 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial Carol Daniels cad@melbpc.org.au |
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Think first, then act
That's not a reminder for me to wait 24 hours before sending the 12,000 word e-mail manifesto I wrote at 3
am. Although now that I think of it, I might save it, just in case I need that advice (again).
When I wrote, "Think first, then act", I was thinking about change. Sometimes we are forced to change.
Sometimes we choose to change. At first glance forced change might seem the more difficult of the two.
Certainly forced change can be destabilising. Eventually though, you take action and restore your world to
its original condition, or adapt. Either way you end up getting on with your life.
When we choose to change, or consider such a change, it's easy to come up with million excuses to stay put.
OK, I exaggerate, it's not easy to come up with a million excuses, but any good procrastinator can come up
with 750,000 without breaking a sweat.
Recently I've struggled with relatively simple changes exploring new technology. Despite some obvious
benefits from the new technology, I kept getting tangled up thinking about the old way. Unfortunately, the
old way wasn't very good. It was tedious and woefully inefficient, but it worked. Or I thought it did. In
reality it was comfortable. I knew how to do it.
It was only through thinking about the process and what I wanted to achieve that I could separate my comfort
with the old way, from its utility. Thinking about the outcome was the key to understanding the new way and
using it to develop a new technique. There's still more work needed if I want to be as comfortable with the
new as I was with the old. If I hadn't stepped back from the process and thought about what I wanted to
achieve, I wouldn't have been able to make the transition. I'm not advocating change for change's sake, just
suggesting that it's sometimes necessary to embrace change before evaluating the relative benefits of new
versus old.
Now some readers will say that's a long winded and overly dramatic way of saying: "I was in a rut." They're
right. It's also a way of saying that mental shifts that enable you to see change as an ally rather than an
enemy can be very useful.
So where is all this airy-fairy, philosophical mumbo-jumbo, psycho-social rambling going? Once I started
thinking about change in one aspect of my (computing) life, the issue of change started popping up all over
the place, for example, Melb PC.
Throughout its existence, Melb PC has changed with changes in technology and the needs of the people who use
computers. I'm sure at some point, most of us have read one of the stupid (and perhaps apocryphal)
predictions, about the market for PCs, the amount of memory a PC would require and what we would be doing
with computers in 1998.
It may be significant, or simply amusing, that one of the more distinctive changes in our understanding of
the world came into our consciousness originally through the world of fiction. I'm talking about cyberspace,
and the things we do there, that we used to do in meat space.
How actively do we pursue opportunities to expand our reach in cyberspace? Are we, Melb PC as a community,
making the most out of this shift or do we need to make a conscious effort to expand our definition of what
it means to volunteer?
By conducting some volunteer efforts in cyberspace, can we increase the range and number of members available
to help? The more volunteers we have, the more we can do for our fellow members and for others in related
communities who need our expertise.
Is there a virtual volunteer opportunity for you to develop some aspect of Melb PC?
Can you help with online research? Would you like to start an online SIG, meeting in cyberspace via Melb PC's
Internet service's chat facilities? Is there a Dial Help spot you could fill? I'm sure the members can come
up with more and better ideas for virtual volunteering opportunities.
Many members' good ideas fade away into nothingness, not for lack of interest, but for lack of of a champion
to steer the project and bring it to life. That's a polite way of saying: "We need people to come in and lend
a hand, not more suggestions that require the committee members to do more work." We're stretched to the
limit already.
Before I forget
Anyone who reads these editorials knows that I take every opportunity to spruik for contributors to PC
Update. New authors are often concerned that they might not be expert enough to write for their fellow
members. The truth is, we get more requests for articles for novices than for any other single category. If
you don't feel up to writing a novice article yourself, but would still like to write something, think about
teaming up with another member, one who is always sharing information but doesn't feel like polishing it for
the magazine.
Still not biting? Then how about writing a personality profile? Tessa Melland used to write a very popular
column about Melb PC members. If you're reading this Tessa and want to revive your column, just let me know.
If Tessa isn't interested, or doesn't want a monthly commitment, perhaps another member (or members) might
give it a go. It could even be a virtual volunteering opportunity, with interviews conducted via telephone
and e-mail.
Reprinted from the May 1998 issue of PC Update, the magazine
of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
