“What exactly is blogging?” asked the man from the Enterprise Board, when I met him yesterday to talk about my grant application for the feasibility study. My heart sank, but I don’t think I did too badly. Then, I had to explain RSS. OK folks: in 20 words or less, can anyone come up with a definition of RSS, for someone who hardly uses a computer? Not easy. Apparently he won’t have a say in today’s decision, when the committee meets, he just presents my application, and doesn’t offer an opinion one way or another. So he says. And I trust that the committee might at least have seen The Irish Times’ informative coverage of the awards, and be a bit more au fait with the latest technological innovations. But I was so glad that my Angel was with me, as he knew your man from before, and he’d prepped me beforehand, so I felt terribly grown-up and professional as a result. I had been feeling very strange that morning, and then I realised that I was really nervous, or the first time in years. The last time I had it that bad was, probably, before my first counselling client, six years ago. It’s probably a good sign.
I am aware now that the nub of the matter, the key to whether or not the business succeeds, is how well I can explain RSS and blogging technology to people like him, who may not even have a computer. I’ll have to find a way of making my enthusiasm contagious. When I start my market research it will be a real voyage of discovery, I genuinely have no idea whether the industry I’m targeting is going to be receptive or not to my project. We geeks may get excited about the possibilities of Web 2.0, but I think we have a long way to go before we really make it simple for ordinary folk to use computers, who finished their schooling before the Internet came along, and never needed to use one at work. And they do want to learn, of all ages – I’m teaching someone who has retired how to send emails and buy airline tickets on her new computer, in return for fresh oil from her olive grove, and I know that my 85-year-old Dad is thrilled skinny that I’ve just installed broadband at home, so he and Mum can finally have a good rummage through my photos in flickr.
I will hear in about 2 weeks whether I’ve got the grant or not.
I am aware now that the nub of the matter, the key to whether or not the business succeeds, is how well I can explain RSS and blogging technology to people like him, who may not even have a computer. I’ll have to find a way of making my enthusiasm contagious. When I start my market research it will be a real voyage of discovery, I genuinely have no idea whether the industry I’m targeting is going to be receptive or not to my project. We geeks may get excited about the possibilities of Web 2.0, but I think we have a long way to go before we really make it simple for ordinary folk to use computers, who finished their schooling before the Internet came along, and never needed to use one at work. And they do want to learn, of all ages – I’m teaching someone who has retired how to send emails and buy airline tickets on her new computer, in return for fresh oil from her olive grove, and I know that my 85-year-old Dad is thrilled skinny that I’ve just installed broadband at home, so he and Mum can finally have a good rummage through my photos in flickr.
I will hear in about 2 weeks whether I’ve got the grant or not.