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THE COMPUTER-MEDIATED PROFESSIONAL (CMP) |
If you haven't figured it out yet, your commercial life is inside your computer. If you don't have one, get one ... you need one, so get one.
You may go to work for a corporation or other organization. They may give you a computer to use. If possible, politely decline. If it is not possible to decline, make minimum use of the company machine.
Why? Because whatever data you enter into a company machine belongs to the company. Your skills and your data are all you have to trade -- so, just as you develop your skills, you should guard your data.
Get your own computer and keep all of your data there. |
If you must move data to the company machine, then do it -- but always remember that once you have moved it, it no longer belongs to you.
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Over the last few centuries humans have worked hard to learn how to read print ... which sits still. But Bio/psych studies show that the human eye-brain connection, which evolved with hunting and security in mind, is extremely sensitive to motion in our peripheral vision. That's why web animations are so annoying. |
I created this as a movie with Artmatic and converted it into an animated GIF file with Photoshop.
It doesn't matter.
Over time, and with practice, you will become skilled in the use of your computer, whatever the brand, type and size. However, since it takes time to gain this experience, and since each brand of computer has its own brands of software (thus a new brand of computer requires the purchase of lots of new software), people usually stay with the first brand of computer that they try.
In general, PCs cost less than MACs, and there is a wider choice of software for PCs. On the other hand, MACs generally are easier to use and crash less often than PCs, and although you have fewer choices you can usually get the software that you need.
PCs are the computer of choice for most business professionals. MACs are the computer of choice for most creative professionals. (I've used both, and I prefer Mac. But's that just me; you need to make up your own mind.)
Apple provides a free online tutorial that shows how to set up and use Mac OS X. Microsoft provides a "how to" section for Windows 2000.
Your commercial life is in your computer. Back up your data at least weekly. Just do it -- you'll be sorry if you don't.
"Back up" means "copy." The simplest way to back up your data is just to manually copy it to some destination outside your computer. This quickly becomes tedious, however. Software packages designed to do backup automate the process to make it easier, and they also encode computer files for security and compactness.
The latest Mac OSX and Windows computers provide an automatic backup service. Locate it, read about how to use it, and turn it on. If you want more than that, one of the most widely used backup programs is Retrospect from Dantz Software. Retrospect is available for Macintosh and Windows operating systems in versions that have been optimized for individuals. Small and large business packages are also available.
The destination of your back up can be any place that can store your files, as long as it is not inside your computer. When your computer crashes, you can't GET inside it any more. That's why you're making a backup. Probably the easiest, fastest destination is an external hard drive. These devices start at a cost of $100 or so and connect to your computer with a standard communications cable.
Another method is to store the data online. Macintosh owners can do this with "iDisk" at Apple's online service site. Also, some internet service providers offer online backup services. Online backup is slower than using an external hard drive, and over the long run it's no less expensive.
A third method is to send your data to a CD, DVD or tape. These methods are somewhat less expensive than using an external hard drive, but they are slower, and you need blank CDs, DVDs or tapes on hand.
The half an hour you spend finding the file that you need for tomorrow's meeting is half an hour that you could have been doing (and being paid for) productive work. If it takes you more than five minutes to either find a particular set of data or decide that you don't have it, then you are too disorganized.
Create categories that work for you and use your computer's directory or folder structure to put your files in order. Learn to use your computer's Find File function -- you'll be searching your computer for files for most of your life, so you might as well take the time to become an expert at it.
To support your main work you'll need software that performs certain specialized tasks. Note that some programs do just one of these functions, while other combine groups of them. There are many choices in this category, and over time you will need to choose software that fits your personal style and workflow.
Calendar |
You will want one that synchronizes easily with your handheld device or portable computer. Simplicity is probably the key here - if the program is hard to use or its bells and whistles get in the way of your keeping your appointments, then try something else. |
Address Book |
As a creative professional you are going to have a lot of people to keep track of -- names, addresses, phone numbers, email, IM codes, and more. Learn to use your computer's address book. If the one that came with the computer can't handle your needs, find a better one. |
| Clock | It's not so much about knowing the time as having a good alarm feature and a timer. If you do work for clients, you will also need to be able to note whom you were talking to and the project's name, and also stamp it with the date and time. You will need this data for billing and tax purposes. |
Notes and Outlines |
A program that helps you record new ideas as they occur and then lets you categorize and organize them later can be a very useful tool. |
| Clips and Whatnot | When you are browsing online and find an interesting image, or a bit of text, you need to be able to grab it and drop it somewhere. Some note and outliner programs will do this. Or, you may need a specialized piece of software to take care of it. It's best perhaps, to use your note software at first, until you develop a sense of what you need. |
| To keep good records you need to save all of your email for at least a year (five is better), and you need to be able to sort it in various ways and to search it. If the email program that came with your computer doesn't let you do this, then you should be willing to spend a bit to get one that does. Record keeping is boring, but really, really important. |
The computer-mediated professional lives a life that consists of chunks of time shared with other humans intermixed with chunks of time dedicated to computing. It goes kind of like this:
If this chaos is not controlled by a certain amount of stability, it can become psychologically debilitating. Many professionals achieve stability by creating "work flow" habits. For example, you might always review and file your notes immediately after each meeting ... or you might review and file all of your notes at the end of the day. You might check your email whenever you have a break ... or you might always use this time for thoughtful reflection. The idea is to establish habit patterns that provide structure to the rush of events over which you have little control.
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