I’m a communicator. I love getting the message ‘right’. I love even more seeing the ‘return on the investment’ unfold before my very eyes. I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing the analytics roll-in as people respond to a message I’ve helped shape and share.
But I would not be as effective as I am if I wasn’t supported by great technical products and services. They help me do my job faster, connect with the right audience and can create a great experience for those interacting. The result is that if I do my job right, more people will respond to the message.
In contrast, bad technology products and services can actually be a barrier to communicating and also people responding. From my side of things they can also make life more difficult to communicate with the right audience and create seamless and engaging experiences.
I remember when I used our old church database (Church Management System). It was out of date. It had thousands of people who weren’t necessarily even coming to our church any more. It was also very hard to update, access the right data without getting a lot of irrelevant information. It was also based on a local server which meant it couldn’t be accessed remotely (God bless you Software As A Service). It made my job extraordinarily difficult.
Aside alert! You can also have the best technology but if your message sucks, it doesn’t matter how efficient or targeted your communication is. At the end of the day they are all just tools in your locker to help you do what you do. Don’t get all silly over them (Yes, that applies to Apple too). I’ve seen wannabee graphic designers use the best design software and create bad work. Rubbish in, rubbish out.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing about the technology in my communications toolbox and how it helps me do what I do.
Your Turn
How has technology has helped you in your work and how has it helped you? Drop a comment below.
