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This is 60 percent rant/40 percent plea for help. When I turned 30 in 1999, I was crushed to look around and discover I had no flying car and wasn't living anything like Judy Jetson. I got over it, and along the way, rediscovered my love of writing and the dork inside me who loves grammar and stringing words together in just the right way.The future could wait. I had stories to tell.

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Then, sometime in late 2006, my newsroom was conquered by an army of tech-savvy 20-somethings who've never heard of taking notes with an ink pen. Heck, they don't even take notes. They just record everything! Forget flying cars. I'm being force-fitted for my own personal jetpack! I've been informed that a) the paragraph is dead, b) I'm a content gatherer -- not a reporter, c) interactivity is the key to survival and d) video is on equal footing with the written word!

Who are these people and what have they done with Strunk and White?

In short, I no longer know where I fit. I'm the business editor at my newspaper, and I don't know how to text my BFF or work the camera on my cell phone. I want to learn new skills, but I have no clue how to proceed. I'm not even sure this is the correct e-mail address for your column!

What do you know about the Kiplinger program at Ohio State University? It's a six-month fellowship for mid-career journalists who want to learn about new media. Any thoughts?

A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, I adored my college experience but have never really wanted to go to grad school. Would the Kiplinger program be a wrong move or a waste of time? Can I learn this stuff on my own? I enjoy getting my news online and do believe there are new ways to tell stories. I'm a young woman and I hate feeling so ancient.

Also, if my newspaper isn't supportive of giving me a leave of absence to attend such a program, are these skills important enough to quit over? Should I make it a priority to learn these skills soon or before I seek my next position?

I know you're a busy man and that my concerns are probably not new, but any input would be appreciated.

Thank you,

K.

Congratulations. Your e-mail came right through!

And a confession from me: I am alternately scared and excited about all these new possibilities.

Joe Grimm

Of course you can learn these skills on your own. If the Kipllinger program -- or any program -- were the only way to get in, we'd be sunk.

Apply for Kiplinger, but also engage in some reverse mentoring. Take a tech-savvy staffer out for coffee and ask questions. Try not to roll your eyes. Learn from each other.

Get hold of some of this technology and commit yourself to wasting some time learning how to use it. These tools are relatively cheap and easy to use. Just take the plunge.

Shoot your vacation photos digitally, put them into a slide show, start an audio journal, figure out what an RSS feed is and use it to track your favorite news. Get an Mp3 player or use your computer to listen to podcasts by Grammar Girl. Blog. In every case, start with a subject you really care about and take it in this new direction.

Astro would be proud.

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Coming Thursday: This reporter, who has been off the job market for a number of years, is ready to fire up a job search and wonders if it is OK to use articles from databases as clips.

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