Applying technology to provide easy access for societal dialog has the promise of peer-to-peer co-creation of knowledge and rapid consensus solution-building. Today's technology holds the promise of quickly connecting problem solvers with problems, converting actionable knowledge into value that transforms the world.
Back in October 1971, an engineer (who I knew when we both went to a small high school in Upstate New York during the late 1950s) named Ray Tomlinson chose the '@' symbol for email addresses and wrote software to send the first network email.At the time, it must not have seemed very important because Ray didn't bother to save that first message or even record the exact date.Ray Tomlinson has been called the father of email because he invented the software that allowed messages to be sent between computers.Ray made it possible to swap messages between machines in different locations; between universities, across continents, and oceans.At the time, he was working for Boston-based Bolt, Beranek and Newman, which was helping to develop Arpanet, the forerunner of the modern Internet.
Now, over 46 years later email messages are a large part of our lives in today's network society and I bet you can't remember the first e-mail message you ever sent?
At Ray's 50th Broadalbin High School reunion, I told Ray that I forgave him for all those emails that end up in my mail box every day. He enjoyed the joke.
However, while email and the Internet have "changed everything" in the way we work and communicate, many are finding that reading and answering email messages can consume too much time; time we would rather spend doing something else. Wouldn't it be great if we could harness the good parts of email communication and do away with the bad parts?
Today, a number of emails strengthen relationships, build careers, enhance influence through effective online communication.
Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, the author of "Before You Hit Send", tells us, "There came a point in my life when I realized I wanted to be an effective communicator. Not just on stage or in public, but in all areas of my life. Over four decades ago I discovered principles that created a lifelong framework that brought me freedom. I've written this book to share these insights because effective communicators are needed today more than ever."
"Before You Hit Send" is all about what to do instead of sending that impulsive communication so you can actually say what needs to be said in a way that increases the odds of being heard and increasing your influence.
Source: Dr. Emerson Eggerichs: Before You Hit Send: Preventing Headache and Heartache