I just don't "get it!"

I don't know about you, but I've had a busy few weeks. I've been trying to get all my "stuff" in order before the kids go back to school/Kinder. Which I'm looking forward to, as this will leave me a little more free time to finally get back to doing something creative again.

Most of that "stuff" has been computer based. Urrrrggghhh! As you may already know, I'm not the most confident person behind a mouse, but, you know, it has to be done whether I like it or not.

In times gone by, I used to wait until the hubster came home from work, so he could help me out, but I'm not going to get anywhere fast doing that now am I? So I have taught myself. I've struggled, fought and kicked my way through the pain barrier of learning new skills behind the keyboard.

The thing with me is that I'm not a very fast learner. I have to do something again and again and usually once more, before I "get it". God help me if I ever go on holiday for two weeks, I'd have to start the whole process from scratch!

computer geek..................................

So I've worked my way around e mail (honestly, this was how much of a dinosaur I was. Mmmm....still am, I think I should add), uploading photo's, iPhone, apps (still not totally sure sure about what they are, but I think I've figured out that it is short for applications?) Blogger, Madeit, Etsy, Big Cartel, Stat Counter and to top it all off, web design! Yes, I may have turned into a geek. Oh boy, I would love to be a geek!

Let's not forget the biggie. Facebook. No sooner have you got your head around their funny way of doing things, than they go ahead and change it all and you have to start all over again.

You go to bed rather happy with your technical days work and then wake up to find FB "has a new look" or should we say "another new look" But what they don't tell you is how to fathom your way around their fantastic "new look" Do you think the bigwigs behind FB get a kick out of watching us all struggle to work out their "new looks"and that's why they keep changing things? Grrrrr.......like I have time to fanny about on FB any more than my usual five hours plus a day.

But what really exhausts me, is when I finally start to feel a little confident in my computer prowess. All of a sudden another "thing" pops out of the woodwork, screaming "me, me, pick me next. It's my turn to steel hours and days away from your life, take you away from your family, give you headaches, nausea, sleepless nights and a crick in the neck!"

So just in these last two weeks, I've been learning Twitter, Pinterest, google+, mail chimp, redesigning my blogger and Pic nik.

O.K, let's concentrate on the lovely Pic nik shall we. Pic nik is a photo editing programme which is FREE, hooray!! I have enviously looked at other FB pages and seen their fabulous photo's, all edited beautifully, making their products look amazing. Just like Cinderella being left at home, I've always thought that I couldn't do that. Considering everything computerised takes me so much longer than "normal" people and with always being rather time poor, I have kept putting it on the back burner.

So with all my new years resolutions and as much enthusiasm as a brand new puppy, I thought.... I can do this. So I put aside a whole Saturday afternoon and I taught myself from scratch. I edited my first few photo's and they looked just as fabulous as those I had been going green over on FB. Hooray, I did it, and I can honestly say that I had even enjoyed the process! Bring on the next photo shoot please.......

The next day I woke to an e mail saying that Pic nik would be closing in April!!! WHAT THE....!!!! Am I some kind of jinx?

it's too much............................

In fact it's bloody ridiculous. No wonder we aren't talking to each other anymore. We are all manically computing.

Let's take Facebook. I have always been rather anti Facebook and didn't "get" why people needed to tell ALL their friends that they were out having coffee, or just about to watch The Biggest Loser (I don't get it???) To be honest, I still don't get that and don't think I ever will.

but..............

I do lurrrve FB for my business and I have met some fabulous friends on there, both customers, likers to my page and other FB business page owners. There are some absolutely gorgeous, supportive and friendly people on there.

But now I feel rather pressured. I feel like if I don't reply to EVERY post, or write endless, encouraging comments on my business friends walls, I feel like I am somehow letting them down. So  now I must spend about an hour a day clicking that like button and popping up positive posts.

the next big thing.................................

Ah.....the next big thing. Well it is to me anyway. Remember, I am a dinosaur and I will most definitely roar. Well, at the computer screen on a bad day and at "that " time of the month, I most certainly will anyway. Sorry, back to the blog. Where was I? Ah, yes, the next big thing.

Twitter..........................

So off I go and sign up to the tweeting social media site. But once again it will take this dinosaur forever to work out how it all works. But more importantly WHY it works. Why is it good for my business? Why should I learn all the rules and strange Twitter etiquette, and what exactly should I be tweeting about anyway?

a few days later........................

O.k, so I've signed up and to be honest, it was dead easy. Either that or I really am getting the hang of this computer lark. So I'm happily tweeting away. A tweet here and a tweet there...... but I still have no bloomin' idea how I find out if anyone has twirped back (is that a real Twitter word, or did I just make that one up?) or how to start making chirpy conversation with someone. I feel like a lonesome bird, calling out for her mate, but just in rather short and to- the- point sentences. That's how they do it on Twitter, you know.

But I will soldier on, I always do, and I'll get there, I know I will. But as usual, I'll be doing it my way, which means the excruciatingly and rather painfully slow way.

Then something else starts to creep up all over Facebook. The must do, must have, all singing, all dancing. "you don't pin, are you mad?" attitude to......


PINTEREST.........................................

By now, this dinosaur is starting to look rather cheesed off, to put it mildly. O.K, up until very recently this one has not even been on my radar. Being described as a "time waster" and with no real reason for it being there other than to put pretty pictures together(not getting it) Well, this was one social networking game that I could do without, thank you very much.

But then someone says "It's good for your business!" Well, before you can say Pin it, I've signed up, signed in and popped a pinterest button on my newly designed Blog.

Mmmmm.....but what now?.................

To put it bluntly, I have no idea! I have been on it a couple of times and I'm just not "getting it". Yes, the photo's are lovely and yes, some people have got amazing boards and have obviously got "an eye" for design, colour and feel. But I just don't quite get why I would want to spend hours of my life pinning pretty pictures together.


never say never............................

and in three months time, when I've, "got it" and I'm hooked, and I'm pinning like a crazy women possessed, which I'm sure I will be, given time. You can say, I told you so, as often as you like :)

So I just want to finish off here and say. I may have the all singing and all dancing Twitter and Pinterest buttons on my blog here, just to your right. You can click away, tweet and bloomin' pin me to a tree (only if I match the other trees and have some kind of theme mind), but please don't expect anything in return.

It's not that I'm being rude, it's just that I have ............

no bloody idea how to!!