An Introduction:

I will be the first to admit that I was initially dismissive of the use of blogs and social networking in the professional sphere.  However, after seeing Sandy Carter speak in Hyde Hall a few weeks ago, I think my mind has been changed. As such, I have started this as my professional blog and there will be an accompanying Twitter feed for interesting tidbits of information that don’t quite warrant a full post in and of themselves.

Who am I?

My name is Rory Haggard, and I have been working in IT professionally for 8 years and tinkering with computers for nearly 20. While computers and technology have dominated my personal life to a greater or lesser extent for most of my life to this point, they are not my only interest. As an undergrad, I majored in philosophy and minored in religious studies. I am fascinated with the human condition and finding underlying rational explanations for everything that people do that doesn’t seem to make sense at face value. That’s where this blog comes in.

Most of my professional career has been in end user support. I have seen firsthand how people interact with their computers on a daily basis and there are many interesting patterns that emerge when one steps back and takes a long view of computers. I would like to emphasize that my remarks and insights on this blog will not be a condemnation of any particular pattern of behavior. I am merely describing what I see, offering commentary on how this state of affairs came to be, and to offer my thoughts on ways to improve one’s overall computing experience. Please take my commentary in the spirit that it is offered: I only seek to improve the world, even if in a miniscule way.

I will primarily discuss the intersection of philosophy and technology, a rather ripe field in this day and age. There will be occasional cross-posting of articles from the OASIS Newsletter, but mostly this will be a chronicle of my philosophical investigations into life in the 21st Century. I also plan to spend a fair amount of time discussing Linux, Free/Open Source Software, DIY ethics, and approaching your computer from a position of power. My goal is to provoke thought in my reader and spur him/her to action.

My name is Rory and this is Technosophia.