WE ARE ALL CONNECTED

#SMED 11

This week’s blog draws on the personal connectivity experience between Cape Town, South Africa  and Auckland, New Zealand.  This is where close family members have been staying for more than ten years.  Some of my #smed11 followers have possibly picked up on my  @snipnz tweets.

Chapter 1 of the Cluetrain Manifesto mentions that “The Internet became a place where people could talk to each other without constraint,  filters or censorship or official sanction.” Attending a birthday celebration of an 80 year family member in Cape Town this weekend, I was  reminded of the afore-mentioned Cluetrain quotation.

One has become accustomed to laptops being part of functions, mostly  for power point presentations (photo galleries) , music and entertainment, ect.   Having a guest attend via Skype, gives a whole new meaning to the list of and wording modifications for invitees. 

In the case of my sister, she duly attended the function and in keeping with the invitation, arrived on time and dressed to the nines for the occasion -cocktail outfit,  pearls, make-up, seated at a table with refreshments, including champagne.  Despite not being physically present, her presence was made possible via Skype.

Occupying the best ‘seat’ close to guest of honour, when we toasted, she did so too.  At emotional moments she shed tears when we all did same - emotional impact was mentioned in follow-up tweets.  Whilst she was watching and listening in on speeches, I answered her queries via SMS, i.e who is that person standing next to so and so?  Whilst we visited respective tables after formal speeches, to greet en engage with family and friends, she did so too – literally being carried from table to table as a guest with special cyber needs.

Although there is a physical distance of  11 766.62 kilometers between Cape Town and Auckland, with modern technology distance is no longer a barrier to effective communication.

This was my introductory experience of Skype being deployed at a birthday celebration.  

One cannot but marvel at the advancement of technology in keeping us all connected online.  Since the mid- nineties a significant number of South Africans have emigrated to various countries across the globe.  I  believe that cyber space communication is a cost effective manner of keeping children and grandchildren connected with parents and grandparents.

Against this background, I would like to pose a few questions as to what form future functions/party celebrations will take, i.e

-   will  invitations be designed, printed and be delivered?

-   will there be venue hire, catering, décor, entertainment?

-   what will the future dress code be?

-   will there still be a role for an event/party planner?

I believe parties/functions for birthdays and other celebrations are flexible and able to respond positively to changes due to the influence of modern technology.  On the other hand, whilst the application of the internet has its rightful place in organising functions and events,  I firmly believe people love and will continue to dress up, attend and socialise at afore-mentioned  parties and functions.  And just as a reminder - we love watching them as they strut their stuff, especially on the red carpet!

I must admit, I am no fundi when it comes to the application of social networking.  I remember the days when we had penpals and wrote letters.  I however hold a huge admiration and respect for the current technological advancement, and to this end I’d like to toast to modern technology that made it possible for family and friends to be connected, irrespective of massive distances.  In conclusion, I also raise my glass to a bright future with endless cyber space possibilities.