“The easier technology makes our lives the more complicated they become.”
Doesn’t that sound profound? I made it up.
Here in the nerve center also known as my home office I have access to a galaxy of information and ways to use it. I’m more connected to knowledge, people, and tools than ever before. Twenty-five years ago if I wanted to interview someone and broadcast the video for others to see, I needed an expensive camera, recorder, and editing system. Today all I need is a Flip camera and simple editing software.
I sat down at my keyboard much the way world class organist Diane Bish sits down at her keyboards prior to a concert – confident! Expert! Delighted! Luckily for Ms. Bish (who graduated from East High here in Wichita) she has much more experience and far fewer frustrations.
Frustration #1: the audio was low. Even after cranking up every setting I could find. I thought about the afternoon I conducted the interview and my subject. Was the sound too low? (Not sure). Is he just a soft-spoken person? (Not really). Is low audio a defective quality of the Flip? (Not likely).
Frustration #2: I transferred the video from the Flip to the computer and stored it using the software that came with the Flip. But their editing software was too rudimentary and I decided to edit in Windows Media Player instead.
What I found was this: a video in Flip became a .jpg in Windows Media Player. I couldn’t figure out how to make it work and lost patience searching the web for an answer. So I wrote to some of my colleagues and asked them for the answer. I hope they can help.
Years ago we had a great excuse for not making videos on our computers. We couldn’t! If we went to Yellowstone Park and videotaped the family waiting for Old Faithful, well, our audience had to sit through several minutes of nothing before finally seeing the geyser erupt. This was a great time to restock our sodas and popcorn, or, if the movies were really dull, make another Margarita and grab another handful of chips.
Similarly, if we left the house and went to a movie, people who wanted to reach us on the phone HAD TO WAIT until we got home, or, if we were ahead of the techno-curve, leave a message on our answering machines.
My point is this: we have technology (convenient) but we pay a price when it doesn’t work (lots of teeth-gritting).
Which is why you should have a close personal friend or significant other in the technology business, so the two of you can be frustrated together. It’s during those moments of tension when the best solution is to go low-tech: turn off the television, computer, DVD player and cell phone, pour a glass of your favorite adult beverage, perhaps a crisp Chardonnay with pear notes, prepare an accompanying platter of light snacks, and engage in the uncomplicated but potentially highly rewarding lost art of conversing with one another. Because one-to-one is still a connection technology really can’t improve upon.
Doesn’t that sound profound? I made it up.
Here in the nerve center also known as my home office I have access to a galaxy of information and ways to use it. I’m more connected to knowledge, people, and tools than ever before. Twenty-five years ago if I wanted to interview someone and broadcast the video for others to see, I needed an expensive camera, recorder, and editing system. Today all I need is a Flip camera and simple editing software.
I sat down at my keyboard much the way world class organist Diane Bish sits down at her keyboards prior to a concert – confident! Expert! Delighted! Luckily for Ms. Bish (who graduated from East High here in Wichita) she has much more experience and far fewer frustrations.
Frustration #1: the audio was low. Even after cranking up every setting I could find. I thought about the afternoon I conducted the interview and my subject. Was the sound too low? (Not sure). Is he just a soft-spoken person? (Not really). Is low audio a defective quality of the Flip? (Not likely).
Frustration #2: I transferred the video from the Flip to the computer and stored it using the software that came with the Flip. But their editing software was too rudimentary and I decided to edit in Windows Media Player instead.
What I found was this: a video in Flip became a .jpg in Windows Media Player. I couldn’t figure out how to make it work and lost patience searching the web for an answer. So I wrote to some of my colleagues and asked them for the answer. I hope they can help.
Years ago we had a great excuse for not making videos on our computers. We couldn’t! If we went to Yellowstone Park and videotaped the family waiting for Old Faithful, well, our audience had to sit through several minutes of nothing before finally seeing the geyser erupt. This was a great time to restock our sodas and popcorn, or, if the movies were really dull, make another Margarita and grab another handful of chips.
Similarly, if we left the house and went to a movie, people who wanted to reach us on the phone HAD TO WAIT until we got home, or, if we were ahead of the techno-curve, leave a message on our answering machines.
My point is this: we have technology (convenient) but we pay a price when it doesn’t work (lots of teeth-gritting).
Which is why you should have a close personal friend or significant other in the technology business, so the two of you can be frustrated together. It’s during those moments of tension when the best solution is to go low-tech: turn off the television, computer, DVD player and cell phone, pour a glass of your favorite adult beverage, perhaps a crisp Chardonnay with pear notes, prepare an accompanying platter of light snacks, and engage in the uncomplicated but potentially highly rewarding lost art of conversing with one another. Because one-to-one is still a connection technology really can’t improve upon.
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