:: netwoman's blog ::

What does it mean to be a Tech Guru?

Joan Korenman graciously emailed me about some of my links that were not working. I also IM'd Kaye Trammell last night about some trouble with my archive. So I think things are straightened out now.

Joan also mentioned the tech savvy quiz that I blogged the other day. Joan said she didn't score the tech guru stats (and trust me, she is a tech guru). I think the problem with this quiz is how Microsoft defines the term - guru and Digital IQ.

What is interesting is that much of what is included in the tech savvy is access to some of the bells and whistles of technology...it seems that tech savvy means a certain social class of internet user...also, there is often no account for agency - people who choose not to purchase a laptop or PDA. Here are some examples of the questions:

-Did you buy your computer online?
if you don't have a credit card then you can't do this though you may be fully capable and want to do so.

-Do you have Broadband access at home?
if you are in a rural area then you might be limited to dial up

-do you read your office email - wirelessly, at your desk, after you've printed it out, after someone prints if out for you, n/a?
this is presuming you have a white collar job - doesnt consider jobs in the service industry - jobs where you don't have an office per se or access to the internet.

-do you read personal email - wirelessly, at work, at home
this doesnt account for people who might do so at a community centre, library, school and do forth and are still quite 'savvy'

-do you have wi-fi on your laptop?
Apparently owning a laptop means you are savvy despite the fact that you may not want or need one, or cannot afford one.

-do you use a PDA?
i don't like PDAs but apparently that is a bad thing - see above

-do you use personal-finance software to manage your money?
this presumes you have enough money to manage!

-do you use an online stockbroker?
uh, you need money to trade stocks, so again, this presumes some social capital.

Tech savvy or guru status comes with capital and class according to microsoft.

posted by Netwoman @ 10:22 AM