| Communication has always been essential in our business and personal lives. Over the years, changes in communication techniques and devices have brought varying levels of new efficiencies. We examine some historical and current communication methodsfrom postal mail to voice mail and beyondagainst five key attributes: immediacy, time efficiency, utility, awareness, and happenstance; because communication is the heart of a connected world. It is important to start with a clear understanding of these attributes because they help define the overall value of new communications methods for the Inescapable Data world: Immediacy. This measures how quickly a message is received by the target. Postal mail is hardly immediate. E-mail is faster, text or instant messaging is faster still, and a meeting or phone conversation is probably the fastest. We have been somewhat fooled to think that the higher the immediacy, the more valuable a communication method is. We value immediacy up to the point where it turns "synchronous" (as in an interactive meeting or phone call); once synchronous, we become less time efficient. Time efficiency. The more asynchronous a communication method is, the higher the time efficiency. Postal mail, for example, is very asynchronous, and while waiting for the delivery, other work is being performed. Once received, whatever task lies within is triaged and will be dealt with at the most efficient time (which is not necessarily when the message is received). E-mail carries the same value (but is notably more immediate). Instant messaging and text messaging are still asynchronous (but less so), and they too are time efficient. A phone call or meeting is not asynchronouswe will see less of those in the Inescapable Data world. Utility. Utility (in the Inescapable Data world) is defined as the ability to package an object along with the message. An example is a postal package that contains both a letter about the family and a Christmas present. In the more electronic world, an example might be an e-mail containing a message and an actual purchase order (digitized document or similar). Awareness. In office settings, we are aware of others around us. Both casual and formal meetings can take place with little or no notice. In our new more mobile work society, we do not always have the luxury of bumping into people or looking over a cube wall to see what someone is working on. This could lead to productivity loss, and so some new communication technologies strive to bring back a level of awareness. Groupware, for example, allows a concept of "team rooms" and might show live information about who else is "in" that team room and which documents they are working on. Happenstance. Happenstance refers to accidental (but often productive) meetings and exchanges that take because of the physical proximity of the players (hallway chats, water-cooler chitchat, etc.). Similar to awareness, in our new mobile work society, we have lost a great deal of happenstance. Instant messaging, text messaging, and groupware bring back informal and impromptu conversations (for the same good and bad values happenstance has always had).
As you go forward in the Inescapable Data world, examine your current and new communication techniques against this list of attributes. Does the technique enable you to get information to the right party with great speed? Does it enable the target party to multitask and prioritize his or her message handling easily? Can you include the actual business object or directions to the soccer field? Does it provide a level of insight wherein you can learn whether your intended target is available for an exchange? Finally, does it provide a sense of community and encourage impromptu useful exchanges? |
