Communication in a New Age

If one good thing can come from tragedy there's a a kernel of hope an article cited today by Dave Winer of Scripting News.

According to Roanoke Time's reporter, Albert Raboteau, Virginia Tech is considering a move to communication by text messaging.

"When Virginia Tech wanted to alert students to developments in a recent campus manhunt  . . . it relied on e-mail, the Web and messages sent to dorm phones. One method that was not available: sending text messages to cellphones. That could change.

University officials are considering following the lead of Penn State University and other schools that use text messaging to stay in contact with students for whom even e-mail is becoming passe."

It's not as if this is a new idea. Students are text messaging multiple times a day, including notes home to mom. Penn State, Florida A&M and the University System of Maryland are among those catching on. As the same article reports"

About 350,000 people subscribe to Penn State's e-mail news service . .(and) subscribers can choose to be updated by text message.

Let's use this opportunity to open up conversations about efficient communication of important information, the role of more immediate and interactive social media and the trend away from email.

It couldn't come too soon for me. Give me twitter, text messages to the phone, and good old blog commenting as immediate and efficient ways to communicate on the fly.

 

                

Find an insightful article on this topic by Andy Carvin here

Relevant Link: InfoWorld Tech Watch

 

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