Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Keeping up with technology

Podcasting, Web services, RDF, Flickr, Ebooks. Buzzwords, right? All of these are extremely useful technologies or applications, but I don't actually use any of them. Each has its place, each is good at solving certain types of problems. None, of course, is a magic wand that makes everything in life easier.

I follow a number of library- and technology-related blogs. Many of them hype a certain technology that is meaningful to the blogger for their particular needs. I learn a huge amount from these bloggers, the information they provide, and the fervor with which they provide it. But rarely do I go out and try any of the technologies being described just to see what they are. A few peak my curiosity and I go check them out, but for the majority I just mentally file the information away for when I have a problem the technology in question solves. There's just too much going on in this environment right now to really delve in and learn everything new that comes along. Each of us picks up on the emerging technologies most relevant to us in our personal or professional lives. Other technologies are only relevant to us at a later time, but hearing about them before we need them reminds us of the vast range of possibility out there. Sharing our experiences helps others both to adopt them right away when appropriate, but also to adopt them later as the need grows.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great point - it reminds me of this blog entry a bit. It's not a question of whether a source of information or a technology is "good", it's whether it's useful or reliable for a particular need.