steelcityman

     TRYING  a PODCAST now !!!        Is there no end to this man’s foolish search to master  technology ??? I mean, a blog (neglected recently), a Vlog (reason for neglected Blog ) and now a PODCAST ??? I must be mad, loosing my marbles at 69 … well, 69 on the 5th of August. Trying to master the technology of Media and Communication at my time of life seems a silly thing to do, after all I’ve only just managed to trust a calculator, never mind a blog/vlog/pod and the software to go with them . The calculator I’ve just learned to trust ( I say that tongue in cheek ) is used solely for simple maths. There are a myriad other functions that may as well be used for Quantum physics and string theory calculations … which I will NEVER use !!! Only the numeric keypads and the +, -, division and multiplication signs … (SEE !! I can’t even find the right signs on a simple computer …  when I’m talking about a calculator … ) Did I really say, simple ???  . Well, now you have an insight into how a Bona Fide ‘TECHNOPHOBE’ struggles in the modern world of gadgets, software and electronic  ‘stuff’ … Hence the title of this post … ‘NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING’ … with reference  to the 1959 poem by STEVIE SMITH ….

 

 

      The Blogging bit I am quite ‘au fe’ with, well, I still make plenty of ‘technical’ mistakes so I suppose i’m not entirely ‘au fe’ with it all … I know if I upgrade and start paying a yearly subscription, then I would benefit from a more ‘complete’ experience of WordPress, but being a pensioner, every penny counts so I make do and mend with the free version. 

It’s really the same with the Vlogging experience … I’ve mastered enough of the technology to make and post videos on You tube even though the ‘How I did it last time’ thing will NOT stick in my head and so I have to hunt for the solution again and try and remember how I did it the last time…I know, it’s a sad state of affairs, but you’ve got to use what you’ve got left in the tank, or do nothing at all.  I certainly love the vlogging and it gives me a buzz to see them published and have them commented on by like minded people and fellow vloggers. I think I’m getting better at it….The only down side to vlogging is, for me, the relative inability, due to my physical ailments, to get to outside locations in order to add a more interesting dimension to the films, … some days I can but most days I can’t and when I can It’s usually raining !!! What’s the phrase ? “Catch 22” ….  The equipment for vlogging can be quite expensive too, what with a decent camera, lights, audio equipment, a fast computer (what’s one of those ??? ) and expensive software for editing. I use as much of the free stuff as I can which brings to mind, when talking about quality, the old adage, “You get what you pay for.”

I don’t know why  I decided to go into the podcast lark. I’d been listening to Poddies for years, mainly BBC magazine podcasts such as radio 5 live and science and astronomy podcasts, never thinking about doing one of my own until I saw/heard other You tubers doing podcasts on You tube … new idea, new technology …. WALLOP !!!! fell straight into the trap and thought about doing it myself as an extension to my vlog and blog … how simple can it be ???  Just talking into a mic !!! I didn’t reckon with the fact I was, a Bona fide TECHNOPHOBE !!!                                   I managed to get the first episode up on You tube yesterday, after quite a struggle with audio software that just kept laughing at me, that’s what it felt like anyway. I really did struggle with it. Anyway it got published after doing everything the LONG WAY ROUND ! and it’s on You tube now (the steelcityman podcast.. episode 1)

 

So, you can see where the poem comes in  .. Not Waving But Drowning .. I’ve been drowning in a sea of technology and new experiences. As I get older, I’m finding it more difficult to retain the technical information required to perform these complex tasks, more difficult to keep myself motivated and at times, I feel like giving up, or at least having a rest from the vlog/blog/pod creating cycle … but, I know if I do have a rest from it, it will be even more difficult to get back into the swing of it again…so…I’ll keep on keeping on, keep on trucking and keep on vlogging/blogging/podding.

Thanks for staying the distance and reading the witterings of this old man,

      If you have a God, may you walk in His/Her light….If you haven’t , may you live your life in peace and happiness.