Techno-Lust, Techno-Stress and Techno-Babble

The latest entry in the "Soaring to Excellence" video workshop series shares exactly the same problem as their Tools of Our Trade III: Books, the Internet, and Beyond (VL-11/00): namely, 1998 teleconferences on the subject of information technology are anthropological fodder circa 2001. For what it's worth, Debra Wilcox Johnson presents a fairly general overview here, encouraging seminar attendees/viewers to let go of their nostalgic remembrance of copy machine jams past and prudently embrace our brave new world of bits and bytes. Solid tips about handling techno-stress (many of which apply to stress in general), on topics ranging from fears of being replaced by a machine to fears of becoming techno-dependent, are combined with various, and sometimes risible, observations. For instance, Johnson refers to studies suggesting that technology use can lead to increased isolation (hello? what do you call a bookworm? the life of the party?), and points out that Project Gutenberg (uploading a mere 120 titles a year online) can't possibly keep pace with the publishing world (50,000 titles per year), apparently misunderstanding a fairly important legal concept called "copyright." The bottom line is that cutting edge issues, such as the digital divide, downloading copyrighted music off public terminals onto portable MP3 players, and licensing digital content across multiple sites are not even on this program's event horizon. Unless you're in the market for very general advice on handling techno-stress ("give yourself a break"), this dated lecture is not a necessary purchase. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)