Tue, 13 Oct 2009

My Adventures with SharePoint

"I'm not a SharePoint expert and I don't play one on television" (shows just how old you and I really are if you remember that quote!) I am a developer and, now, a SharePoint administrator and developer. So the blogs in this section are my experiences with SharePoint. They will include things I have found, done, experimented with, been frustrated by . . . well, you get the idea. Take them for what they're worth. Hopefully, they will be worth something to you. I hope to reinforce what I've learned by writing the thoughts down here.

posted 18:51 [/SharePoint] permanent link

The Devolution of Writing

Is e-mail, texting, and the use of social media resulting in the devolution of writing? Is the need to be first to say something affecting our good sense? Are we so engrossed with instant communication that we don't take the time to make sure that it's significant communication?

Professors in colleges are reporting that students use text abbreviations in their assignments. Even well-educated, literate professionals can't put together a cogent, organized memo. We're so used to short messages entered with our thumbs that we have forgotten that there are eight other fingers with which to compose cogent, well-constructed, thoughtful, literate entries.

The interesting thing about all this is that it's not just kids who are devolving. Professional news organizations are taking the latest tweet and treating it as factual news. The need to be first outweighs the need to be fast. The twitters, facebooks, blogs, and wikis have influenced news organizations into thinking that they must be the first to report something, even if they have to retract it later because they didn't take the time to verify the information.

And I find myself doing the same thing. I tend to put blogs up without review. I run through a page and immediately post it. I don't even take the time to check spelling many times. Is it worth it? Well, sometimes, I guess it is. Something spawns an idea and I write something and put it on the site.

When I have taken the time to review my work, I often either throw it out or revise it entirely. I sometime wonder what started it all and what point I was trying to make. I need to realize that, just becase something affects me it doesn't necessarily mean that I have anything interesting to say about it. And, if I do have something interesting to say, I might not be able to construct an entry that is worth reading.

Take a look at this article regarding the need for speed and the lack of editorial control both on blogs and in the more-traditional media outlets. It points up some of the things which can result from these situations.

posted 18:03 [/Social_Networks] permanent link