Web, Wikis and Workplace Technology

I went to IABC's seminar today on the topic of Web, Wikis and Workplace Technology. One of the most interesting topics to me was around the discussion of the online life and offline life. The 15-year-old World Wide Web is rapidly changing and has profoundly influenced how organisations manage information and link people together. Although social media is not the only way of communication, and I believe it will never be the only way for communication, it will be (or in fact has become?) a very significant and important way of facilitating communication that can effectively reach the target audience. It impacts on communication skills needed in organisations, the complexity of managing information and the speed of processing information. For many, web 2.0 does not merely link information, it links people. It allows people to communicate, share and collaborate on a many-to-many basis. Facebook, Wikipedia and Blogs, are so well developed and people are engaging in these online communities. "If you ask people under 20, they will probably tell you there is no difference between the online 'life' and the offline 'life'." said the guest speaker, Ross Monahan, a Lecturer from Deakin University.

Surprisingly, when audience heard the above comments , there were little mumbling among the audience. I say it is 'surprisingly' because I have made an assumption that most of them, if not all, are from the communication field and hence would be active contributors in the 'online world'. Well, this 'surprising' reaction from the audience makes me think about generational differences once again. It cannot be denied that there are a lot of Gen X and Boomers who are actively users of web 2.0 technology, perhaps the majority of them are still going through the learning curve. I am really interested in what they were mumbling about....

Another guest speaker, Nick Hodge from Microsoft, brought up another interesting topic - trust. He said that in the online world, people can smell the fake. It is important for organisations to tell the truth and be as honest as they can. It may be true that it is easy to lie online because no one gets to 'see' the fact. However, it is also easy to tell if this is not the truth. Everyone has access to the www and can freely say almost anything online. What they say can hardly be controlled by the organisation. It is a challenge for many organisations.

To me personally, I don't always expect organisations to tell the truth online, but what they say does shape my impression on the organisation and I guess it happens to many people too. However if I found out they lied, it would be VERY hard for me to trust them again.