Guest Post: Ranjani Kumar

Ranjani is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about virtual communication.

Virtual communication- An introduction

Virtual communication denotes a broad spectrum of concepts, technologies and practices in using communication with the aid of cutting-edge technologies. The proliferation of information and communication tools, like e-mail, instant messaging and internet telephony has revolutionized the way we work and live. Virtual communications facilitates the ability to know and understand how to access and share information electronically and is a portal through which a world of limitless learning opportunities exist.

Our lives have never been the same
Virtual communication is implicit communication, where clicks translate into electronic signals to communicate intentions, values, and beliefs. Therefore, they may come to be of great importance in affecting people’s attitudes toward each other and toward society creating friendships across globalized world. The most prominent feature of the "information society" is increasingly intense and mobile communication, based on a multitude of media and forms of expression - speech, text, pictures, and multimedia. Sometimes the communication is direct: human-to-human; sometimes it is faceless but warm messages on the PC screen.

Organizations scale-up productivity

Organizations today have been transformed not only by effective use of virtual communication technologies, which are flowing thick and fast. Virtual communication has enabled group projects, from working alone to working with many others, both inside and outside the office, and from routine processes to creative, knowledge-based processes. Employees in organizations work non-traditional hours, work from home, travel to other locations, and perform many tasks at one time. Virtual communication is one of the greatest productivity discoveries of this century.

What the future beckons?

The future would be wireless for all forms of virtual communication. Wired communication would be passé. 4G wireless technology would bring drastic data transfer speed, enhanced security in virtual communication, use of IP addresses, reduced blips across networks and seamless video conferences. Efficient algorithms and digital technology would enhance quality of service

The road to virtual communication is endless with technology leading the way all the way.

REFERENCES:

1) Bjorn Bengtsson - Virtual communication paper

2) An introduction to virtual communication