Andrew Taylor on the Business of Arts & Culture
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Learning web basics without looking stupid
Posted: January 7, 2008
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There's an interval after you meet someone in which it feels okay to ask their name again. But after that interval, awkwardness and self-reproach block many of us from asking what we don't know. ''I can't ask their name now! Any normal person would know it already. They'll realize that I'm an idiot and a sham.''
For many, it's the same with technology. We hear words frequently enough that we feel we should know what they mean -- blog, wiki, social networking, RSS feed. But we don't want to be the one to expose our ignorance and ask the obvious question (even though two-thirds of the others in the room likely don't know either).
For those individuals, CommonCraft comes to the rescue. They've created a series of blisteringly simple video tutorials describing blogs, wikis, social networking, RSS, and a range of other topics you might be embarrassed to ask about in public.
So, before your next staff meeting or conference, close your office door, turn down the computer volume to a whisper, and get the basics. Nobody has to know that you didn't know already.