So, what’s the take away regarding how technology is changing the way we communicate? The six main takeaways that will lead to improving the way we communicate revolves around knowledge. Knowing that in this digital world everything and anything is accessible. In order to improve, here are my suggestions, prepare for fact checking, make yourself digitally known, stay connected outside of cyber space, continue to educate and stay up to date with current trends via social media.
We know that the truth is out there and with smartphones it’s accessible 24/7, so make sure whatever claim you are making is accurate. As mentioned in my previous blog posts, public figures have to really follow these guidelines otherwise they will lose credibility. News organizations are in the same boat because we rely on them to act as a source of truth. If that source of truth is broken, it’s extremely hard to come back from it. Spending more time or implementing tools that better fact check is one way to improve.
If you don’t have an online presence in today’s digital world, you don’t exist. With that said, I would suggest for improvements, creating a couple social media profiles, perhaps start with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Of those three-social media platforms all of them serve a different purpose and will allow for you to make yourself known digitally. Also, build a blog and create a domain based off your name, so that you will always have control over that one site that can best brand you.
Don’t forget about the world outside of cyber space. Yes, there is a whole digital world out there but it doesn’t erase the physical and just because you can connect with someone virtually doesn’t mean you shouldn’t in the real world. We rely so heavily on our digital devices that sometimes we don’t pick our heads up to see what’s going on around us and to improve that we just need to take a step back every now and again to enjoy our surroundings.
Educating and staying up to date with current trends is another great improvement plan for communicating. How do you communicate digitally if you don’t know anything about social media? Professionals should educate themselves or get training so that they don’t become a dinosaur in their industry. No matter what industry it is, most likely there is a digital element and that element will continue to grow. It’s better to stay with it then to let it become a missed opportunity.
Overall, as long as we continue to move forward digitally; the communication process will continue to make sense. It’s only when we stand still for too long that we lose traction because of how fast digital technologies is advancing.
Stahlwalker 