Ed on My New Twitter Account and Tech/Social Media

I'm working on my tech savvy ... and attempting to get a little cooler in regards to how I go about "sharpening my saw" and the late Steven Covey would say.

As a relatively old Gen-Xer the tech thing scares me to death.  Not enough for me to close the door entirely (volley to you Brad), but every time I learn about the next tech wave my heart rate goes up like I'm on an 8% incline on my bike.  Yeah, I'm trying to keep with the times.

My main thrust of gaining info to stay current is as traditional as they come ... magazines, books, newpapers (albeit occasionally on line) and email.  Now the email is the most tech savvy element of that list.  Yikes right?

But I've got a Facebook account for my personal stuff, a LinkedIn account for my professional stuff, contribute to a couple of blogs (this one, my previous employers internal one, and one other HR blog) ... and now just recently got a Twitter account!

"Whoa big fella", that's what I've been telling myself.  And I'm pleased to say I jumped into the Twitter pool in the same way I did the others I've named above - with both feet!  Lately I am proud to say I can actually surf the web for news I'm interested in, participated in a webinar this morning compliments of fistfuloftalent.com and even tweeted a few times today.  So, am I there yet?

Not by a long shot.

But that's the thing about this tech stuff.  First, lean on your kids.  They know a lot about technology.  Second, lean on your brothers.  One more than the other.  They know about this stuff too.  And then take some Nike advice ... just do it!  Yeah, I'm sure I've made some mis-steps but that's the cool thing about all this tech savvy stuff.  It's not on paper, let alone a stone.  So it's gone almost as fast as it appears.  And that can be refreshing if you feel like a dope for something you just posted on Facebook or Tweeted.  Another great thing is that only people who will probably forgive you are part of your networks.  Or at least they can appreciate the effort.

And I'll keep reading magazines, books and using email.  There are still a few traditionalists and lots of boomers still out there, lurking.  This is the world I grew up in.

And for you Gen-Y, millennial and next generation folks hold on to your hat.  Ed is still pedaling.

Up the hill, standing on the pedals, breathing quickly, attempting to keep from falling over ... on the tech and social media scene.  For someone who is only 5 years from their AARP card and a $3.99 Denny's grand slam I would say that's pretty damn good.  And I can see the crest of the hill in the not too distant future.

And you know how the story goes from there ... all down hill!