Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A New Generation of Communicating

I heard a story on my way to work this morning about technological innovations to hit the market in the next few months. Video chat will soon be the standard way of communicating; however, holographic imagery is just around the corner. Batteries that recharge from air was discussed.


I respect advancements in technology, but find myself to the right on the technology integration curve--meaning I'm late into the cycle when I adopt new technology. My cell phone is the flip phone variety without camera or Qwerty keyboard, and I missed the whole Beta Max and laser disc phase (thank goodness). However, I use my home computer to video chat with my nephew who is currently deployed in Iraq and love my new portable e-book.

So what does this have to do with fire and leadership? I believe there is great relevancy to the way we communicate. Technological devices and the social media applications that go with them are main stream and a means of communication not only for the new generation firefighter but also those much further to the left on the technology curve than I am. Like it or not, the way we communicate is different. We are connected!

A few weeks after a special edition of Burning Issues: Social Media was released, I had the opportunity to participate in a social media class with individuals from NIFC's Office of External Affairs. Social media is a vital part of communicating within the fire community--at least to the outside world. How we embrace technological innovations will be a challenge for managers and leaders in the days and years ahead as innovation skyrockets and applications come and go. Although useful and often necessary, technological advancements can also be a distraction, putting the safety of firefighters at risk. Whichever side of the debate your reside, one this is for sure--change is coming

5 comments:

pmcdonald said...

Kudos for the military on their recognition of social media use. One million followers is impressive. Maybe some day, the WFLDP will have their own FB page and followers.

http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2011/01/and_the_best_of_government_on_facebook_and_twitter_is.php

pmcdonald said...

Thanks to a friend who sent the following link to me about a new app for the NIMS Incident Command System. (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nims-incident-command-system/id406880725?mt=8)

~ This is in no way an endorsement of the product, just an indication of how differently we are communicating. ~

pmcdonald said...

Here is an article about influence and social media by David Armano.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/01/the_six_pillars_of_the_new_inf.html

pmcdonald said...

Like it or not, people are connected. Here is another article about social media's impact on how we communicate.

Jeffrey F. Rayport: "What is Facebook, Really?" http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/02/what_is_facebook_is_becoming.html

pmcdonald said...

Recent developments in Egypt prompt some interesting responses from leadership experts. Check them out for yourself...

http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/2011/02/leadership_goes_digital/all.html