Task 1b - Professional Communication Technology

When I found that Task 1b consisted of reading a Course Reader on Professional Communication Technologies and the use of Web 2.0 I have to admit I panicked a little. I am confident with using my laptop for both personal and professional use but throw a few technical terms at me and I run a mile! So I took a deep breath, made a strong cup of tea and sat down to read it. I needn't have bothered with the stress and worrying stage of this task because as soon as I had begun reading I discovered it wasn't the technical nightmare I had built it up to be, more like a fancy name for the way I use the internet on a daily basis! I was quickly scribbling down pages of thoughts, benefits, problems and ideas on the use of Web 2.0 within my life and the way the world is run today.

Working within a school, we have to be very aware of the issues surrounding web communication in order to ensure the children are safe and knowledgeable about all aspects of the internet. We also have to be vigilant in ensuring confidentiality of both staff, pupils and parents personal information. Children these days are very 'tech savvy' and often their confidence outweighs their knowledge of any dangers, it is part of my jobs to ensure that the children not only know all about how to use the web as it is such a critical part of every day life nowadays but how to keep themselves and their personal information safe. Primary Schools use Web 2.0 in many ways to be able to communicate with parents quickly, cheaply and effectively. For example, there is now an official school twitter site which has been put to great uses over the past few months of snowy weather. School was closed at midday due to the weather and so the head teacher informed the parents via twitter, the parents are now used to checking twitter on a regular basis, especially if something could be happening, and so the process of sending children home was made so much easier thanks to communication technology! Also any time the children are taken out of school, a teacher is left in charge of keeping the twitter account up to date with pictures, tweets and map locations of where we are and what we are doing - this has made a big impact on the parents and how they feel about letting the children go on adventurous trips!

Personally, I am a big Facebook and twitter user, always have been. Dare I say it I am addicted to checking what's going on with my friends around the world! This addiction to checking my phone and laptop at every available occasion started when I left college and all my friends set off on their dancing adventures around the world, keeping in contact with people whom I would have lost contact with pretty much instantly. This not only helped me keep in contact personally but professionally. Having contact with people with similar interests, jobs and qualifications as you helps to network and develop careers in ways that may not have been possible before the invention of Web 2.0. It the world of performing arts its often not what you know but who you know in the business and so keeping contact with people from many years ago through Facebook can give you the step in the door you need. It won't GET you the job but an get you the time to prove yourself to the people that matter! I used Web 2.0 technologies to help me set up my dance classes. I researched, networked and advertised using social network. It really did help to decide what classes would be popular, when would be the best time for them, where the best locations were and then finally advertise the classes to more people than I would have been able to without the help of the internet. All for free from the comfort of my own home! Who would have thought it?!
After looking at the reader I thought would have a look around the internet to see what was being said about networking and finding jobs through communication technology. I found this little article which seemed relevant and interesting :
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903083,00.html

(I hope that link has worked!!)

For all the benefits, there are of course negative aspects in the technology, once something has been put out there it is going on impossible to get rid of it - many celebrities have fallen foul of this and always will but on a day to day basis all it takes is one picture or video posted of a professional person and their career can be destroyed. It can be as dramatic as that. Once again I had a look around the internet to see what was being said and came across this article which illustrates issues I have been discussing.
http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-three-online-reputations-were-ruined
Of course there is the story of the riots around the country in August 2011, these were started, organised and advertised all via Facebook. Would this have been able to happen on such a grand scale without the development in technology? Possibly in one location with local gangs but across the country? Perhaps not.

Web 1.0 will always be used and useful to anyone who is trying to access information via the internet however Web 2.0 has opened up the internet in ways that many didn't see possible. Personally, I believe that Web 2.0 has made a massive impact on everyone's lives, whether they are aware of it or not. It has changed the way people communicate with friends and family around the world, buy and sell things, announce news, discover the world, learn anything and everything, get jobs, network professionally, release their work to the world and accept strangers judgements in return, and anything else someone may want to do!
Providing it is used with care, I believe Web 2.0 is an essential tool for professional communication, no matter which line of work you're in.