Your immediate, knee-jerk reaction may be "Yes! Of course I have skills."

"I know how to send and receive email and surf web."

"I can even download and install files."

Well, three or four years ago, email, Web surfing and downloading files qualified you as "electronically literate," but not any more! Computer and online survival skills now encompass much more than that.

Surviving in an online world involves maintaining a high degree of "electronic literacy," which means focusing on and developing skills in following areas:

** Personal Computer skills **

In old days of 1998, ability to use a computer, keyboard and mouse rated anyone as computer-literate.

In fact, you were a real pro if you could burn a CD, scan documents and manipulate digital pictures.

Fast forward to today and "personal computer skills" carries a whole new meaning. You must know how to maintain and update not only anti-virus, but "anti-spyware," and firewall software too.

You also need to understand how operating with Windows ME, or 2000, or XP will affect your ability to use certain software along with specific security precautions to avoid trouble from hackers.

** Internet Skills **

In bygone era of 1998, friends considered you an online genius if you possessed basic surfing and navigation skills.

They watched in awe as you used search engines like InfoSeek.com (a long-defunct search engine) to find and download programs, pictures, and information on specific topics.

Now electronic literacy means ability to set up, upload, and maintain basic web pages and blogs.

1. Creativity requires Creative Types While some theorists assert that there are creativity traits such as tolerance for ambiguity and intolerance to conformity, these assertions are countered by fact that traits are hard to identify and are not stable nor transferable across situations. Further, motivation is a critical factor. Additionally, creativity is a cognitive process and thus measurements like “she looks creative” are poor benchmarks. All research shows that everyone can produce novel, useful, varied, diverse ideas and looking for certain types to come up with them reduces total valuable output.

2. Money is best Motivator Material reward is a synergistic extrinsic motivator. That means that it is a factor that enhances intrinsic motivation but may not in itself cause maximum creative effort and output – there are at least six other motivators that are as valuable. Additionally, exact level of material reward very positively correlates to that received by peer groups.