Grayling Blog

To be connected or not to be connected

Posted on 17.08.2010 by Isabel Bermejo

A well known advertisement for a mobile company claims that when summer arrives we connect to the network in order to disconnect from our daily routine. I am aware that this claim may seem unusual, or even surprising, for many professionals who spend eight to twelve hours a day working in front of a computer. But if, as in my case you belong to the generation practically born with a laptop or smartphone under its arm, the phrase takes on an extraordinary degree of accuracy, not only in the summer.

Thanks to the natural evolution experienced by the World Wide Web since its origins in the early nineties and to the numerous applications that currently allow the development of new technologies, the progressive reduction of connection costs and the increasing number and diversity of social networks, an increasing number of users have decided to experience the benefit of the internet.

We use Internet for nearly everything, both personally and professionally. We communicate with our customers, we search for relevant information, book trips, organize events, contact new suppliers, interact with our acquaintances and relatives, go shopping, read the newspaper, download music and movies or even request an appointment with the doctor. It is just too tempting to disconnect.

Internet also creates new needs. I have just recently practised Paintball for the first time in my life only because I found a great offer through Facebook and many friends were willing to join in the fun. I went to dinner at a restaurant specializing in Moroccan food because the menu was half price and I participated in a short story on-line contest to win a trip to Greece, courtesy of a travel agency.

Times change and businesses must be tailored to the new features and market requirements to survive. Hence the importance of a carefully designed digital communication strategy in companies such as ours. Each customer requires specific and personalised guidelines so the rules can not be applied in the same way in all cases. It is so important to know how to manage the content or image of a particular website or blog, and to be vigilant against possible negative messages spread about our clients in forums or web sites or that take advantage of open corporate profiles on social networks, and so on.

Our on-line work is also key to the success or failure of our client’s broader global communications strategy. To me personally, as a journalist and as a potential target audience for companies that have their place in the virtual world, I like to be aware of this adaptation process undertaken by small, medium and large firms. And I am pleased to see how the maxim is true that times of crisis are the mother of invention.

Connectivity is so important, as I discovered recently when I was provided with a portable USB devise for connecting to the internet as a free gift for purchasing a new mobile phone. So, it is going to be impossible to disconnect even laying under an umbrella on the beach.

I am convinced that if Tom Hanks in his role as Chuck Noland in the movie Cast Away had had access to a mobile phone, he would not have spent over 1,500 days trying to survive and return home, nor would he have tried to alleviate his loneliness with that volleyball which he called Wilson in honour of the brand. It would have being enough for him to make a couple of phone calls or send an email through the Blackberry. Desert islands are not what they use to be.

This is the time of year when there will be many who will try to disconnect from the world by turning off their mobile phone. However, nobody will free me from my laptop and my new phone while sunbathing. To be connected or not to be connected, That is the question.