Youngsters

With the departure of our former admin assistant, I am now one of the youngest people at my office. I have become the one who knows everything about technology. People actually call me for help and say that I know more about computers than anyone they know. This is unnerving for me and sad for them, because I am basically a techno-idiot.

I get frustrated watching technology march past us while we try to figure out what the "proper" uses are. Not long ago, I was talking to someone who was stumped about how to distribute a video. So many people needed it! I suggested that we could upload it to YouTube and e-mail the link around. This idea, of course, was not greeted warmly. If we did that, LOTS of people would see it!

We are still trying to figure out how to get audio files to people. About a year ago, I suggested that we could set up a podcast that would automatically send these files to everyone who needed them. This idea, as you can imagine, was way too out-there for the others. They are probably still considering whether it is OK to mail eight-tracks to what they call "stakeholders". From what I can tell, we are not supposed to put audio files on our website, but I went ahead and did it anyway. I do not have time to burn and mail hundreds of CDs when I could just tell people to click on a link.

Technology has been good to me. This blog keeps me sane and has been a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. I am reliably informed that my grandmother is now reading the blog. (HI GRAM!) My entire family now uses Yahoo Messenger to talk about our lives. Three of my readers have started their own blogs, to varying degrees of success. I've also discovered the secret of a good home video: less than two minutes long, with no pressure on the viewer to click on the link or to keep watching. I despise watching raw footage in 30-minute chunks, and I promise that I will not force you to watch Michael's Christmas play. But don't make the mistake of thinking that I know a lot about technology. I am just stumbling along in the dark.