Obsolete Skills for Web Workers
February 17th, 2008 (10:32am) Mike Gunderloy 25 Comments
Blogger-about-town Robert Scoble recently kicked off an online discussion (and now a wiki) about obsolete skills: “things we used to know that no longer are very useful to us.” Scoble’s list covers a variety of things overtaken by technology: dialing a rotary phone, changing tracks on an eight-track tape, using a slide rule, adjusting a carburetor, and so on.
This got me to thinking: what are the equivalent obsolete skills for web workers? Of course detractors of telecommuting will be quick to put “maintaining personal hygiene” and “changing out of pajamas” on the list, but on a more serious note, here are a few of the skills from earlier jobs that I haven’t needed since becoming a full-time web worker:
- Punching a timeclock (though I still track my own time)
- Transferring phone calls by punching buttons on the phone
- Wearing a tie every day
- Arguing about where to eat lunch
- Using a ten-key calculator
- Drinking from a water cooler
- Fighting for parking space every day
How about you? Has web work made any of your hard-earned skills completely obsolete?
25 Comments Post your own comment
Eric Boehnisch-Volkmann says: February 17th, 2008 11:02am
It has also made the art of filling out holiday forms obsolete for me as well as arguing with the IT people about why I want to use a Mac for my work :-)
Stan says: February 17th, 2008 11:18am
Drinking from a water cooler isn’t obsolete. It’s actally more eco-friendly than everyone having plastic bottles. Cheaper, too.
Arguing about lunch will never die. People will always differ on what they want. I bring my own lunch and save thousands a year doing it.
Wearing a tie everyday, thankfully, has largely gone away. A tie is nothing but an inverted noose IMO. Lawyers even rarely even wear them anymore.
Mario Olckers says: February 17th, 2008 11:19am
Ever seen the movie ‘Office Space’? So many things about cubicle culture are eliminated by the Web Worker community.
Traffic jams in rush hour, office politics, having to report to a boss…
Micah says: February 17th, 2008 11:22am
Going through the chain of command for raise.
Going through “procedures” if your paycheck was short for the month.
Having your creativity cut off by upper management because they didn’t want to get involved in another long-term project before retirement.
Being “green” (from a corporate mindset).
Politics.
nabicht says: February 17th, 2008 11:42am
Just because you don’t do them anymore doesn’t make them an obsolete “skill”.
Is there really any skill involved in punching a time sheet?
Wearing a tie every day isn’t a skill either, nor is drinking from a water cooler.
The author of the post isn’t the only person who made this mistake, so did some of you responders. Come on, is sitting in rush hour a skill?
bex says: February 17th, 2008 12:34pm
Ten-keying is still a very valuable skill, depending on what you do as a web worker. Define a domain to define obsolete.
Jason says: February 17th, 2008 1:32pm
Actually I still have a rotary phone and I am glad I still do! When the Northeast blackout of 2003 happened I was still able to make phone calls where everyone with a cell or digital phone was not. So there are still some times when having old technology is still worth it!
Funny thing is almost everything you listed on your list for full-time web workers I still do to this day. I hate it yes, but it is not something you can mark off the list just yet for everyone. I think we should list the type of browsers version we don’t have to support anymore, or other older coding languages we have improved from. That would probably be better from the Web Developers agenda.
Jeffrey McManus says: February 17th, 2008 2:49pm
I’ve forgotten more about Visual Basic than most people will ever know.
Markq says: February 17th, 2008 6:10pm
Widely, but incorrectly, believed to be obsolete: Reasonably readable, adult looking, cursive handwriting.
And the social skills mentioned are not obsolete for anyone who wants a good chance of getting anywhere. You need to regularly speak with people on the phone and meet them from time to time. E-mail alone doesn’t do it. And you still need to be able to get up in front of people and talk, as well as appear in the media. Being a Web worker makes it possible to delude yourself into thinking this is not necessary, but you won’t realize your potential.
joeloliveira says: February 17th, 2008 7:44pm
Showering on a daily basis?
I’m kidding!
… mostly.
One thing I’ve definitely dropped in the pursuit (of happiness) of a successful web-worker career - climbing the corporate ladder. If I want a new title now, I’ll just give it to myself.
cathy says: February 17th, 2008 7:49pm
Putting on pantyhose without getting a snag in them. (Actually, I never was very good at that.)
Waking up to an alarm clock.
Office politics.
Melanie says: February 17th, 2008 8:57pm
I know I’m dealing with a Web 1.25 client when I’m asked to photocopy or fax something. What, you don’t accept invoices by e-mail?
I won’t say how familiar I was with using Correct-o tape, preparing masters for mimeographs, or creating Web pages using NetObjects Fusion. I might show my age.
Robert says: February 17th, 2008 9:41pm
Scoble is gonna anger some people with the slide ruler comment…those slide fanboys are hardcore.
I’m also unimpressed with the putting a needle on a vinyl record part. First off, I still listen to records because they sound better than MP3s. Second, DJ culture is still pretty big and they’d probably scratch the eyes out of anything who insisted it’s obsolete.
@nabitchd Wearing a tie may not be a skill, but tying one is. That said, I actually LIKE wearing one so I’m not gonna call it obsolete. Otherwise, you’re dead on!
Web Developer says: February 18th, 2008 12:03am
I used to dabble a lot in “perl” earlier and I guess you can add that to the list of “obsolete skills” !
kllrchrd.wordpress says: February 18th, 2008 1:34am
I LIKE old stuff, paper, pen, and find a SLIDE RULE invaluable. Theres nothing like it dealing with variables, costing, estimating. Good blog.
Dana says: February 18th, 2008 1:43am
Wow…. I still do every one of those things…. well, except for use a ten key, but then again, I’ve NEVER used a ten key! And Cathy, I’ve never put on panty hose either, but I’m certainly glad you’ve lost that skill (hopefully forever).
I do have some other skills that are happily obsolete (but not just for web workers….)
-Managing that first 640k of RAM
-Memorizing modem AT commands
-Knowing which connections to cut and solder to enable more video RAM…. (any Amiga fans out there?)
Shefaly says: February 18th, 2008 1:47am
I think you mean which BEHAVIOURS are not regularly indulged in, rather than which SKILLS are obsolete.
That said, someone mentioned slide rules, and it made me think of log tables. Recently a graph presented on a log scale to an MBA class was received with a mix of eyebrows raised in curiority and disdain and it was evident that while log tables were now obsolete, there was also a generation in existence now who will never realise what a wonderful computational tool they could be!
Virginia says: February 18th, 2008 4:03am
My immediate thought when I saw the headline was laying out web pages in tables.
Steve Paine says: February 18th, 2008 7:49am
I drove my car for the first time in weeks last night. It felt strange!
Other skills lost since I became 100% web-worker:
Pretending to work while surfing or blogging
Going to bed early
Changing passwords!
Steve.
Jason(From the Green Valley) says: February 18th, 2008 8:10am
Fortran 77??
Using note pad to write/develop/debug web apps??( idont envy you that one)
And oh yes - What about win 95 hacking skills? Regards everyone.
The only thing constant is change (Anon)
Lisa says: February 18th, 2008 10:00am
This may sound stupid but one of the things I’ve noticed since becoming a web worker (and along the same vein as not wearing a tie) is that I hardly ever wear shoes anymore! I wear flip flops in warm weather and Uggs in cold weather. Now when I do put a “real” pair of shoes on, they feel foreign and confining. Shoes, for me, have become almost obsolete!
margy says: February 18th, 2008 11:26am
this is a great post. “behaviors” i don’t do anymore: worry about the boss’s mood today. worry about my staffs’ collective mood today. worry about what to wear. worry about what the dog is doing while i’m at work. attend stupid staff meetings. fill out timesheets using 15-digit job numbers. buy giant sheet cakes at costco for somebody’s birthday. sign vacation requests. listen to people call in sick on mondays. in short, i don’t worry and i don’t do stuff i don’t want to anymore. yay!
Om says: February 18th, 2008 9:16pm
This comes first to me, use of online Bookmarks and To-Do.
Now I don’t have to send mail of my bookmarks or to-do list to access from home or very far from home.
The next is personal branding. Yes, now I can brand myself with blogs,flickr, youtube and jibberjabber.
Wow!! and I can be silent technology evangelist with profound geekness.
Eric says: February 20th, 2008 11:28am
1. Using conference rooms on a daily basis
2. Shutting down the computer by clicking a button on the back of the hardware
3. Shutting down a computer (as opposed to a laptop) for that matter
4. Saying “good night!” in person
5. Saying “good morning!” in person
6. And most importantly, showing up to work at the same time everyday
Level20EastGuy says: February 21st, 2008 3:41pm
@ joeloliveira
I work for a large company, within their interactive arm, and these guys are still terribly into and worried about climbing that corporate ladder. Every so often during my reviews I get asked: “so where do you want to be in 5 years?”
And I’m thinking, I’ve got no effing idea. Why can’t these guys just pay me well and give me interesting work? I mean, who the hell really knows what will happen tomorrow, let alone in 5 friggin’ years?