Establishing connections: today's communication technologies have shifted the dynamic, opening a dialogue between senders and receivers

Communication World, May-June, 2005 by Shel Holtz

Technology has always been a consideration for communicators, but today, it's more important than ever. The fact is, unless you're talking about one-on-one, face-to-face communication, you probably can't communicate without employing some manner of modern technology.

From the outset, online communication promised that those once confined to the role of information consumer could now become content producers. With e-mail and message boards, people suddenly found they could wield the same degree of influence as experienced PR professionals.

Even more significant, audiences began talking with one another. This unprecedented conversation allowed people to exchange information broadly and quickly. Organizations that had counted on the lack of person-to-person communication to contain potentially damaging information suddenly found there were no secrets anymore.

Some organizations got it: The audience was now firmly in control of the message. Companies that figured that out started participating in the dialogue and gave up trying to manage the message.

But many companies remained defiant or ignorant of the new marketplace dynamics. They used the web to minimize printing costs but not to engage in conversations with customers, investors, regulators, consumers and employees. They were blind to the knowledge-sharing benefits that the technology could bring to the organization.

A couple of years ago, a new tool was introduced--web logs, or just "blogs"--that eliminated the need to learn HTML. Individuals who wanted to publish their thoughts didn't even need to find a place to host their sites. Everything was self-contained in an interface anybody could use. Blogs appeared by the thousands.

Initially dismissed as a forum for people with too much time on their hands, blogs have assumed a place beside traditional journalism as an alternative channel for news and information. Not unexpectedly, businesses have jumped into the "blogosphere," seeking to establish a direct, personal relationship--a dialogue--with their customers and employees.

The participatory environment changes everything, but not everything has changed. Good writing, relationship-building, boundary-spanning and a host of other traditional communication skills continue to be important, as do uses of traditional media. (Print isn't going away anytime soon.) But communicators who fail to recognize the participatory nature of the business world today are at significant risk. Our audiences are now in control of the message. It's incumbent upon communicators to strategically engage those audiences in two-way conversation in order to exert the same influence we once wielded with one-way communication tools.

Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology in Concord, California, USA. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2005.