Thursday, February 17, 2011

Jumping into the Social-Media-Techno-Savvy Craze

 
First of all I must admit that even though I have been one to jump on the techno-savvy bandwagon early for years, I still have a mental block when it comes to actually applying this new medium of connecting with others socially through the Internet.

If you want to learn something about texting, facebooking, twittering, YouTubing, and the like just find a kid with a Smart/Phone. This generation is growing up with this technology, so to them, this is what they do, not what they become. On the other hand we are trying to become what they are doing naturally.

It appears that I have been on this learning curve for about twenty years or so now. When home computers just started getting popular I purchased one and began to use it for my real estate business. At that time there were a few seminars that assisted us in learning the basics of computer usage.

Next we had the digital cameras that allowed us to upload our own photos or videos of homes into the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). And then we were able to have our own websites and pages to totally manage what we were promoting. This was all before Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even MySpace were invented.

Let us not forget about how the new smart digital book-readers are changing the entire publishing industry. Rather than purchasing printed books and material people can just upload the digital files without even leaving the comfort of their homes.

The problem with this constantly growing and ever-changing technology is that by the time you learn one thing you are already behind for the next big “new” thing.

I remember a friend of mine who is a videographer telling me about how we would have the ability to upload and watch videos on our phones soon. That was about ten years ago and I thought he was a little “too far out there” at the time. In essence things that we could only imagine ten years ago are already ancient history today.

I suppose I’ve owned more than twenty cell phones to date. Each time I purchase one it becomes old in about six weeks, to the point that I feel the urge to buy a new one. Perhaps we should just start leasing smart phones so we can simply turn them back in when the new ones come out.

As we watched the movie about the creation of Facebook I wonder whatever happened to the person that created MySpace? Certainly this company was around doing what Facebook does before Facebook took over that marketing position in the industry.

You never know what will take off and become the next booming sensation. Because of this perhaps we should stop trying to be “hip” and try instead to be more functional.

There are many things we may use that will enhance our lives today, but if we spend too much time trying to “keep up with the Joneses,” we will have very little time left over to enjoy the simple pleasures that life still offers.

Perhaps those of us who are over fifty-plus years of age may take this advice more to heart because those of you under fifty have a much longer expected lifespan to get off the bandwagon. With another possible thirty-plus years to live you need to stay in the learning curve or face becoming a dinosaur in the years only too soon to come.

As a baby boomer just over the age of sixty I am happy I jumped on the bandwagon years ago, but trying to keep up with the kids is a never-ending job. Although I have several websites, blog sites, email addresses, smart phones, Kindle, video posting capabilities, and I know the basics about how to navigate in this new arena, I’m getting tired of chasing new technology.

Since I may have a limited time to sit back and smell the roses I don’t want to spend too many of my remaining days and nights in a class to learn something that will become old before I learn how to apply it to my daily life.

I think I am savvy enough to communicate with the majority of the public so either I will need to become friends with a few young people, such as my grand kids, who will keep me in their loop, or I will need to become content with the fact that this new world belongs to the youth. At this stage I am just an elder statesman passing through enjoying things that are still “real” and not just techno savvy.

I know how to sit on a bench and just watch people pass by. I love to sit in the woods and listen to the sound of all the critters. I love to watch the sunset and sunrise. I love to witness the coming of the fresh new seasons each year, especially the spring. I love to smell the roses and other sweet fragrances of nature. I love to be face-to-face with people and have a decent heart-to-heart conversation with even strangers.

If you get too trapped in this new cyberspace you become less human and more of an avatar to all these smart gadgets. There is nothing wrong with technological growth, but we shouldn’t lose what makes us human beings in the process.

We still need to nurture our ordinary senses, which are seeing each other, feeling each other, hearing each other, tasting the good life, and taking the time to smell the occasional flowers as we step out into this feely-touchy world in which we live. I’m not quite ready to give up what makes us human yet in exchange for this new social-media-techno-savvy craze.      

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