Nov
2020
Module 2: The Influence of Technology on Society
It is undeniable that technology plays a major role in how organisations function within our society. Social media in particular enables organisations to promote business, advertise, and interact directly with clients. Technology has permitted these activities to function beyond the time restrictions of the organisation’s operating hours, allowing the economy to flourish. Along with technology advancements, many job roles have been created to support the harnessing of these tools such as social media analysts, experts, strategists, as well as the creation of global agencies supporting the movement. One example is We Are Social – a group of more than 850 “social thinkers” who believe in the power of social insight to drive business value and work with clients such as Adidas, Netflix, and Amazon (https://wearesocial.com/au/). Any google search will also bring up a variety of social media agencies designed to market and manage platforms for organisations.
Today, organisations need to acknowledge the importance of technology and learn how to harness it correctly. As this was not a consideration previously, businesses run a great risk of failing to thrive if they do not keep up with advancements and take advantage of reaching a greater audience through the internet. Another issue to consider with technological shifts is the timing of investment and implementation. According to Adner and Kapoor (2016), “some technologies and enterprises seem to take off overnight, others take decades to unfold” which can understandably lead to a lot of hesitation from the organisation’s point of view. Not knowing when such transition should occur leads to the fear of being ready too late and missing the boat, or being ready too soon and exhausting resources before the technology revolution begins (Adner & Kapoor, 2016).
An additional consideration for organisations is how to appropriately engage on social media, as one incorrect step can lead to reputational damage that may be irreversible. Posting and sharing on social platforms has a lot of positive benefits as mentioned previously, but it can also have severe consequences to a business if something is leaked or spread amongst users. Even once this original post is deleted, there remains the capability of users to save or screenshot data/photos/videos. Organisations need to consider training staff on how to conduct posts and interactions via these tools to ensure success and sustainability. Privacy is also a massive concern for organisations, given the ability for information to be disseminated so rapidly with the use of technology.
In 2020, The Educause Horizon Report identified key upcoming trends in educational technology including elevation of instructional design, adaptive learning technologies, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (Educause, 2020). Providing insight into the future of technology advances, it is inevitable that innovation will continue at a fast pace, and organisations will be required to adapt and evolve to remain relevant in society.
Photo by Rami Al-zayat on Unsplash
References
Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2016). Right tech, wrong time. Harvard Business Review, 94(11), p. 60-67.
Educause. (n.d). 2020 Educause Horizon Report – Teaching and Learning Edition.
411ninja
January 10, 2021 at 10:42 pm (4 years ago)I found this post had an interesting take on the influence of technology on society. Of course it makes sense that business could expand their hours, and jobs would be created, but it not really what I think of. I appreciate your insight and the fact that your post gave me a different perspective.
Tess
January 15, 2021 at 7:19 am (4 years ago)Hi Amy, this is an interesting reflection on the influence of technology on society. Organisations and businesses have to tread such a fine line with their social media presence, as you point out. Devising content is a challenge, and getting their timing right is also so important. There have been a number of recent misfires when companies have launched particular campaigns without consideration of recent events. One piece of advertising that springs to mind is that Pepsi / Kendall Jenner commercial released during the first wave of Black Lives Matter protests – so tone deaf! I know this was not only social media but mainstream media too, but it failed abysmally across all platforms!