Conquering new (and old) technology!

Hi guys

I have now finished my placement at the City of Swan. Reflecting on my journey, I realise I learnt so many new things along the way. Some of the most poignant learning experiences for me involved learning new (or old) technology. As emerging PR officers in a technological age, I think its so crucial for us to be able to use all forms of technology relevant to our work - whether they are ancient or brand new!

Here are a couple of learning experiences had during the course of my placement. Don't laugh at me for having been so naive!

The Fax Machine
One afternoon, my supervisor asked me to fax an important piece of communication to one of our stakeholders. I was horrified. I had never sent a fax in my life and had no idea where the fax machine was, let alone how to use it. I acted very confident, but inside I was dying. 

Where was the fax machine? 
What did it look like? 
Who uses faxes anymore?

I looked over at the phone on my desk. Was it a fax machine? While nobody was looking, I flipped it around to see if it had a fax button. It did not. It was just a phone.

I walked to the printer room and eventually found the fax machine, all alone, in the corner. Despite googling "how do I use a fax machine?" I was clueless. Eventually, I walked back into my office with my head hung in shame and confessed I couldn't use the fax machine. To my relief, I discovered that nobody else knew how to use it either. Luckily, someone offered to help me send the fax. It was a funny learning experience for us both.

As a solution to my problem, I thought it best to send a photocopy of fax material via email as a back up. In all communication situations, it is important to ensure the message is received. So if a form of communication is uncertain, it is best to have all bases covered just in case. 

They say that successful PR officers and media professionals must be efficient in multiple ways. While this has a heavy focus on new technologies, I also think it is a relevant thing to consider with the old ones!

Microsoft Excel
Before my internship, I actually had never used Microsoft Excel in my life. I wrongly assumed it was a useless maths-thing, and was never taught how to use it in school either. Safe to say, when I entered my placement, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would need to use Excel. 

I was wrong.

Some of the most important projects I did during my internship were with Excel. Excel is commonly used in offices to create lists, store details and create organisational documents. In a PR context, Excel may be used to draw up media lists and store media data; draw up a comprehensive RSVP list for an event, or create social media content posting schedule. I did all these things and so much more with Excel!

Excel is something I still really struggle with. I don't understand how to use it effectively, so every day I use it is a new learning curve. Nevertheless, I now know it is an essential application in just about any PR organisation. It should be basic knowledge for all future PR officers!

Question: Has anyone else had an amusing learning curve with technology to share?