Going online and how…

A recent book, “Online Communication Strategies For Managers”, discusses the need to go online while taking adequate precautions

December 17, 2014 04:56 pm | Updated 04:56 pm IST

Smeeta Mishra

Smeeta Mishra

The book, “Online Communication Strategies For Managers” by Smeeta Mishra and Mathukutty M. Monippally, despite the title, is bound to interest general readers too and not without reasons. The new digital world created by the internet is inhabited by technology-enabled netizens who are used to e-mail, e-commerce, instant messaging and video chat as mere life routines. Each user, including organisations, has an online identity which has to be cultivated and managed skilfully and hence the book will have an universal appeal.

Divided into 10 chapters, the book, published by (McGraw Hill Education (India) Pvt. Ltd.), deals with managing online identities, global virtual teams, email, professional networking on LinkedIn, blogging basics, Twitter, Facebook, the role of social media in crisis communication, men and women and online communication and digital ethics.

Talking about the objectives of the book, Smeeta points out that it is aimed for those “who are good at operating the online technologies and devices but may not be great at communicating. Operating the device is not same as communicating with it. Nimbleness in operating relevant devices does not guarantee competence in communication.” The book can also be useful for people who want to maintain their privacy while being online apart from cautioning youngsters — the avid users of various online platforms — and make them realise that everything should not be posted online. “We want to guide readers to discover the boundary, balance and line where they can be comfortable going online at the same time maintaining their privacy. In fact, there are many who do not have a presence online due to the fear of privacy invasion. Further, young people post everything and anything. They ought to remember that digital footprints are forever and their prospective employers could always look up Facebook, Linkedin, etc. before making a decision on employing them.”

The book, which took the duo two years to write, is replete with data and research findings. “We did not want to author a book that is superficial. Hence, we culled out a lot of international research and linked it to Indian context. We also conducted a survey among the alumni of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to garner their experiences about communication and its related aspects, professional networking, online identities and anecdotes,” says the co-writer. “We spoke to several chief executive officers for their insights to link academia and industry and reflect the latter’s views,” she adds “in order to infuse it with real life experiences and avoid making the book seem dry. The section on ‘Can you make money from blogging’ is a case in point.”

Highlighting the challenges on writing “Online Communication...”, Smeeta explains, “Social media keeps changing so fast that we had to keep updating our text continuously. For example, Orkut which was doing well in India did not do so later. Further, the dynamics between the different social media platforms also keeps modifying though the basic fundamentals of communication remains the same irrespective of which medium is popular.”

Though verbal and visual communication is as old as human history, the online method is different in some ways. “It is quick. Both good and bad news go viral. Secondly, it entails real time and simultaneous engagement, that is, people respond as one writes.” Having pointed this, Smeeta adds, “The essentials of communication remain same. You have to understand the person you are communicating with –– have empathy with him/her. It is more difficult online than face-to-face interaction which provides you instant feedback in the form of reactions of the person.”

Monippally, who until recently was the professor of communication at IIM-Ahmedabad, and Smeeta, associate professor in business communication at Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, collaborated a lot online. “It not only tested what we were writing about but we also learned in the process,” she reveals. Interestingly, the retired academic is her mentor. “He is not a digital or social media native and because of our age difference, we had different observations, perspectives and opinions about the subject. Despite that, it added strength to our writing. Our discussions and arguments enriched the book and made it diverse and robust,” she remarks.

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