The Technology Challenged Embrace Web 2.0 (And she doesn't know It)

I am referring to my wife. While she is very good at her job, a wonderful gardener, and a great cook, when she sits in front of her PC she more often than not is very challenged, even after having her own computer for over 5 years.

In my wife's case, it was the recent purchase of an up-to-date mobile phone that was a trigger.  After attending a free phone orientation class at her service providers store, she came home and immediately sequestered herself in her computer room for the remainder of the day. I didn't hear from her until early evening.

The next thing I heard was her calling from the lower floor that she needed my help in accessing a new account on Facebook.  It's a brave new world when my wife takes this kind of step forward.

It turns out that her orientation class demonstrated all the features that was now offered on her phone and the the opportunity and fun of making contact with old and new friends served as a platform for her be more involved in new technology. Being a social person it was something she felt she could understand and desired.

As it is with so many of us it took an outside influence to spark her interest in learning more. For me it was my interest in airbrush illustration, followed by the introduction of Adobe Photoshop 1.0 as a graphic design aid, that drove me to want to understand more about computers as a tool and eventually grasp desktop publishing. Again, a practical need for the technology is the key.