- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
At meetings I attended over the past two days, information technology experts explained the use of blogs, rss and podcasts for sharing information. This pushes those of us who weren't raised in the computer age a little further out of our comfort zone.
When I was hired by UC 17 years ago, I thought I was on the cutting edge when I was issued a laptop computer. The four-inch-thick, pasty white 20-pound Toshiba T1200 (which I still have here in my office) runs only DOS. E-mail and the Interenet weren't even on the radar.
I had a front-row seat as UCCE was pushed, sometimes dragged, into the information age. I learned a lot, and when new technologies are introduced, I try to remember the UCCE old-timers, now long-since retired, who had their secretaries print their e-mail for them because they were uncomfortable with new-fangled computer programs. And the ones who continued to use blurry overheads when young advisors were creating flashy presentations with the first versions of PowerPoint. I am trying to stay open to innovation.
So, I'm diving in. Here is the new ANR News Blog. I intend to write about news stories being generated by and about ANR advisors and specialists, promos about stories we have in the works, summaries with links to stories from other UC news sources that would be of interest to this audience, and from time to time, when appropriate, news-writing style issues. I hope you'll join me.
And I still have my Radio Shack laptop computer that I used to send news stories to the newsrooms back in the early 1980s. They issued me the password and it was magic!
Great start! I especially like your motto “You can recognize a pioneer by the arrows in her back.” You are one of my heroes for forging ahead always with the Web and other electronic communication tools. I'm coming, too! I'm glad I got to see everyone even though I had to miss most of the presentations yesterday. I am excited about getting our important messages about innovative and healthy California agriculture out to the world with the best outreach tools available. Even though the tools are important, a good message and good writing are critical. We still have to fight the doldrums in writing. That thought was prompted by a great quote from my "Tough Dames" calendar: "This is the worst writer's block I've ever had."--writer Lillian Hellman, on her deathbed, in answer to a friend's question, "How are you doing?"
Best wishes!
Your personal IT history story gave an interesting perspective. I enjoyed the meeting yesterday -- it was both informative and collegial, even though the quiver of cutting edge IT arrows were a tad daunting. I vow by out next meeting to learn more about all of them. This is in keeping with a quote from Diana Scharf Hunt, who said, "Goals are dreams with deadlines."
Hats off to you for a well planned and delivered meeting.
Oh well.
Janet B.