Technology can be your best friend or worst enemy. It can be a help or a hindrance, a blessing or a burden. I am not anti-technology, I am just technologically challenged (according to my kids). I didn’t grow up with the World Wide Web at my fingertips.
When I graduated from law school, my law firm gave me a hand-held dictating machine and yellow legal pad to draft correspondence and court documents. I worked for a large litigation law firm with a dedicated word processing department. It was state of the art!
I was highly dependent on my voice to complete my work. When I contracted laryngitis, I hoarsely bemoaned, “What’s a lawyer without her voice?” My admin quipped, “…a secretary’s dream.” She sported a smug smile.
Our first home computer arrived the same day as our firstborn child. My husband was so excited he asked if I could drive myself home from the hospital so he could pick up the computer from the store. You can imagine my reply.
I grew to love my desktop computer and worked hard to become proficient at the WordPerfect software program. I was proud to possess such cutting-edge technology. Life was good…until one of my children used the floppy disk drive as a piggy bank, inserting pennies into the slot.
The technology evolved at a steady pace, from floppy disks to CD-ROMs to USB sticks and the cloud. Likewise, software programs morphed from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word over the years. I admittedly struggle to keep up with the constantly changing technological advancements, especially now that my tech support team has graduated from college and moved out.
Last weekend, I attended a conference about author websites and social media accounts. I registered for some webinars and zoom meetings, as well, so I can foray into new techno territory. Wish me luck! Let’s hope they can teach an old dog some new tricks…
