Tech is the writer's friend, tech is the writer's friend, tech. . . -- Garbo
A long time ago, I was in a car with someone and we stopped for gas in the middle of nowhere. Not a car to be seen, but the awenig lights were on and the pumps were ready. I could see through twindows of the attendant booth awash in yellow fluorescent lighting, from one side to the other. There was no clerk behind the transaction window. Therefore, no cash could be used to pay for gas. I got out of the passenger seat and went to examine the gas pumps. Both had been equipped with a slot to take a credit card. I was amazed.
This was about 1988, I think. The ATM was about to happen, but it hadn't happened yet. Same with the debit card. there were credit cards, but those were usually used for large purchases like furniture. Otherwise, people paid for things with cash or check or a store charge account. And now here I was, in the middle of the night, at this no-cash-after-11 p.m. gas station The system let you pay for gasoline if and only if you had a credit card.
The driver of the car I was riding in did have a VISA card, and so we filled the gas tank and drove on. But I thought to myself "I have to get a credit card, man."
I hated the idea of debt and I'd always paid cash. But I could see a future in which you couldn't do things (like buy gas in the middle of the night in Nowheresville) if you didn't have a plastic card with a magnetic strip on it.
I began with a debit card. I hated it. I didn't see how I was supposed to keep track of my purchases without a duplicate of my check. I refused to put the card in my wallet; instead I tucked it into the upper flap of my vinyl checkbook cover, where I could also archive receipts. After every card transaction I wrote down dates and amounts in the check register.
Today, I'm still kind of like that. I'm not a Luddite or even a technophobe. I just like to play to my strengths and electronic technology is not one of my strong areas. For example, I am currently unable to answer my smartphone four out of five times.
Part of the issue, of course, is that is that I panic. The phone starts letting me know a call is coming in and I respond as though my Android is about to explode in my hand. The whole process of the screen warning me that a call is coming in just makes me nervous.
And then I the slide options for refusing or accepting the call are hard. I am somewhat color-blind, and while I can sort of tell the red fro the green bar, I'm also looking at the rest of the phone screen and my brain feels scrambled, overloaded with visuals. It doesn't help that the slide bar for "answer" is under the one for refusing the call. It's nearly at the bottom of the screen and yet I must slide it even further down. I don't understand.
But I've been practicing, and just today I successfully accepted a practice phone call and said hello and was heard. And I have been able to do a couple of smartphone things. I downloaded the Talking Books app onto the Android and have listened to a sci-fi novel on the phone instead of my digital player.
I am pleased with my progress toward geekdom because, as I did at that gas station in the middle of the night, I've seen the future. Books made out of trees are not happening like they were. The e-book and the audiobook and flash fiction online and author readings on YouTube are the way it's all going. I have seen articles about the Renaissance of the small local bookstore and it's true people need the social factor and the personal touch. We love the the book shop in our neighborhood so I'm glad independents are starting to flourish again.
But as both a reader and a content creator (what used to be called a writer), I need to be even friendlier to and more competent with developing trends.
My daughter helped me along with this recently by getting me a gift card for libro.fm, which is an audiobook site like Audible. The difference is that instead of being part of independent-killer Amazon's mighty empire, libro.fm is associated with local bookstores. When I signed up for the site, I got a list of New England stores which participate.
When I got my gift notice, I entered a magical code on the website and received access to the book I'd received. The process was the perfect blend of ultra-convenience and support for small business.
At the writing end of things, I am currently producing the podcast version of my Nebraska frontier novel Rhizomania, which is currently in blog format. I've always put some of my work online, but even when it costs nothing and is right there under peoples' noses, they are reluctant to click on the link and leave the endless scrolling of social media. I've done podcasts in the past and I decided to move this particular writing project into the audio realm.
Dealing with online publishing and media platforms is still the pain in the patoot I remembered from doing it before. But I am trying really hard to be future-oriented and frankly, resistance is futile. So I have resolved to make the book podcast work.
Since I want Rhizomania to be free for online listening, I wasn't sure I wanted to pay for podcast-hosting services. Somebody online suggested putting the podcast audio files on Internet Archive. I thought "Oh, people do that?" Since the counter says over two million, I'd say so.
So that's the plan. I'd hoped to have the actual Rhizomania podcast up by now, but that brings up on bit of tech knowledge with which I have a lot of experience: it always takes longer than you thought it would.
This was about 1988, I think. The ATM was about to happen, but it hadn't happened yet. Same with the debit card. there were credit cards, but those were usually used for large purchases like furniture. Otherwise, people paid for things with cash or check or a store charge account. And now here I was, in the middle of the night, at this no-cash-after-11 p.m. gas station The system let you pay for gasoline if and only if you had a credit card.
The driver of the car I was riding in did have a VISA card, and so we filled the gas tank and drove on. But I thought to myself "I have to get a credit card, man."
I hated the idea of debt and I'd always paid cash. But I could see a future in which you couldn't do things (like buy gas in the middle of the night in Nowheresville) if you didn't have a plastic card with a magnetic strip on it.
I began with a debit card. I hated it. I didn't see how I was supposed to keep track of my purchases without a duplicate of my check. I refused to put the card in my wallet; instead I tucked it into the upper flap of my vinyl checkbook cover, where I could also archive receipts. After every card transaction I wrote down dates and amounts in the check register.
Today, I'm still kind of like that. I'm not a Luddite or even a technophobe. I just like to play to my strengths and electronic technology is not one of my strong areas. For example, I am currently unable to answer my smartphone four out of five times.
And then I the slide options for refusing or accepting the call are hard. I am somewhat color-blind, and while I can sort of tell the red fro the green bar, I'm also looking at the rest of the phone screen and my brain feels scrambled, overloaded with visuals. It doesn't help that the slide bar for "answer" is under the one for refusing the call. It's nearly at the bottom of the screen and yet I must slide it even further down. I don't understand.
I am pleased with my progress toward geekdom because, as I did at that gas station in the middle of the night, I've seen the future. Books made out of trees are not happening like they were. The e-book and the audiobook and flash fiction online and author readings on YouTube are the way it's all going. I have seen articles about the Renaissance of the small local bookstore and it's true people need the social factor and the personal touch. We love the the book shop in our neighborhood so I'm glad independents are starting to flourish again.
But as both a reader and a content creator (what used to be called a writer), I need to be even friendlier to and more competent with developing trends.
My daughter helped me along with this recently by getting me a gift card for libro.fm, which is an audiobook site like Audible. The difference is that instead of being part of independent-killer Amazon's mighty empire, libro.fm is associated with local bookstores. When I signed up for the site, I got a list of New England stores which participate.
At the writing end of things, I am currently producing the podcast version of my Nebraska frontier novel Rhizomania, which is currently in blog format. I've always put some of my work online, but even when it costs nothing and is right there under peoples' noses, they are reluctant to click on the link and leave the endless scrolling of social media. I've done podcasts in the past and I decided to move this particular writing project into the audio realm.
Dealing with online publishing and media platforms is still the pain in the patoot I remembered from doing it before. But I am trying really hard to be future-oriented and frankly, resistance is futile. So I have resolved to make the book podcast work.
Since I want Rhizomania to be free for online listening, I wasn't sure I wanted to pay for podcast-hosting services. Somebody online suggested putting the podcast audio files on Internet Archive. I thought "Oh, people do that?" Since the counter says over two million, I'd say so.
So that's the plan. I'd hoped to have the actual Rhizomania podcast up by now, but that brings up on bit of tech knowledge with which I have a lot of experience: it always takes longer than you thought it would.
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| Garbo |
I had no idea about most of this. Thank you. Years ago someone told my fortune that I would write and publish later in life and I laughed. Maybe it IS possible.
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