Lines of communication

Think about how many modes of communication we have today:

• Phone
• Text message
• Email (personal, work) 
• Facebook
• Twitter 
• Snapchat / picture messaging
• Social outlets 

Anyone who we grant access to can send us "push notifications," or permission to notify us when something happens. Rather than communicate more effectively, I've learned these multiple communication methods make things complicated and give us the MAYBE option.

Planning a career fair and other events at Mizzou, being in the corporate world and even making social plans, there is nothing more frustrating than the amount of communication methods we have. Ten years ago if you were planning an event or scheduling something, you would ask someone if they could come, they would look at their calendar while you had them in your office or on the phone and would answer "Yes, I'll be there." or "No, I can't." But with the respond-as-you-can method of email, and text messages for constant updates, people can wait until the last minute to make decisions.

We spend time contemplating how to best reach someone - which account they will check, or where your message will solicit the quickest or desired response. There is no societal hierarchy for which communication mode is prioritized. One person may see a Facebook message first, another might never check. One will see a work email, another sees a text. I'm interested to see how this plays out in our futures and what rises to the top.