Ramblings of a Mad Man

According to Wikipedia, 'Web 2.0' is a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2003 and popularized by the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004.

Until November of 2006, I had never heard of Web 2.0 and to be blunt I was not even remotely interested in writing a, "GASP", blog.  In the spring of 2007 that changed as I created, my first blog/RSS feed titled, "The Colour Blind Photographer". I would have done so sooner but personally, up to that particular time in my life I felt that blogs were for girls, only girls keep diaries. I had discovered my feminine side… besides, a Colour Blind Photographer, who in their right mind would admit to such a handicap let alone blog about it.

I was, to that point in time, a staunch believer in what I know now to be static web sites, without all the needless flash and fancy ad banners. I liked my web sites simple yet alluring with enticing images and well placed wordage. Like a voluptuous woman, showing just enough skin to give me a taste of what lay beneath the surface, while leaving plenty of room for my imagination to run rampant.

Being a Canadian male, I am now happy to say that I am a slave to web 2.0 technology and all her trimmings, in a positive way. Yes, I am one of the sixty-four percent of Canadians, as outlined in a recent Angus Reid poll, which reads my email daily; in fact, my email is automatically checked every 15 minutes. Yes, Google makes my world go around as do Twitter, Facebook, Skype and the many other social programs I have graciously being introduced to by my technological gurus on the popular PacificIT Skype chat, with whom I am honoured to be affiliated.

The majority of the credit for my enlightenment, with all due respect, goes to my mentor, Robert Sanzalone of pacificIT who was a facilitator at business course I was taking called Successful Contracting and Consulting, in the fall of 2006, in Vancouver. Robert and I met once again in February 2007 over coffee for a 1-hour consultation that turned into a three-hour technological smorgasbord of ideas from which I have never recovered as I became entangled in the web of web 2.0 technology and other shiny objects on the internet.

While I would like to point out, I do not use a blackberry or even my cell phone to access the internet. I don't have to as I work from home with my desktop and laptop; both always connected, wired 24/7 much to the chagrin of my understanding and, most times, supportive wife. In addition, I am not one of the eighty percent between the ages of 18 to 34 as pointed out in recent polls; I wish but those days are long gone for me. I am in my late fifties and soon eligible for early retirement; but I don't want to, "YET"! Technology has too much to offer and the challenges of learning are too much to pass up.

I do not have any degrees in technology under my belt with multiples of diplomas hanging precariously off the walls.

My initial introduction to the internet was through a young 14-year-old hacker who assisted me in setting up my computer the first time I ever ventured online. As he nurtured, and I blundered, my experience grew and like all things in my life I continued to learn by hands on experiences and still do. I became the new master of crash and burn…

This old dog, to this day, still refuses to rely on the archaic methods of doing business. Placing an ad in the yellow pages or the local paper in hopes of finding potential customers to me is a fool's way of not wanting to maintain a business to begin with. If you cannot grasp technology and move with the flow into the new reality then you might as well roll over and die.

I taught myself the latter philosophy while employed by a major renovation firm in Vancouver where I grew from being a lowly mall show specialist to Office Administrator and eventually the companies IT support and Information Manager in just a short nine years. I did so as the following song implies, by Frank Sinatra [Recorded December 30, 1968, Hollywood]

"… And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and ev'ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way"

"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause." 

I do not write fancy, using that entirely new lingo, ARP's, API's and my shoe is a shoe, not a ShoePhone like Maxwell Smart's, and how did a talk show become a TalkShoe talk about bad grammar.

I always play my music live, I mean how you can play a song if it is dead.

"Oh, hello John…"  "What am I doing, I am just sitting here listening to some dead music."  Hello…, it makes perfect sense to me!  My music is alive otherwise how would I hear it? So my question is why use the term, "listening to live music?"

BlogTalkRadio, now talk about multitasking. I mean you actually get to write your blog, talk to your friends and listen to the radio at the same time… Sound like something my daughter would do while doing her homework… Personally, I could never understand that concept… I am going to have to have a little chat with my mentor to see if he can decipher that concept for me. Mind you, he calls Tokyo on his talking shoe so maybe I should wait on that. Meanwhile perhaps I can find a cure for his ailment. I can see the headline now, "Old Geezer discovers cure for Talking Shoe syndrome, news at eleven…"

Now you can participate on Grasshopper with Chris Brogan. What, now we ride bugs for entertainment, as if we do not have enough problems with regular sized pests.

Okay so I stretched things a bit, so sue me. In reality, I do understand most of what is going on. I say most because I am still learning, and will readily continue to do so.

I also comprehend that the internet and more so web 2.0 technology and all its constantly evolving bells and whistles is NOT just for the youth. It is for anyone who still can breathe and lift their arms up and hit the little shining keys on their keyboards, just like me.

Web 2.0 is not just for those who want to keep up with the Jones's, personally I like the Smith's better, and more importantly, it is for knowledge thirsty individuals who want to be successful in both life and business.

I may not have my youth, but I do have the drive to learn and be in tune with the new reality of technology and its place in our lives. Move over kiddies, there is a new big older kid in town. In fact I would like to challenge all you out there who are over 40 and have never experimented with a computer to open your eyes and your minds and embrace the new reality. Be a part of the scene, grow, and help others grow from your experiences… If you are going to sit around on your haunch anyway why not do something that will stimulate your mind in the process. You will not be sorry!

Well, have you started YOUR blog yet? Have you!

This post was written for Profy iPhone competition by Allan Herman, Owner of Creative Visual Marketing Services, photography consultant and author of The Color Blind Photographer. Write your own Web 2.0-related guest post on the topic of your choice to get one of 4 iPhones we have remaining!