age guy with little interest in technology, he had a difficult time relating to the jargon in the camera manual and no techno-frame of reference to apply to the problem. He isn’t stupid but he was frustrated. I suggested a flash card reader on his computer and pretending the SD card was a floppy disc. He understood that and was satisfied with the solution.
One of the reasons younger folks often do better with technology is they aren’t afraid to push buttons, click on links and damn the torpedoes. Most folks in my age group are somewhat timid about heading down, what they see as, a path fraught with peril. Thusly they may sit at a screen on the online banking account and bleakly search for the “right” button to find their statement. Smart, savvy, mature folks can find themselves extraordinarily frustrated in no time. Maybe I can help them defuse that frustration.
Realistically I spent many, many man hours learning how to track things down on the web in the shortest period of time and how to do some things on computers with technology. These two examples benefitted from that experience.
Therefore in answer to the few folks who have read some of my blogs and asked why are your doing this:
It makes me feel good to feel I might be helping someone.
I hate the thought of my hard earned skills going un-used.
I’m retired, I have the time to do it.
Feel free to let me know what you think or what you might want to know.
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