Me and my technology.

This week in class we discussed whether Technology organizes our lives or We use Technology TO organize it.  I have to admit mine is a little of both.

I am a sports information director (SID) - in a nutshell the PR dept. for the athletics.  My coworkers and I are responsible for disseminating information about our teams, both successes and falters.  This requires MANY hours of planning for events, attending games and matches and then post game responsibilities.  I have NO idea what a 40-hour work week feels like unless its summer, but for most...summer = July and that is it.

Basically though, technology dictates how my profession is run.  We have the ability to stream games on the internet for opposing SIDs who did not travel to watch the game, or run live stats (statistics) through a program specifically catered for college athletics.

In turn this stat program leaves you waiting for a file at the completion of competition.  Which means if you are from Michigan and your team is playing on the west coast at 7 p.m. PST, it is possible that you are not getting a game file until 1 a.m. EST.  In years past, you would then just obviously wait until the next morning to post and send the game story out along with updated statistics, but in today's world, you have to get it out ASAP despite it being 2 a.m. You then type a story and put it on your athletic web site, which feeds to a local paper's site then gets routed to the morning news, on and on.

This tiny little file that explains how the game played out if you were not able to see it via those other media, RUNS how your day goes.  

To put this into a real life example, last year my softball team was playing a team just two hours up the road, but I was unable to travel.  Unfortunately, my roommate was too cheap to get internet (but that's a story for a different day) and I didn't have a wireless card, so I had to find wireless somewhere.  Another wrench in this story, my parents were visiting so we were at the beach.

Needless to say, I found a beach hotel that had unlocked wireless and sat by the side of a pool sipping a beer, typing my game recap and putting the stats on our website.  I've also written stories at bars, restaurants, in the middle of the mall and on a 10-hour bus ride home.

As an SID you are EXPECTED to use technology to get your job done in whatever way that entails.  I feel like that is technology organizing my life.

However, on the flip side, my phone helps me organize my life.  I don't have to carry a planner and an address book with me at all times, instead I have my phone.  My phone also allows me to get e-mails so that I can either address a situation ASAP or find a computer later to really delve into whatever it is that needs attention.

My computer has folders for each of my sports instead of having numerous physical file folders on my desk and seeing as my phone line has still not been hooked up by my desk, I have e-mails that keep me connected to people who need me.

Could I do it the "old-fashioned" way? Probably.  Am I glad I don't have to? Absolutely.

Even though technology sometimes runs my life, I would not change it because at the end of the day it makes the way I run my life more effective and efficient.

Until next time...GradGirl 4.0 out.