What is a Technology Troubadour?
A technology troubadour is a wandering minstrel, hearing the voices of technologists and business people and composing new solutions to suit the audience and situation.
Professional technology troubadours are often employed by firms to assemble and consult with cross-departmental teams in a corporation (i.e. marketing, development, sales) plus customers to get an overall view of possible inefficiencies, cross-purposed and duplicated efforts or an overall lack of synergy and will propose potential technical and non-technical solutions.
Like a classic troubadour who may collaborate and incorporate new musical instruments and lyrics to create a unique sound, a technology troubadour absorbs the overall picture and composes a technical solution unique to the current situation.
Unlike a technical evangelists who may act, officially or unofficially, on behalf of a company or organization, to promote the use of a particular product, a technology troubadour aims to be ubiquitous and flexible, an unbiased proponent of many technologies rather than evangelize any specific platform or ideology.
See also:
technology
[tek-nol-uh-jee]
–noun
1. the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.
2. the terminology of an art, science, etc.; technical nomenclature.
3. a technological process, invention, method, or the like.
4. the sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.
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Origin:
1605–15; < Gk technología systematic treatment. See TECHNO-, -LOGY
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
troubadour
[troo-buh-dawr, -dohr, -doo r]
–noun
1. one of a class of medieval lyric poets who flourished principally in southern France from the 11th to 13th centuries, and wrote songs and poems of a complex metrical form in langue d’oc, chiefly on themes of courtly love.
2. any wandering singer or minstrel.
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Origin:
1720–30; < F < Pr trobador, equiv. to trob(ar) to find, compose (see TROVER ) + -ador < L -?tor -ATOR
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Even better is this:
trobairitz
[troo-bare-itz]
–noun
The trobairitz were the female counter parts of the male troubadours in the 11th and 12th century. They lived during the heart of the Middle Ages, and in a sense they contradict the often-depicted image of the meek and sub-status women of the times. The trobairitz were the few bold and defiant women of the time, allowed the freedom and status to be able to offer up their voices and reveal their artistic creativity.
So you can call me a Technology Trobairitz when you meet me. Though I’m not sure I can quite brand that until I can consistently spell it correctly.
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Sources:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/Courses/MUSL242/s02/trobar.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trobaritz
