The Ability to Communicate Globally, a Good or Bad Thing?

The following is a video from Sherry Turkle on how we as society are connect but still feel alone in the world.

This is a powerful video because it demonstrates that even though we have all this advanced technology and communicate with a click of a button, we still feel alone in society.  It goes to show that not every aspect of advancing technology is great.

While it is inevitable that we train to become more familiar with the changes in communication, such as social media and other online platforms, it is wise to communicate outside of cyberspace.  If there was ever a time to get lost in work it is now, because we can be connected to the work we do all the time, especially communication jobs.  Communication has been made easier by the accessibility to be online, however as Bab.la. states: “the paradox of the mass communication technology is that we are growing more distant from each other when we choose to make smartphones, computers, television, and the like our primary means of communicating with each other. Technology is a wonderful tool that is supposed to help humans improve their life quality but instead of that it is preventing us from continuing to be able to form meaningful relationships with each other. It is true that the long-term social effects of modern communication are still to be seen but it doesn’t seem, at least for now, like they are more beneficial than detrimental to society” (Bab.la, 2013).

The idea that we are distancing ourselves from the physical world is something that all communicators need to think about as they train themselves further with technology.  I believe a strong component to proving Bab.la wrong is to devote time outside of cyberspace.  The ability to get work done faster has never been more apparent, but what we don’t want to do as society is get lost in our work and forget to look around, take in the sights and smell the smells.

References

Bab.la. (2013, February, 26). The influences of modern technology on society: good or bad? Retrieved from http://www.lexiophiles.com/english/the-influence-of-modern-technology-on-society-good-or-bad

[Ted]. (2012, February). Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together(

 

 

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How has Technology Changed the Work of Communicators and How Has it Influenced the Training They Need?

Looking at that role of a marketing specialist is a great example of just how much technology has changed the way they operate.  Marketing used to be more generic, people went to school for marketing degrees, however times have changed and so have the sub-specialties and areas of focus.  People can now learn what it is to be a digital marketing specialist, but what is digital marketing and aren’t marketers marketing online in the digital world?  Does that make them digital marketing specialists?  What about marketing automation specialists, channel marketing, marketing segmentation, social media marketing, media relations marketing, brand marketing, internal communications/marketing, content marketing and so on and so on.  Technology has advanced so much in the last 20 years that departments have had to evolve to properly communicate accurately and as a result form jobs to follow suit.  People consistently need to educate themselves on the changes with technology so that they can advance their career paths.  As a marketer, I have gone back to school to further my training along with enrolled in multiple certifications to better advance my digital knowledge, because it opportunities go far beyond that of a marketing specialist.  If all marketing specialists do digital marketing but companies look for those with a digital marketing experience title, experience and training come into play.

Here is a link from the Chief Human Resource Office at Wilbanks Trucking Services regarding the impact of technology on employee training.  While this focuses on the workforce and training individuals through technology it makes a great point regarding the retention factor.  Technology has advanced to the point where companies can continue to train employees on how to succeed within the organization which ultimately leads to a higher retention rate, something that wasn’t as easily accomplished 30 years ago.

Reference

Beach, D. (2016, October 3). The impact of technology on employee training. Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-technology-employee-training-david-beach

How has Technology Changed the Work of Communicators?

The idea of being connect all the time isn’t unrealistic in today’s world.  How many times do you find yourself checking your phone for emails or navigating Facebook, when your computer is sitting in front of you?  Do you bring your phone, tablet, or computer to bed with you or is it within an arm’s length?  If the answer is yes, you are not alone.  In fact, some Americans actually sleep with their cell phone in their hand.  In an article written by The Huffington Post, a survey was conducted within a sample size of 1000 people that found 71 percent of them sleep with or next to their mobile phones and 3 percent of those people said they sleep with their device in their hand (Ma, 2015).  The truth is that the 71 percent isn’t an alarming number and most likely will increase year-over-year.

Technology has advanced to the point where we get frantic when we think we lose our devices or suffer from phantom phone disease, where we make the motion to check our phone only to realize our phone isn’t even on us.  People feel naked without their connect devices because the accessibility to the world, work, social media and friends is right there in their pockets.  It has changed the way we communicate with each other through sharing information.  Prior to social media the easiest way to explain how something operates was through phone or email, now with social media people can share how-to-videos from YouTube via social media platforms.  The formal structure of how we communicate has changed to an acceptable informal manner and blogs are prefect examples of this.  Blogging is all about how you as the author wants to write and as long as it’s coming from you personally it’s acceptable.  A professional blogger doesn’t have to be someone that went to school for journalism, but simply someone who has a voice.  And that is how technology has changed the way we communicate, by giving everyone and anyone a voice.

Reference

Ma, A. (2015, June 29). A sad number of Americans sleep with their smartphone in their hand. The Huffington Post. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/29/smartphone-behavior-2015_n_7690448.html