Reflecting on the course
Blog topic #9, September 26, 2021
A future full of convergence and Web 3.0, 4.0, 5.0…
In my job, I work in employee communications as well as in internal and external events. I also support executive communications and do liaison-related roles in the company — it is certainly a job that keeps me very busy. In the Intro to Digital Communications course, a topic we covered extensively, convergence, will continue to show up in not only my job but my career and life. Convergence is how technologies are merging over time. For example, the New York Times is not only a newspaper, but the same newspaper and its content can be accessed via the web and on mobile devices. It is the same content across different platforms.
In my current role, for example, we are utilizing apps more frequently as a way for employees to not only get their news and information but also access HR-related records and more. This shows convergence of a website with mobile mobility. I also see convergence in how one piece of news is published on a wide variety of internal and external platforms — everything from an internal feature to a social media post to an external blog entry. I also think the company will, over time, continue to expand into newer, creative and more interactive ways to deliver news and information to our employee base. How we connect with our employees will evolve.
In my life, convergence will continue to be a process that I am impacted by — whether it be how I access information or consume content. I am most interested to see how technology will grow with us and continue to become an extension of ourselves and how we operate — and to see how this idea will factor into the communications that I produce (or will produce) in my role.
In addition, Web. 3.0 will be impactful in my life and career. Web 3.0, 4.0 and beyond mean a more intelligent web — one that learns our habits and searches and may even have a ‘mind’ of its own. It is technology that may soon meld to become apart of us. I am curious to see how AI and Machine Learning will impact how and what content we are producing in my job, and if it will help or hinder us. I wonder if the routines and processes I execute on every day will become simpler both at work and personally. I wouldn’t be too upset if I could somehow respond to an email or text mentally, without typing — or see it on a screen via glasses or contacts or other device.
Everything will only become more advanced with technology and the web, and we will have no choice but to keep up.
