Something that I have noticed in many years of consulting and support is people who own a computer but don’t really know how to use it effectively. This is because people don’t view their computer as what it is, a tool. It can be an effective communication tool, entertainment tool, productivity tool, accounting tool, and a ton of other tools. What makes the computer useful is that it is so versatile.

However, this is all a complete waste of time, energy, and money if the person doesn’t know how to use it effectively. I am an extremely competent computer user. I know how to do all kinds of things with my computer. I do not, by any means, know how to do everything on the computer. Something that still to this day that causes me no end of grief is anything related to graphics. Yes, I can crop and resize a photo or even change formats and that type of thing. But don’t ask me to make massive edit on a photo. That’s not my thing. However, I know how to do many of other things. I do not expect people to know how to do everything; however, they should not be scared to learn when the computer can make a difference and how to make it get the job done.

I would love to help people know more about how to use their computer, but the problem is that I never know where to start. If you start at too basic of a level, you make people feel stupid. I don’t view them as stupid; I just don’t know what they know. And if they don’t have the appropriate level of knowledge then it makes it hard to add to that knowledge. It’s similar to learning to cook. If you don’t know how to operate a stove you are severely limited in what you can make. If you know how to use the oven, a bread maker, a toaster, a blender, a whisk and ingredients you can certainly make more complex and tasty meals. You shouldn’t have to be a sou chef, but, being able to make more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be good as well. In the end, people need to look at the computer as a tool to be used and not as something that is too complex for them to understand.