AM I THE ONLY ONE?

Am I the only one a little bewildered by the high tech world we live in today.  Granted I did not grow up in a world where we became computer savvy by kindergarten, had a cell phone when we were 8 or had all manner of things plugged into our ears.  When you grow up with things you have a way of learning them without even making an effort.  Not so when you are on the shady side of the hill trying to cram yourself with the knowledge necessary to keep pace with a generation personified by a baby in a TV commercial, wearing diapers, standing in a crib and talking in a deep, man’s voice about his portfolio.  When someone has that kind of a head start on me how am I supposed to catch up?

I guess, at my stage in life, what I am trying to figure out is what is worth learning in the tech world and what is fluff.  By fluff I mean that which would be nice to know or amuse myself with but is not really necessary to stay competitive in today’s business climate.  In other words, with the time I have available what should I be concentrating on to keep pace. 

About 5 years ago I read a quote by a woman (whose name I can’t remember) who was head of one of the larger computer related companies in the world.  She said “Within 5 years, if you are not computer literate it will be the equivalent to not knowing how to read and write”.  If we aren’t there, we are close.  But that just scratches the surface.  Even if we attain an “expert” rating in computers that does not necessarily translate to business success. 

I guess what I am wondering is how do we take this magical tool our generation has been blessed with and use it to most advance our cause, be it intellectual or financial?  That’s where I am stuck.  As things advance so rapidly that today’s hot idea is tomorrow’s old news, how do we hitch a ride with a rising star and avoid a fizzling star.  Think back over the past decade and all the companies that were the cat’s meow that are now history. 

Much smarter men and women than I have spent years studying how to maximize their marketing efforts in this media mad world.  Companies have gotten wiser, first sticking their toe in the waters and now committing fully to Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and a host of other gizmos in an effort to sell their wares.  There must be a method to the madness.

I guess I can start with my own little blog here and learn how to maximize my readership and following with graphics, feeds, links and other tricks.  That will give me some of the basics that I can build on.  To be honest, part of me enjoys committing my thoughts to a blog even if no one took interest but the other part of me is fascinated by the ocean of opportunity out there if I just get it together and apply myself.  First my blog, then the world.