Social Media Drives Need for Change in Communication
The Social Media explosion continues to have a dramatic effect on how people interact as customers, businesses and individuals. It's changing the way 'people' communicate, period. This short YouTube video on Social Media use is pretty revealing. We need to adapt communication capabilities to this change from both the personal and enterprise perspective. The view of a "person" and how to "communicate" with them is expanding. Communication applications must become even more "people-centric" than ever.
What do I mean by people-centric? It's a broader view of what a contact is and how I'm presented with ways to communicate with them. From a professional and personal level, don't you often ask questions like; Who inside my company can help me with subject X? Who do I know outside the company that can help with subject Y or performs service A? I need to contact a supplier dealing in Z, I need to call John about our fishing trip, etc. The challenge developing given this explosion of communication modes is how/where to find them, and once I do, how do I select/use a communication mode(s) that they are present on to reach them?
My broader view of a contact would have to include the usual name, number(s), company, and maybe personal email. A picture and web address are also pretty common. I want to add everything I can about their social network id's, IM id's (e.g. Skype), perhaps a field on expertise or general reason why I know them. The last point is key to me; why do I know them? - that's the "people-centric" view.
I mentioned earlier that I'd want to see what mode(s) of communication the person is currently present or available on. Show me if they are present on a real-time media or not and then allow me to see where. A contact record should include all of that information for searching and selecting a person to reach. The same contact info should pop up in front of me when that person tries to reach me by any mode. If this information were available I could do a more complete search of my contacts for people by name, affiliation, profession, club etc., and then pick/launch the right communication mode with a touch to reach/respond to them.
Also note that I don't want to search separate professional and personal contacts lists. The line between my professional and personal identities is far less distinct than before.
With all the advances in communication modes, networks, mobility and the blending of our professional and personal lives, I'm looking for improvements in using and managing it all. Something to ease my communication overload just a bit. How about you? I'd like to hear about challenges and solutions you have in mind to embrace the social media revolution and it's impact on your communication style and needs.
Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 08:19 AM
Comments
How does SIP play into this? Doesn't SIP provide us the framework for a single "address" that will allow us to be contacted across multiple channels? Could Facebook, twitter, Skype, mobile phone, work phone, home phone, txt, etc. all just be listed as capabilities of my SIP address?
With all that Avaya has done in the SIP space, how do we play in such a world?
Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 11:39 AMHello from Russia!
Posted 22 Oct 2009 at 10:26 PMCan I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?