There is a plethora of people out there -- non-techies (a.k.a. non-geeks) -- who don't really get Web 2.0/new web/next-gen web technologies yet. These aren't people who don't know what a server is, how to email or even what RSS stands for. They're sophisticated, savvy, wired (even some past-day IT industry management folk) people who need an education, and don't know where to go to get one. They want to know, in the simplest of terms:
- what RSS can really do for me, and my company
- how do we start and market a podcast (and should we)
- how the blogosphere really works
- why can't I make sense of del.icio.us yet?
- how can an online community help our organization (and our customers)?
- ...
One summer evening this year, I attended a talk given by new friend and fellow Santa Barbaran Doc Searls. The room was filled with these very people - sophisticated, well educated and mostly high-level - who were there to learn things like "What in the world is RSS and why do I need to know". I may have been the only one in the entire room, if not one of very few, who raised her hand to every such question: "Who knows what ______ (insert Web 2.0 technology/lingo) is?"
Reason being, I've spent the last eight months or so really diving into Web 2.0, spending hours and hours and hours every week learning everything I could, and playing with the technologies. I find it tremendously exciting. And I want others (non-geeks, like me) to feel that, too.
There are a lot of experts out there.
I'm not one. (Yet).
But I can help people 'get it.'
So, that's one goal of this blog.
First of all, excellent name for a blog! Good luck in explaining tech stuff to non-geeks.
I myself had much difficulties in explaining RSS to people. Even to techies. Eventually, people just want to know what they can do with it, and I think that's the key. Show examples, show the benefits, and keep showing them.
Good luck with the blog.
Posted by: Rutger | December 17, 2005 at 08:12 AM