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Editor’s Note: This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues and ask the leaders among the readership to share their knowledge and experiences.
Is it just me or does there seem to be too much communication going on? Too much information flowing? Too much digital, virtual work to keep recreation professionals stuck to their desks instead of being out in the real world?
Don’t get me wrong--I’m not a dinosaur plodding along the information super-highway. I do e-mail, I have a cell phone, I use a PDA (that’s personal digital assistant, sometimes called a personal data assistant, for you dinosaurs). I have a set of short-range radios I can use to keep track of the family when we’re on vacation or at the mall. Hey, I even have an iPod and download podcasts from iTunes.
So it’s not that I have technophobia or resist new communication methods. It’s just that I think we have way too many means of communication, and there’s too much information for us average Joes to keep up with.