Fandom, Software, Technology

You're probably amazingly literate in computer software and the internet.

To some of you reading this, you wonder if I've had my morning Red Bull because you've done a lot of boneheaded things on the computer.  You accidentally erased files, you just had your far more tech-savvy neighbor redo your security settings after the virus incident.  You don't feel too competent, and you STILL don't know where your vacation photos went.

But you're a fan.  You're obviously wired enough to be on-line to read this.  I'm betting you've got a lot more software knowledge than you've realized.  You may geek out more over bishounen than technology, but if you're your average online fan, you have a lot more knowledge than you may realize.

This of course means a few things:
1) you may want to reassess your resume because you have a lot more technical ability than you realized.
2) You may want to rethink some career options as perhaps you like the technology you work with, you just aren't sure you're too good at it – but if you like it, training can make up for ignorance.
3) You may want to reassess what you're doing in your current career as you may be able to do more than you thought, or may be able to improve your skills more quickly than you thought.

So ask yourself just what you know?
* DId your fanfic writing help you get to know a Word Processor?
* Did doing the budget for a convention make you better at Spreadsheets?
* Were you able to use visio to chart out how to get that cosplay done?
* You were editing a fan-wiki,learning all the markups and ins and outs.

You probably know more than you think, software-wise thanks to your fandom.

Keep that in mind.  Maybe give your resume or your career a once-over and ask what you know that you've missed.  Also ask how you can improve it.

– Steven Savage

What IS a Fannish Project?

I often talk about the fact that fandom is great because it lets people do projects and learn from them.  However, I want to take a bit of time to define just what a project IS – and its counterpart, the Continuing Effort.

The reason I want to do that is simple – if you can understand what a project is, you can't easily analyze your fannish activities to determine which one's you've done.  Without doing that it's harder to assess or build your skills and experiences.

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Rebelling your way into total failure

Thinking outside of the box, thinking different, doing things your way, finding your own vision, etc.  A lot of business advice and career advice I hear – and indeed preach – is about not necessarily following everyone else.

This of course is a valid point – most people's successes are individual, and you have to find the proper balance in your career of doing what works, and what works for YOU.

Unfortunately some people take "rebellion against the norm" a wee bit too seriously and manage to rebel themselves into complete and utter failure.

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