Many Words

My Thanks to Ethan Zuckerman, of Global Voices, for picking up another of My posts.


There's The Jenius. Then there's Tecno Sapiens, a when-I-get-to-it e-zine about the conjuncton of technology and a career. There's The Grant Planner Report, a weekly notice of Federal grant opportunities. Beginning November 27th, I'll be co-hosting a radio show called DESO Te Voy a Hablar, "DESO" being "Desarrollo Socioeconómico", so the show title is a pun. And in February, I'll be Editor-in-Chief of a newly-revamped Computers & Business World print magazine.

All them words, but what am I saying?

And the honest answer is: I'm not sure.

Now I mean that in the sense of "I'm not sure what the central message is, if any," not in the sense of "I'm not sure what I'm talking about." (Some of you may doubt that distinction. It's an almost free country, so you can disagree. For now.) For in Jenius, I go after whatever interests or irks Me in the realms of business, economy, politics and social mores. In Tecno Sapiens, I'm concerned with helping the reader improve his or her outlook on having a globally-oriented career, the idea that what you do is only limited by your skill set and access to information.

The Grant Planner Report is pretty straightforward: Here Be Opportunities For Money...and you can hire Me to pursue them. The radio show will discuss issues that My co-host, Industrial Engineer Felipe Morales, and I deem of interest in making a difference for Puerto Rico. And We will showcase Our abilities as consultants...for hire.

The new Computers & Business World will be--needs to be--a magazine aimed at truly reflecting the local business environment and its relationship with the global economy. This as opposed to the "pay to sway," "cash for trash" attitude of the useless Caribbean Business.

First of all, I'm surprised that this is where My career is headed. I've gone (will be going, actually) from hands-on consulting to education, a transition I feel reduces My overall effectiveness. As a consultant, I can see the results of My input and make things happen. Focusing on being a writer/communicator in a society that views reading as punishment and radio as a music box with maniacally-stupid barking thrown in for fun, seems like condemning My work to trash-heap obscurity.

But then again, I'm not interested in the masses. Not everyone can read or grasp The Jenius (the debate is whether anyone can.) Tecno Sapiens is for those who want to make their own way through Life and the Economy, not for those who want to be kept in a box and feed through a slot. The Grant Planner Report is aimed at those who can try to make a difference at the community, city or state level. The radio show will attract those who want to hear smart talk about problems and solutions, not finger-pointing and trash-talking. And C&BW will reach out to those many businesses and individuals who labor in unneeded and undeserved obscurity, those who are blazing a new and often difficult path to a brighter future for their clients and themselves.

Central message? Maybe it's "You can do it." Central theme? Maybe it's "Waves of change." Or maybe it's all "Hey! Look at Me!" But in any case, it's there--or will be there--trying to make a difference. For no matter how varied or abundant the words and efforts, the bottom line remains the same: positive change must be achieved.


The Jenius Has Spoken.