Electronic Communication

We live in an electronically networked and wired world. Electronic communication allows people to exchange and share conversations, documents, graphics, images, location maps, photographs and many others. The use of electronic technology has enabled people more access to worldwide communication at the touch of a key, from within the confines of homes and working spaces.

Gone are the days when communication solely depended on telephones and telegraph messages via Morse codes. Radio communication has already been in use for a few centuries; battles and wars fought earlier used extensive radio and signaling communications that would convey information and urgent messages through a network of codes. But those had severe limitations because of distance, clarity and equipment features.

Ever since the Internet brought the world closer, networking brought people at different locations closer without actually bridging physical presence. This opened a world of possibilities like never before.

Electronic communication is useful in many ways. Its most obvious usefulness is as a powerful new communication channel that is still evolving and creating newer and newer ways to encourage communication between groups of people, various groups of individuals in a corporate firm, social groups and associations from country to country and many more possibilities.

Advantages

There are many, depending upon the user, but from both personal and professional perspectives they can be classified roughly as: Global operational management of businesses. Instant feedback or exchange. Low cost, saving time and money. Speedy and quick transmission. Wider coverage.

However, that is not to say that electronic communication is not without its drawbacks or limitations

Disadvantages

• Cost of development – investments for infrastructural development are huge; frequent changes and newer advancements make for equipment become obsolete faster
• Data volume – the sheer volume of electronic information makes it a virtually impossible task to absorb information in real time or within specified time limits
• Dependency – rapidly advancing technology poses affordability challenges to people and countries who have to depend largely on other networking facilities to remain connected
• Legal status – distortion or loss of electronic data has ‘zero value’ especially in legal matters
• Undelivered data – if data does not match with the set standards, it can be lost completely making retrieval difficult or impossible at times