Always a Newbie

New technology tools constantly make me a newbie.  Even technology that is easy to figure out make me have questions that I cannot answer right away.

According to Wikipedia… Newbie (also said as nooby or newby) is a slang term for a newcomer…  a somewhat clueless newcomer… It can have derogatory connotations, but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgment.

I just got a new blackberry device (I use to have one of the older models way back when).  So I am “getting up to speed” on it.

I wanted to try to figure it our myself, so I did not ask for help, did not read the book and did not go online.  I wanted to see what an unassisted newbie felt like. I quickly figured out most of the functions, but eventually ended up asking on others.

What did I learn from trying to figure out my new device (and from other things)

• That newbies are all around us.
• That you can be an expert in one area and a newbie in another.
• That newbies feel lost from time to time.
• That newbies are not as productive as others.
• That Noobs are often left without help.
• That noobies often cannot help themselves.
• That newbies depend on the internet to find out how to do things.
• That newbies are not to be blamed for not knowing.
• That newbies often do not get it right.
• That newbies need help and it is not their fault.
• That I am a newbie in many areas where I have not ventured yet.
• I have been a newbie in the past and I will be one in the future.

All of this means that the CAD Manager needs to be patient and helpful to newbies.  Kind of a no brainer, but a good reminder anyway.