Communication via Current Tech
Written by:
Tom Sawyer)
It is my sincere hope that you never miss another phone call, email or any other type communication you or someone else deems necessary to carry out your professional and personal affairs. It is my sincere hope (and prayer) because I might be the person on the other end and there is nothing more aggravating to call someone at home, call them on their cell, send them an email and send them a text message without hearing back from them. If this happens repeatedly, I put them on a special list of people who I cannot contact reliably. Right now, how many of us have sent out one of the previously mentioned methods of communication and are waiting for a response? That is exactly what I thought! When you hear from that person, tell them technology is there friend – use it.
Email is a no-brainer; send an email to someone knowing that they are not likely to get back with you immediately. You know this, they know this and the communication is not urgent enough for either of you to think otherwise or else you would have picked up the phone, right? Not so fast. Since the phone was just mentioned let’s talk about cell phones and email specifically. If you’ve never heard the term smartphone get used to it because smartphones aren’t just something for the business traveler anymore. If you want to stay connected while you are out and about a smartphone could be just what you are looking for. I’m not necessary following the official definition of a smartphone because I’m talking about a device for the average Joe. What I’m talking about is a cell phone that will allow you to keep a calendar (for those hot dates), do some light Internet browsing, receive email and place calls – of course. Smartphones aren’t big anymore either so don’t think it will be something you have to lug around – some members of my family have the LG enV2 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1558 ) which is a pretty small device that has as a keyboard.
We are just getting started down this road, but I like to talk a lot so we didn’t cover too much ground this time around. I will leave you with this: think about your communication needs/wants and if the phone/device you have in your pocket or purse is meeting all your needs. We will talk about those needs at a later date along with text messaging. Oh yeah, we must talk about texting!
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What’s the timeframe a person has to respond to a call, email or text? Is this defined somewhere in a Tech Etiquette manual? I am someone who tries to respond as soon as I can, but sometimes, I am in the middle of something that I can’t get away from. Now, I have a degree in IT, but sometimes technology can be a little bit imposing. I have a Blackberry, which I like because I can get my email through my phone. The rest of the features the Blackberry offers, I don’t really care about. I primarily use my Blackberry as a phone. As far as texting, I really don’t use it simply because most of the people that I communicate with prefer to call instead of text.
Good question. There is no specified time to respond to a text or email, but at least respond! One of the main things I’m talking about is when you call someone at home and on their cell with no answer. Then, they call you back a minute later. I know many of us have people that do that all the time and that is when I put them on my special list. Hopefully, I don’t need to tell them anything urgent because if I did I would be out of luck.
I guess we all can do better at communicating whatever means we use.
Really, I can do without a cell phone. It’s amazing to me how someones cell has become the center of their life! Text,text,text away! I was riding with my 18 year old cousin, she’s texting while driving,wow! She texts her boyfriend, he doesn’t text back, she’s heated. I’m like c’mon now!