So I've come across this blogging thing. Actually, I've been blogging for a couple of years now, but this is my first encounter as a user of THE blogger initiative. I'm quite impressed with the way that blogger works, although nobody needs to hear that from me. There's really no need for me to refer to any of my blogs in the past. It would just cloud perceptions. I want to start this one off fresh and I want to dedicate it to only the technical/support/customer service/business world. Who knows what will happen.

I've never been very organized, especially when it comes to my thoughts and ideas. Blogging has saved my life in this capacity. Finally, I can put things in one place. I suppose that might contribute somewhat to the phenomenon. I've been trying to write a book called Technical Prowess for a couple of months now (ok, a few years now), but things rush to my head before I can get them down on paper so fast that nothing ever gets done. Enter the Technical Prowess blog. My blog reserved solely to my infatuation with this thing that I define as Technical Prowess. I don't want to spend a bunch of time going into what the whole Technical Prowess thing is in my mind. That may take a few months to completely shake out. But I do want to write a little about what one might expect to find here.

I am insane about customer service. I have been known to storm into McDonald's while screaming at the top of my lungs because a teenager with a chip on her shoulder neglected to give me napkins when I went through the drive-thru. I don't know where I get this from. I would like to say that I treat all people with respect and that I expect the same type of service but I think there's a deeper foundation of an inherent problem with society. I don't like mediocrity, but not because I'm this incredibly gifted, talented or special person. Mediocrity reminds me too much of my own habits. I mention this because as a technical support person, I've come to find that the only reason I've survived as a technical guy is thanks to my love for customer service.

Computer people tend to think that they're rather special. I guess it has something to do with the last decade of grooming young engineer gurus who make too much money for their own good. I've never conformed much to the "my shit doesn't stink because I know computers" mentality. I don't need to explain this. We all know what I'm talking about whether we're computer people or not. If you don't, you're fooling yourself. I never wanted to be a computer person really. I kind of fell into it. It was the hot market at the time and I needed to do something other than bartending. What ended up happening was that I started to make a little career for myself and I stuck with it. Now that computer people have gotten a little dose of reality with the economic fiascos of late, it brings the whole industry into a new kind of perspective... for me anyway. We're just another spoke in the wheel. We need our customers just as much as they need us; maybe even more at this juncture. The executive monster has swallowed us up and spit us back out into the mass competitive branches of the corporate heirarchy. We're clamoring for the prize now just like everyone else always has.

So who of the technical gurus is going to come out on top (and by top I mean whose going to survive past the mediocrity)? Those with the most certifications?... Think again. Just ask anybody who took out a $16,000 student loan for MCSE classes to tell you thier sad story. How 'bout the dorks that live in the nether regions of the basements in the most prestigious universities and corporate campuses all over the country? Have you ever tried to talk to one of them? A developer would tell you that developers are still god.... we'll let them think that for a little while longer. My premise is that those with Technical Prowess will be able to stay technical but continue to enjoy the fruits of the corporate machine.

So Technical Prowess must be defined. That is, however, difficult. It's not just knowing lots of stuff about Information Technology but using what you do know about Information Technology to suppliment what you know about business. The soft skills. The intangibles. The people who understand this are the people that will succeed in the next corporate generation. But alas, that is just my opinion. Let the blogging begin.