Corner Guru **Do you have a "Plan B"?**

Widespread public use of modern technology is only a few decades old -- the personal computer has been around for 33 years, digital cameras for 20 and the World Wide Web for 18. These information technologies touch our lives everywhere through the computers in our homes and offices.

Many people learn computer applications as part of a distant class or by haphazardly picking up what they need to know when they must know it, leading to gaps and rusty areas in their knowledge.

Others purchase or are given technology (such as PDAs and digital cameras) that they may find challenging ... or decide they want to use Web 2.0 opportunities (to publish a book or podcast, for example) ... or want to develop and control their own online presence....

These are the individuals I want to help.

What do you need to know?

I can help you learn more about...

... email, the "killer ap"

What's this email thing and how do I use it? Why do my friends yell at me when I send them a picture from my digital camera? How come I can never open Uncle Jim's attachments? How can I hide the addresses of the people I'm emailing? What's a contact list / address book and how do I keep it?

... DIY technology

How do I use my new digital camera and the software that came with it? How do I create, maintain, and improve a basic Web site, blog, or social networking page? How can I publish a photo book or novel or image on a coffee mug using an Internet Print-On-Demand (POD) publisher?

... software

How do I make, modify, and best use spreadsheets ... word documents ... images, scans, and photos ... databases (e.g. collections of digital photographs) ... household accounting packages?

... concepts

Can you help me approach Help so that it's helpful and I get help? (Yes.) What are styles and how can they make my life easier? How do I find what I'm looking for on the Web without wasting half of my evening looking through millions of results? What's this 'resolution' stuff have to do with digital photographs and why can't I get the same red on the printout that I see on the monitor?

... "get it done"

**Sometimes, you just need an immediate, limited, task-oriented knowledge infusion.**

Examples: learn just enough Dreamweaver to modify content in existing Web pages (light Web editing); apply standardized templates or styles to word, image, spreadsheet, or Web documents; resize digital images so they are email and Web friendly, etc.

Check out a unique learning opportunity...
throw a B's Tea
(and dress up your skillset)

** You must know the target software well enough to support the things you have to learn for the task at hand. If you've never touched a vector-based drawing application, for example, you can't expect to learn how to create Illustrator mesh gradients in a couple of hours.**

Areas of Expertise

The following are areas in which I am current and comfortable providing off-the-cuff support.

I do have knowledge in other areas, but it is either not to a master's level or it is old and somewhat outdated. That doesn't mean I can't provide help with these items -- it may be worth a try! (If I can't help, I won't charge.) I also have very talented friends....