For many within the rockhounding community, the answer to our headline could be a combination of several technological applications. During a conversation with a reader recently, the kind gentleman from Tennessee shared with me details about his experience setting up a virtual meeting for his mineral club, and how at the young age of 74, he was selected to “figure it out,” because he was a former teacher. As he said to me, “Teaching is one thing. Technology is something altogether different.”
If you can relate to this in any way, please know you are not alone. In response, we’ve begun writing short and hopefully helpful blog posts for our website, www. rockngem.com, which focus on technological insights that may help you in your effort to enjoy your interest and stay connected to community members more easily. Search for Tech Tips to read the first few posts and look for more to be added regularly. In addition, we’ve been researching and writing posts about Virtual Adventures to enjoy, and these video-posts reside under the Videos tab on the Rock & Gem website.
Also, one effective way to learn, as you likely know, is to watch someone else ‘do.’ If you or members of your club have thought about hosting virtual meetings, but haven’t yet made that leap, perhaps it would be of some help to attend a virtual meeting. The South Orange County Gem and Mineral Society (SOCGEMS) has something that may help.