Don't Quit Your Day Job

Creating and Technological Ineptitude

The more I blog, the more I realize just how much about computer technology I don’t know.

Take last week’s post. Try as I might, I could not get the Read More feature to work. I even delayed my post by a day to see if it would work in the morning. I finally had to give up and post “as is.” The main problem is that I really don’t even know where to begin in solving a problem like that. Sure, maybe it was Blogger having issues, but more often it’s my lack of knowledge.

I try to go on message boards to solve my dilemmas, but it’s still tough for me to figure it out. At times, I waste hours doing technical things instead of writing. It can be quite frustrating. I have so much envy for those people that you ask, “How did you learn to do all this?”

“Oh, it was easy. I just played around with it, you can figure it out!”

No I can’t. I really need someone to show me, walk me through the steps and allow me to take copious notes. It seems that the more we become entrenched in a technology-filled world, the more we techno-deficit individuals fall behind.
I finally have decided to put the word out. I’ve asked my computer technician friend to be on the lookout for someone with specific knowledge of Blogger and Amazon... preferably, someone who has their own blog/website and easily knows what I want to accomplish. To date, I’ve had help from friends and even help from fellow posters to this blog. I’ve had people walk me through my tasks and I eventually get it done, but I’m now at the point where I’m so tired of “trial and error’ and feeling stupid. I would like to compile a list of specifics and hopefully find someone to come to my house and get me on my way.

It’s a service I’m willing to pay for. I think it’s important to realize when your time is worth more than money. If I’m always trying to find time to write, I shouldn’t waste a whole afternoon trying to figure out how to post a video to my blog. I did finally figure it out, but it really did take a whole afternoon! There’s also something to be said for not feeling stupid anymore. I constantly struggle with the emotions that I’m out of my league as a writer. The, “Who am I kidding?” syndrome, sits on my shoulder 24/7. Then, when I can’t even grasp the simplest computer concept, I sink ever deeper into feelings of inadequacy.

Okay, maybe I’m blowing this out of portion, but lately I feel like I’m on the path to knowing exactly what I want to do and I want to continue to take steps in the right direction. I don’t want to hold myself back because of lack of knowledge or skills. If I’m going to take my writing seriously, it’s also important that I learn how to resolve barriers and seek out the knowledge of others.

So, I don’t know how long it will be before I find the guru who can answer all my questions, but in the meantime, I’ll compile my wish list of knowledge and keeping plugging away. Maybe someday I can pay it forward and say to a future technically challenged writer, “Here, let me show you how to do that.”