Jamie Tolentino is currently working
as a Digital Marketer at a Global
Asset Management firm based
in London. She was previously
an Innovation Strategist at Quirk
London. Aside from contributing
for adobo magazine, she also
blogs on the Huffington Post UK
and contributes to The Next Web.
Recently, she was named as one
of WeAreTheCity’s Top 100 Rising
Stars 2016.
DIGITAL
OPINION
15
Online messaging platforms have changed the way we communicate
personally and professionally.
A
s popular as Facebook
messenger is today, it
is primarily a sharing
platform. People post
statuses and photos detailing
intimate and special details of their
lives, and in return family and
friends comment freely. The result is
that we have had to delineate public
versus private communication like
mini celebrities in our own right.
For example, I broke the news of
my engagement via Facebook and
trusted that it would travel to all
the people who needed to know.
PRIVATE VERSUS PUBLIC CHAT
The mainstream use of Facebook
and Twitter puts a great emphasis
on public sharing of information on
a personal level. News of Britain’s
exit from the EU also spread like
wildfire within minutes over these
social media channels. The presence
of these platforms have made it
easier for “open” people to share
news faster, but have made more
“private” people hesitant to join
in the posting of messages amid
fears that it will become public very
quickly. It is harder for those who are
fairly private to keep so unless they
regularly monitor their friends list.
PRIVATE GROUPS
Platforms like Viber and WhatsApp
have made it easy for groups to get
in touch and share information
with the people they choose.
This is much more efficient
than repeating the story to each
person individually. It’s more
aligned to getting a group of
friends together and telling them
a piece of news. Slack has also
proved to be a popular messaging
equivalent enabling remote teams
to collaborate. That you can see
who has read your messages makes
it redundant to ask, “Hey, did you
get my message?” However, this
does mean that everything you put
on there is technically “recorded.”
SELF-DESTRUCTING MESSAGES
Apps like Snapchat pioneered
photo sharing which self-destructs,
while Telegram lets you decide
whether you want a conversation
to self-destruct every time. Some
people are not comfortable with
the idea that conversation is
forever recorded, especially if
you have embarrassing news to
share with your loved ones. People
also don’t want to risk other
people accidentally clicking their
messages, so this option seems
attractive. However, there is no
guarantee that your picture or
message will be read instantly.
In some cases though, it can.
GLOBAL AUDIENCE
Online messaging platforms has
made real-time global conversation
affordable. All the messaging apps
deliver your text messages via a
data connection, which is relatively
cheap compared to the price of
international texting or calling.
IMPORTANCE OF PRIVACY
More private communications
are still catered for by the likes of
WhatsApp and Viber which allow
you to create groups you can more
easily control. However there
is the issue of private messages
and photos being circulated.
COMMUNICATION VIA
WRITTEN TEXT
As a result of online messaging,
much communication takes place
in the form of written text versus
the verbal communication. Some
among the older generation struggle
with this, but the younger generation
has come to grips with it, especially
the use of emojis. However, a lot
of detailed communication is
missed out because tone of voice
and facial expression cannot be
conveyed over written text.
Ultimately, communications has
become faster, cheaper and more
efficient. However, we risk becoming
impersonal and less rich in content.
July - August 2016 | adobo magazine