The Digitav Blog

Social Media has caused a revolution in the way that people communicate via the Internet. Most people have heard of FaceBook and Twitter, but there are many more such websites and their numbers are growing all the time. Their popularity continues to increase because individuals can comment on anything that they wish. They have a voice. Businesses and individuals are making use of this type of application on the Internet in an ever increasing and interactive way.

No more evidence is needed for this than the announcements in recent weeks by the United States and British Governments that they will be making more Government information available to the public on the Internet and in a variety of ways. According to their statements they hope that new Social Media applications will be developed to encourage people to take a more active role in their own affairs.

When Mr. Kundra, the US Chief Information Officer, says that this innovation may lead to, ‘a YouTube for data’, it would seem that Social Media is expected to instigate social and political change. If more people interact with Social Media sites that are created by the release of this new information, then it would appear that some people think that this may change the way democratic politics is conducted.

In the UK there is apathy towards politics where politicians just seem to squabble and argue and nothing seems to get done. Some teenagers I was talking to a few weeks ago wanted to know why the electorate couldn’t vote on important issues on the Internet. They argued that if they could do this it would get rid of greedy MP’s and would be truly democratic. This may sound a bit like the plot of a movie but when Mr. Kundra talks of, ‘Government as a platform’ and about it being on, ‘a local, national or global scale’, where will these innovations take us?

Another article published recently in the UN Post, the United Nations News Website, quoted extensively from the Brazilian President about the need for the wealthier nations to include poorer countries and their peoples in establishing a new economic, just and democratic world order of nations.

There is no doubt that the Brazilians have improved their own country’s fortunes by making radical political changes. Changes that were brought about by involving people at every level, could Brazil’s real political solutions make a bigger difference in the world with a new platform for public opinion? Could new Social Media applications fed by more information from Government provide the impetus for people to become more involved in politics? Could the use of Social Media applications be the instruments that help to bring about these changes that Mr. Kundra talks about?

It will be very interesting to see how (or if) the new ideas surrounding Social Media activities will develop. Will the new Government data, the development of new applications from the private sector and the expected level of public participation provide the platform for people to build new communities and create new opportunities for individuals, for business and for Government? One thing is for certain, the next stages in the development of Social Media will provide all kinds of new activities that businesses and individuals need to be involved in.

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The event was held at the Manchester Central Convention Complex, formerly the G-mex Centre. It was quite well attended by both exhibitors and visitors and there was a lot to get around given that I only allowed myself four hours. The most interesting aspect for me was the mobile wall where new mobile applications were being demonstrated.

Eight companies were represented and I spent quite a bit of time looking at some bluetooth applications, tracking applications for the mobile phone and software for low cost routing of mobile calls to foreign locations.

Elsewhere in the exhibition there was quite a bit about WLR3 which should revolutionise the provision of  landline calls and line rental for providers and customers alike. There was some interesting ways of providing temporary IT and Communication networks for construction sites, conventions or anywhere else that needs temporary communications as a matter of urgency.

Mobile and landline convergence platforms are growing more sophisticated allowing some huge savings on call charges for those companies ready to deploy the hardware and software and making it easier to contact their people in the field.

All of these I will talk about in more detail in later posts and I’ll look at how businesses can implement them in their daily grind and also look at the benefits of doing so!

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more about IT networks and the use of the Internet (for voice and data transfer as well as web interfaces). Yes, many of the applications and solutions had web interfaces for their operational needs and there was talk about this system or that system linking into existing IT networks, but it would have been nice to see a few more examples of working models.

It was still an enjoyable half day though and I’m pleased I went.  I will be developing the blog over the next few weeks and beyond to talk about a whole range of issues involving IT, the Internet and Communications and how converging technology can help to improve your business performance, lower your costs and add flexibility to your business!

So please keep coming back!

admin General