Printing, Telephone, Email, Social Media…what’s next?

Following on from the article linked to above I offer the following reply. Social Media is indeed the next ‘ICT’ phenomenon that businesses and schools need to embrace going forward in a rapidly developing (technology-wise) world. 

The use of social media should be as an inclusive tool – part of your working ‘tool kit’. It’s a bit like ICT. Colleagues in all business have the need to use the technology in the same way they use a pen or their cell phone. The problem now is that rather than training employees to use specific aspects of social media correctly and appropriately ‘hubs’ are set up that accelerate the interested/elite whilst the rest stumble in the background.

As an analogy from a schools perspective, 15 years ago many schools (and even some now…) set aside separate rooms for ‘IT suites’ which rapidly became fallow and a wasted space. Massive and costly real estate fail. Why? Wireless, tablet and mobile technology….meant people had their ICT capability on the go. Yes, specific areas for CAD and media work were needed but on the whole everyone went ‘mobile’.  I see the same happening with social media; acres of space and large HR teams tied to it when in reality professional development should be seen as an all inclusive culture so that all employees are part of it.

Yes, you need someone to champion it but thereafter share the skills with everyone and train them up. A skilled workforce = better performance (especially with the onslaught of social media).

I wonder what the 5th Age will be? I bet it will be with us quicker than the 4th was…..