Young professionals entering the media and communication workforce today encounter an entirely different world to that of ten years ago. Fax machines are no longer the fastest way of communicating. Cell phones are now smartphones and there is an entirely new set of rules, tools and cultural references that would have been unthinkable only 5 years ago. These include the new perceived wisdoms that:
– social media has always been a major communication tool
– twitter has always been the quickest way to get your message across
– newspapers have always been poor selling
– Sachsgate, social evangelist and twitterati are all part of everyday vocab
– bad or inappropriate texting, rather than a bad quote or photo, is the fastest way to ruin a reputation
– Piers Morgan has always been on American television
– Graham Norton has always been primetime appropriate
– headlines are gone in a second but archived forever online
– “following” someone for a story isn’t creepy
– You don’t have to change out of your pyjamas to network
– everything is always global.
It’s clear from the small list above that the world we work in has changed and will continue to do so. But isn’t that exciting!? We are living and working in the middle of a cultural and communication revolution, a time where old technology is working with and transferring to new technology. A time where our behaviour as consumers and professionals will noticeably – and quickly – shape future trends and technology.
The next ten years will provide another revolution in our mindset as we potentially say farewell to newspapers, snail mail, land lines, fax machines, books, myspace, non-smart (dumb?) mobile phones, VCRs and CDs/DVDs. Even email isn’t safe as it’s becoming too slow.
It’s hard to imagine that communication could become any more immediate, constant or mobile but the iPad has brought its own set of rules and possibilities. Foursquare has proven that it’s no longer enough to communicate what you are thinking, we now need to know where exactly you are thinking it.
By 2020, our expectations around communication and media will have transformed and we will again be shocked at how much has changed in the decade past. Maybe by then I will be referencing blogs as an example of media communication we no longer use…
