Working with folks of all computer skill levels has taught me that “fear” is the number one deterrent from getting going with something that could exponentially improve their work, lives, and productivity.  It could be a person that uses Microsoft Word on a daily basis, and, instead of trying Excel, they just make static tables in Word.  Kinda works (not really).

This behavior is especially strong now as the desktop applications become less important and web-based computing becomes more and more prominent.  There’s a nervousness in the air. There’s a “skill shift” taking place.

It reminds me of when corporate offices migrated away from typewriters over to personal computers, and away from hand distributed inter-office memos over to e-mail.  There was a core group that would give up their IBM Selectric typewriters when it could be pried from their cold, dead hands.  Today I bet you’d have a tough time finding a typewriter in most modern offices (I know there’s always the one guy/gal that keeps one neatly covered in the corner of their surrounding workstation and occasionally “saves the day” when a folder label needs typed.  Hoorah for them.).

So, how do you deal with the skill shift?  You just start.  Launch your web browser and sign up for a Twitter account.  Subscribe to some people.  People you’re a fan of, or friends with. It’s easy to say, “Don’t be afraid.”  But really… don’t be afraid.  You’ll be shocked at how easy using things like WordPress, Facebook, and Twitter can be.  Next thing you know, you’ll scrap your Word docs for accessible anywhere Google Docs. Then you’ll be teaching the guy beside you how all this stuff works.

Take the first step today.  It won’t hurt that bad.  Plus if you need help, your pals at Thicksole aren’t hard to find.