Technically Speaking

Apparently the American public is burying its collective heads in the sand on the SOPA legislation. The goal of this bill is to allow the government to censor the Internet for an unimaginable list of reasons. Many of which seem to be purely “hey I don’t think that stuff is appropriate” type complaints. I wonder if the people sponsoring these bills and their supporters have any idea what they are going to do to the Internet if these things pass.

Internet censorship via DNS blocking allows any websites with comments or links to other sites to be removed from the web because someone doesn’t like what a website has to say.  This seems to be a violation of the first amendment, the one that grants me freedom of speech and the right to maintain a blog and post comments to other sites voicing my opinion on any topic, from technology to politics.  Why does the government get to decide what I post online? Or what I say on Facebook or Twitter?

I agree with the idea that you should not post things online that you wouldn’t share with Grandma Lois, but I will decide what I should and shouldn’t post… The government has no business deciding that.  Am I someone who uses the Internet? Sure.  I use it everyday for my job, freelance work, and entertainment, and the freedom of speech and freedom of expression is what makes it so great, not a government controlled firewall that takes it upon itself to determine what content I post and view online. If I wanted that Internet experience I would move to a country where this behavior was expected.  Here in America, we choose our leaders, and this kind of censorship is unacceptable. The problem with copyright protection and content online is more about business models than anything.

If Hollywood wants to run to cry wolf when they do not get their way, that isn’t helping anyone. Changing the business model to use online sales and distribution might be a better way to go than crying foul for some bad apples who piss them off. Hopefully congress realizes the error here and forces the entertainment industry to figure out a better solution.  Remember what happened when the banks got bailed out… That seems to be an idea we will be recovering from for a while… Blocking DNS to censor the Internet is kinda like that, a hugely bad idea that has to have a better solution.

I know that the blackout for SOPA has started and sites were down, which is great to put a message out there, but at least one site missed the boat. Facebook. Sure there was a statement from both Facebook and Zuckerberg denouncing SOPA, but why not make a bigger statement, make the site dark.  How many politicians have friends, family, or children/grandchildren who use Facebook every day? Wouldn’t shutting the site down to protest SOPA make a big mark in the case of those who oppose the bill. Maybe next time sites protest SOPA, Facebook can play too. 

A while back I started reading “8 Things We Hate About IT” and found it to be rather interesting.  Of course the fact that I recently started reading it again says a lot about my reading style… slim and in bursts.  Maybe this time I will get all the way through it without the next shiny thing distracting me.

The idea of the book is to point out the areas where most business leaders and IT leaders disconnect within an organization.  Ironically, from an IT perspective, it makes a good amount of sense.  When I picked up the book and started reading it, I expected that it might be IT against the world (or vice versa) and point out the end user items that exist from both sides, but the book focuses on projects and business outcomes that use technology.

While I am not going to put together a full review (though maybe I should) I think this is a great read for both business minds and IT pros alike.  It will provide a bit of perspective to both sides about reasons why many things may fail and perhaps present some ways that business and IT can work together ahead of the software and the technology to build a better project.

The author focuses more on the relationship between the business side of the house and the IT than the function of the technology and how cool it would be if… and this seems to be something that is missing in many projects (if not in organizations).

You can get the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Things-Hate-About-Frustrations-Partnership/dp/1422131661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287324796&sr=8-1

Like anything in business IT is cyclical.  No… we don’t spend a ton of time spinning around or circling the wagons to make things good or bad for those who use our services.   In this particular case it is much like finance it goes up and comes down and always comes around again. 

But if it is like finance… just budget better

Budgeting will help sometimes, but think about the issues that are constantly coming up.  The issues do not really go away, they just hide or masquerade as other things, but constantly come back around.  If that is, the way in which you look at and tackle the problems doesn’t change.

It’s the same, but different

The problems are typically the same aren’t they?  Constantly coming up again and with good notes and collaboration among peers, both internal and external, hopefully the problem gets solved in a rather short period of time (shorter the more times it appears).

We aren’t thinking about budgeting here although they need to be managed repeatedly I am looking more at the issues experienced. 

Remember what you are being paid to do…. help people

Sure you get to repeatedly tell people how to archive mail or get them on the Internet but you are really helping people.  Working this out in my own mind has been and up and down rollercoaster but overall it is about helping people.  the pay scale and other things, while necessary are secondary to helping others.  Remember why you got into this business in the first place.  Take the time to think about the reasons you do what you do and then ask why a few more times.  See if money is the answer to any of those questions.

This afternoon I was asked to help prepare some video for a sales meeting.  I am not sure if the video was intended to be motivating or not, but I think the target audience of sales staff could easily have been replaced with IT staff.

Some IT Manager and staff have likely taken the approach that the problem will come to you when it needs to be fixed, I sure have.  Waiting until the fire has started and could burn out of control at any moment rather than trying to work with the users as soon as there is something they find that isn’t quite right.

Sure in some cases IT is reactive, you cannot fix a problem if you don’t know its there, but there are some problems that can be fixed simply by being active in your organization and doing some managing by walking around.  Hearing how the users interact with each other and the IT staff and seeing how they use their computers might be a clue to an upcoming problem.  Being able to solve the problem either before they mention it to the help desk or as soon as they do might take the opinion of the IT staff through the roof as being extra helpful.

The video clip simply got me thinking about doing the work rather than planning to do the work.  Yes some planning needs to be done, but if all of the time is spent planning little to no work is getting done.

Spend time building procedure and getting the right process in place as soon as possible to reduce the overall work required to fix problems.

I thought the clip really drove home the idea that we as IT people should get out there and do the work and help those around us.

Have you guessed the clip I watched? – Here is a link (NSFW) Video Clip

Do you think the approach to sales in the clip was too harsh or that it might have been right on target?

Like most work, IT can be a bit of an albatross sometimes.  Even those of us who play with computers all day can get “a case of the Mondays” once in a while.  It is a curious thought to me how often these things happen.

I realize it is still work and it is a job, but I try to think of it as playing with computers to cut through the work blah aspect of it, but even that runs thin sometimes.

Change venues once in a while

Even though telecommuting is all the rage in some industries and organizations, still others haven’t gotten on the bandwagon of remote work.  It might be a good idea to spend a day or two every month working remotely or from a different desk than yours.

This can change your view and keep you able to focus on the tasks facing you.  It may not be as nice as working from the beach in your sweatpants, but a simple change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered in terms of different perspective.

As I write this I am away from my usual desk sitting in the waiting room of a clinic.  It isn’t ideal for sure, but the windows and new things to see are nice for a change.

Reflect on the results

While working on tasks or projects there are many things going on and time for reflection may be scarce, but upon completion of the activity take a few notes about the things that were accomplished and those that were not.

Once things have been on their way for a few weeks, take a few minutes and read your notes and reflect on the outcome as well as the methods employed.  Then condense your notes and pick out the highlights and jot them down for your performance review or just your own information.

Keeping well organized notes for your performance review might be just the right thing to help your supervisor know what you have been working on.

Keep something to learn available

You need not constantly learn the latest and greatest technology, but perhaps a new style of writing or a new type of activity related to a hobby.  This should help keep your brain moving and prevent it from getting stale.

Hopefully these few tips will help keep motivation high and feeling of “ugh work” low.  Remember we in the IT area get to play with computers everyday and help others use technology.