Monday, 29 October 2012
ESMC Facebook Page Assignment
It's not a real company yet but I'm working on it! One freelance gig at a time...
Do you remember what you used to do before Google? Before smart phones, social media, email, blogs? I do but it's vague and fading fast! I have blurry memories of writing letters with pens and paper to people in Austria and Denmark, sending actual cards instead of e-cards, writing school papers with a typewriter, and having a file cabinet full of, well, files!
And every once in awhile I feel a frisson of fear run through my soul as I realize that I don't have even one paper file anymore. Not one! Everything I do is electronic. I collaborate with colleagues using internal instant messaging and video calls. I send edits to my internal clients marked with track changes and using a complicated version control system. I send meeting requests through Outlook and plan my life with text messages and emails.
And normally it's good! It's convenient. It's eco-friendly. There are no issues and no delays.
Until the day there is and then all hell breaks loose! It doesn't have to be major (like a fire at the Shaw building) because even the most minor issues become major when you rely so completely on technology.
Take today, it started out as any other. I was calmly working my way through my morning routine of coffee and gossip sites with one eye on my inbox when the messages started coming in thick and fast. We had problems! BIG problems and needed front end communications NOW, NOW, NOW!!
I fired off three messages in five minutes to let folks now that several of our major tools were on the fritz but that tickets had been logged and not to fret. So while these issues didn't really affect my day (other than to bust my peaceful bubble) they were real problems for the front line staff that rely on these tools. Luckily the issues were resolved quickly and I'm sure the people affected were resourceful and solved the problems on their own but when things like this happen, I occasionally think about what will happen when an issue can't be resolved, when the data can't be restored and what it will mean for the companies and employees involved.
Technology is a beautiful thing - 85% of the time I wholeheartedly agree but the other 15%, I'm hunkered down in front of TLC watching "Doomsday Preppers", practicing Morse code on the piano, and burying half my pay cheque in a box under the back porch in preparation of the crash!
And every once in awhile I feel a frisson of fear run through my soul as I realize that I don't have even one paper file anymore. Not one! Everything I do is electronic. I collaborate with colleagues using internal instant messaging and video calls. I send edits to my internal clients marked with track changes and using a complicated version control system. I send meeting requests through Outlook and plan my life with text messages and emails.
And normally it's good! It's convenient. It's eco-friendly. There are no issues and no delays.
Until the day there is and then all hell breaks loose! It doesn't have to be major (like a fire at the Shaw building) because even the most minor issues become major when you rely so completely on technology.
Take today, it started out as any other. I was calmly working my way through my morning routine of coffee and gossip sites with one eye on my inbox when the messages started coming in thick and fast. We had problems! BIG problems and needed front end communications NOW, NOW, NOW!!
I fired off three messages in five minutes to let folks now that several of our major tools were on the fritz but that tickets had been logged and not to fret. So while these issues didn't really affect my day (other than to bust my peaceful bubble) they were real problems for the front line staff that rely on these tools. Luckily the issues were resolved quickly and I'm sure the people affected were resourceful and solved the problems on their own but when things like this happen, I occasionally think about what will happen when an issue can't be resolved, when the data can't be restored and what it will mean for the companies and employees involved.
Technology is a beautiful thing - 85% of the time I wholeheartedly agree but the other 15%, I'm hunkered down in front of TLC watching "Doomsday Preppers", practicing Morse code on the piano, and burying half my pay cheque in a box under the back porch in preparation of the crash!
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