A different sort of tech blog…
This is a different sort of technology blog. It’s more about the people using computers and technology, the difference between the knowledgeable and the unaware. It’s the difference between growing up with the technology and learning about it. To drawn an analogy it’s the difference between the native speaker of a language and someone who learns it, even full immersion won’t give you an appreciation for it the way someone born to it. Now in this case imagine being raised in an English speaking country but being given instruction on how to speak by an aborigine who learned it a few years ago.
Basically this is the dilemma young engineers, programmers and computer scientists find themselves in, they understand computers and associated technology better than their bosses or the older decision makers who control their fates. This is the source of pain, anger, and frustration. Google solves this issue by having very young folks at the top. I remember Dianne Sawyer commenting that, “…and yes they’re all that young…” when she had a Google exec on screen. Another friend of mine is in the search engine optimization business tells me if you’re over 35 (as of this writing in 2008) you typically don’t get respect and will have trouble finding a job in that area.
I’m an engineer and I’ve suffered because of this problem I call the “Weak Interface”. It’s the difference in understanding between the computer savvy and those who are only users for the most part. This blog will draw from the real life experiences of tech workers and industry types. I invite anyone with a story to tell to join the blog and comment and/or add their own. These stories will never end as there will always be the tech savvy will always have to work with others, somewhere there’ll always be programmer who has to answer to a supervisor with an MBA and no computer understanding, somewhere there will always be a Weak Interface…
This blog is written for anyone looking to improve the interface or at least hear/tell a few interesting stories about it.
Enjoy and please comment
Sunday, July 6th, 2008