Digital technology has really changed the way we communicate
with each other and has also touched almost every facet of our lives from the
way we interact and engage with others, to politics, business, entertainment, news,
culture and the manner in which we purchase goods and services. Let’s face it
we now live our entire lives online. But, nothing has changed us more than digital
social media technology in the way that we communicate with each other.
Nick Morgan
is a regular Forbes online contributor and public speaker, who writes about how
digital technology has changed communications. In his review of Nicco Mele’s new book “The End of Big” Morgan’s explores how
the impact of digital technology on the communication industry by explaining
how digital technology played in integral part in the changes of communication (Morgan,
2013).
Nicco Mele’s
depiction of twenty-first century communication using digital technology and
social media is a change in the global hierarchy of existing world-wide communication
to point of possible eradication of those hierarchies entirely. Mele suggests
that “By putting us all within one or two
removes from one another, the digital era has radically flattened hierarchies
of communication everywhere, and completely reshaped the old power relationship
between the rulers and the masses.” (Morgan, 2013).
Translation,
the transition of communication power has shifted, providing the user (or audience)
a voice with which to communicate anything publicly online. Mele suggests that
this is the old David and Goliath story when it comes to the empowerment that
digital and social media now provides to the formerly voiceless masses (Morgan,
2013).
A disgruntled
patron now has an outlet of empowerment to publicly rate an establishment for
poor service, or dissatisfaction of a product or service, which refers to as “radical connectivity” (Morgan, 2013).
He also
suggests that due to social media that we are now experiencing the dumbing down
of our communication system, and a loss of communicative sophistication with
our language and information, in our communications style. He also suggests that there is so much
information to get through now that much is lost in the translation, or the
profane lack of interest to slog through massive amounts of information (Morgan,
2013).
Secondly,
Mele states that anyone’s voice may be heard, which can be good and bad. Good
because social and digital media provide a platform for those who would
normally would not be heard, but bad due to the amount of people who now have a
platform that are literally flooding the platform to be heard (Morgan, 2013).
He
concludes that “in a radically connected world,
you’ve got to be persistent, and it helps to be smart.” Which he is right,
because to set oneself apart to be recognized on digital social media takes
either something sensational that sets the communication apart from the
ordinary and the mundane, or intelligence so rare to set itself apart from the
pack (Morgan, 2013).
Just as an
example, we see cats on social media all the time. I mean, I love cats, but not
all these Internet pets do anything extraordinary to get them noticed and much
of the reason why these stupid cats are social media is because of their pet
parents that are under the impression that their little fluff balls are unique.
But, last
year a purple dyed kitten was saved from being a dog’s chew toy and it went
viral. They raised money for this kitten to save its life and even paired him
up with another abandoned kitten who was blind. As a result, they were adopted
together and they lived happily ever after and are gorgeous cats now.
The information glut… too many boring Internet cats!
The intelligent information uniqueness… purple kitten Smurf and
his blind fur friend Wanda are saved.
Because everyone loves a happy ending!
Morgan, N. (2013, May 21). How Digital Technology Has Changed Communication.
Retrieved November 6, 2016 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2013/05/21/how-digital-technology-has-changed-communication-first-of-three-posts/#1464e27b46cb/
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