On technomorphing and glocalization
June 7, 2004 | 12:00am
History has vividly painted the direct link between our tools and machines, and the society we build. Just as the Bronze Age, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and the Space Age launched people into radically different trajectories, todays Cyber Age promises to alter the very building blocks of society our beliefs, values and actions We are, as iconoculturist Vickie Abrahamson, Mary Meehan and Larry Samuel described in their collaborative work The Future Aint What It Used To Be in the process of technomorphing, which describes the evolutionary effects that warp-speed technology is having on our lives. The trio averred that "the love-hate relationship with technology is only going to intensify as we go farther and farther into deep cyberspace. The winners of the Information revolution will be those able to translate technology into human terms, to technomorph cyberbells and cyberwhistles into truly relevant, applicable, and meaningful terms."
Online culture is, more than anything else, about satisfying our fundamental needs for dialogue, discourse, and debate. Some Internet cafés in a nearby mall may have closed their doors, but new ones are opening up in increasing frequency. Websites, homepages, chat groups, and virtual jam sessions are our new tables and booths, where we are snacking down heaping platters of all things dot.com. Indeed online culture is singularly remarkable for its ability to bring together people who otherwise would never meet.
Abrahamson, Meehan and Samuel also assessed that the very concept of language is in flux as writing gets a faceful of technomorphing. As e-mail eclipses paper correspondence across the corporate world to save cost and time, E-speak continues to bloom on the English tree. They reported that a new form of hieroglyphics called emoticons or smileys is offering millions of e-mailers shorthand when speed is of the essence and voice tone or facial expression is impossible. Just tilt the head to the right, and it might read, "Im sad," or to the left and it might mean, "Im happy." All caps signify anger, and the use of asterisks imply emphasis
E-mail symbolism and its chatty, often rambling writing style are changing the very nature of how we communicate at the office and, in turn, making corporate culture less formal. Old-school correspondence ombudsmen are naturally having fits, griping about the need for a beginning, middle, and end, or at least a point. E-mail also raises privacy and ethical issues that technology always brings, especially for workers who wonder how often their bosses monitor their workflow by rubbernecking via e-mail.
Technology and the workplace have always been kissing cousins, but never before have they been as intimately attached and as symbiotically related. "Although technology is largely responsible for breaking the labor fool into two halves, the Information Revolution is also having a socialistic effect on the workplace by giving small business Davids better chances at kicking the shins at corporate Goliaths," the triumvirate asserted. Universal access to cheaper, better hardware and software has made the computer technology the great equalizer, leveling the competitive playing field in many industries.
As speed and agility in the marketplace displace sheer clout as the more effective business strategies, more and more technomorphing mice are making their competitive elephants dance. In fact, faster, more accurate information the key to guerilla marketing tactics has made playing it safe or being risk-averse the most dangerous way to run a business. Technology is also flattening the traditional hierarchical structure, as most companies as CEOs down to mail clerks all become masters of their digital domains.
In a recent International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Philippine chapter general membership meeting, I had the chance to talk to Bill Mackenzie, communications manager for Intel Oregon, USA, who shared his thoughts on "The Globalization of Communication, Communicating Across Cultures, Time Zones and International Borders." He used the Intel experience as a discussion platform. Drawing from his long years with the company and his stint as business and political reporter for The Oregonian, Oregons largest newspaper, Mackenzie emphasized that Intel is of primary interest to media worldwide.
Its a $30 billion global corporation that gets widespread coverage, with its highly recognizable trademarks Intel, Intel Inside, Pentium as major projection platforms. The company puts premium on its communications efforts, maintaining strategic relationships with the press and industry analysts worldwide to deliver products and business messages to the appropriate media outlets. Internally, it keeps employees informed so they can act as Intel ambassadors.
Imagine Mackenzie dealing with 2,388 daily and Sunday papers with a total circulation of 115 million, 1,181 commercial TV stations, 13,476 radio stations and countless websites. Imagine his colleagues in Asia-Pacific coordinating with more than 27,717 media outlets. Correspondents from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are key contributors to the US press, while wire services compete heavily in this region. In fact, Asian Wall Street Journals largest subscriber base is in the US. Comparing these data to the Philippine market, the local communicators connect with nine local broadsheets, six national tabloids, one Manila tabloid, and 106 local newspapers. Add to these a number of trade publications, and campus and lifestyle publications.
What is Intel trying to do with communications? Plain and simple, it creates what it calls PBOEW positive business operating environment worldwide. It is operationalized by thinking globally while acting locally. "This means we function as a global corporation, with significant operations around the world, but we also work hard to be a good corporate citizen in the countries and communities where we operate," Mackenzie states. Intels key interest is in high quality education from kindergarten through higher education. "We believe that the key to a productive workforce and vibrant communities worldwide," he adds. To accomplish its advocacy on education, and other audience-led programs, Intel has corporate and regional, as well as local public affairs team. In the Philippines for example, site public affairs and communications manager set local agenda.
Many practitioners and case writers consider the basic tenets of Intel communications worldwide as best practices that should be emulated. The company believes in an open style, and that good press relation is the outcome of good policy. It strongly believes that it has an obligation to respond in a proper and timely manner, and that truth should be told about their endeavors every time.
"Intel Philippines is an important part of Intels global operations. And this commitment to continue investing in new markets and hiring local talent will surely help the company better in meeting the needs of the local market and local customers and tap into broader talent pools," Mackenzie emphasized. Amen to that.
E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net for comments and suggestions.
Online culture is, more than anything else, about satisfying our fundamental needs for dialogue, discourse, and debate. Some Internet cafés in a nearby mall may have closed their doors, but new ones are opening up in increasing frequency. Websites, homepages, chat groups, and virtual jam sessions are our new tables and booths, where we are snacking down heaping platters of all things dot.com. Indeed online culture is singularly remarkable for its ability to bring together people who otherwise would never meet.
E-mail symbolism and its chatty, often rambling writing style are changing the very nature of how we communicate at the office and, in turn, making corporate culture less formal. Old-school correspondence ombudsmen are naturally having fits, griping about the need for a beginning, middle, and end, or at least a point. E-mail also raises privacy and ethical issues that technology always brings, especially for workers who wonder how often their bosses monitor their workflow by rubbernecking via e-mail.
Technology and the workplace have always been kissing cousins, but never before have they been as intimately attached and as symbiotically related. "Although technology is largely responsible for breaking the labor fool into two halves, the Information Revolution is also having a socialistic effect on the workplace by giving small business Davids better chances at kicking the shins at corporate Goliaths," the triumvirate asserted. Universal access to cheaper, better hardware and software has made the computer technology the great equalizer, leveling the competitive playing field in many industries.
As speed and agility in the marketplace displace sheer clout as the more effective business strategies, more and more technomorphing mice are making their competitive elephants dance. In fact, faster, more accurate information the key to guerilla marketing tactics has made playing it safe or being risk-averse the most dangerous way to run a business. Technology is also flattening the traditional hierarchical structure, as most companies as CEOs down to mail clerks all become masters of their digital domains.
Its a $30 billion global corporation that gets widespread coverage, with its highly recognizable trademarks Intel, Intel Inside, Pentium as major projection platforms. The company puts premium on its communications efforts, maintaining strategic relationships with the press and industry analysts worldwide to deliver products and business messages to the appropriate media outlets. Internally, it keeps employees informed so they can act as Intel ambassadors.
Imagine Mackenzie dealing with 2,388 daily and Sunday papers with a total circulation of 115 million, 1,181 commercial TV stations, 13,476 radio stations and countless websites. Imagine his colleagues in Asia-Pacific coordinating with more than 27,717 media outlets. Correspondents from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are key contributors to the US press, while wire services compete heavily in this region. In fact, Asian Wall Street Journals largest subscriber base is in the US. Comparing these data to the Philippine market, the local communicators connect with nine local broadsheets, six national tabloids, one Manila tabloid, and 106 local newspapers. Add to these a number of trade publications, and campus and lifestyle publications.
Many practitioners and case writers consider the basic tenets of Intel communications worldwide as best practices that should be emulated. The company believes in an open style, and that good press relation is the outcome of good policy. It strongly believes that it has an obligation to respond in a proper and timely manner, and that truth should be told about their endeavors every time.
"Intel Philippines is an important part of Intels global operations. And this commitment to continue investing in new markets and hiring local talent will surely help the company better in meeting the needs of the local market and local customers and tap into broader talent pools," Mackenzie emphasized. Amen to that.
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