How We Communicate ? Thoughts from our Digital Technologist | PMI

As PMI?s Digital Technologist, I often get asked the question, ?What does your job title mean?? A common response I give is, ?A little bit of everything!? I often have a similar response when someone asks me about my interests which tend to also be, ?a little bit of everything.? I?m really into researching new technologies and what the ?next big thing? just might happen to be. With the innovation of mind-bendingly fast internet speeds, wireless communications and redefining the user experience and how they share content fascinates me. In comparison, the change in personal communications over the course of time varies significantly from the advent of the personal cell phone to Skype. What is the best form of personal communication? Is it face-to-face communication, a text message, email, or a Skype session? I know a lot of my peers prefer text messages. So much, in fact, that they would let a call go to voicemail only to return a quick text response of, ?Hey, what?s up?? I have a strong sense of tradition and simplicity in certain types of communications too. I love face-to-face communication. To me, nothing beats that type of communication since factors such as tone, meaning and delivery can often get lost through the context of an electronically received message. If convenience is the factor in question, then I would have to say text messaging is the preferred form of getting in contact with someone.? Of course, not only is there a factor of age, but also another question remains?are you seeking efficiency? How important is your message? How quickly does the communication or response have to be? Conference calls over the phone, or more recently over Skype, can still give a certain outcome that is similar to face-to-face communication without being in the same room, let alone the same time zone.

I would have to say some of the newer technologies on the horizon that I?m most excited about would have to be Google Glass and Leap Motion. Google Glass doesn?t necessarily have an official release date yet, but prototypes have been designed and a video of a prototype of the glasses has been made. The device allows the user to see and interact with their world in a whole new way. This device would allow the user to snap photographs, complete phone calls, set appointment reminders, weather updates and has GPS capabilities as well as sharing content they captured. Another slated feature shown in the video is the ability to take a phone call similar to a Skype session that can also be shared, allowing the caller on the other end to see what you see, making it an interactive experience among users. These capabilities are available on most smartphones but the time it takes to dig for a phone in a purse or bag, activating the camera or searching for directions for a location, are moments that can often times take longer than expected as well as distracting from the original moment that was meant to be captured as a memory. Leap Motion is a device that can be connected via USB to your computer that serves as an interaction tool that you?ve never experienced before. Iron Man?s technology command center is a Hollywood example of what this device does. It gives the user ability to interact with their computer in a 3-dimensional space using your hands and fingers. Leap Motion is projected to ship in December 2012. In addition to using your hands across a 3-dimensional space, it also will allow you to create custom gestures for specific actions for your computer. The concept behind Leap Motion is also being utilized in Microsoft?s Xbox 360, on their stand-alone device, the Kinect, which allows users to play games without a controller. This technology is aiming to give the user an experience that?s essentially disconnecting them from the physical element of a keyboard and mouse, to an interactive plane, where their hands work in coordination with the content on the screen.

It?s advances in technology that are driving beyond the physical element of interaction with computers that keeps me reading and researching to see what will be next. Communication among people will always have the face-to-face option, but other innovations in technology will offer a different level of experience for social interactions.

Source: http://www.pmi.tv/blog/2012/07/how-we-communicate-thoughts-from-our-digital-technologist/

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