Volume 7, no. 13 - Colbond Geosynthetics

Column
“The world
changes rapidly”
is an observation that is probably as
old as the world itself. Progress, as a
result of change, has widened people’s
horizon and made the world
increasingly accessible. Fifty years ago
a journey from Europe to Asia took
three weeks by boat. This was the only
means of conveyance to travel there at
the time. My first flight to Asia, some
20 years ago, took about 24 hours.
Today’s non-stop flights only require
half of that time.
Communications between the
continents show a similar pattern.
The days of forwarding letters by boat
do not lie far behind us.
Airmail was quite an improvement, not
to mention telex.
The latter provided a more direct
contact, though various steps were
needed between writing the message
and its receipt received by the
addressee. Different time zones were
additional time obstacles.
The fax machine offered new
possibilities and quickly evolved from a
relative ‘time-consuming’
communication tool to a convenient
and widely used facility.
Highly advanced yesterday, today the
fax is obsolete and virtually
superseded by the almost unlimited
possibilities of electronic mail.
Texts, pictures, sounds - you name it -
everything can be transmitted via email
in a jiffy. And, thanks to cell phones
everybody can be reached, whenever
and wherever.
Additionally, the electronic highway has evolved from a cumbersome and
rather unreliable novelty into the backbone of many a firm’s communications
and information systems.
The advantages are numerous and the impact of progress on the modern
business environment is undeniable.
Does all this make us happier, and does it really improve the quality of work
and communications?
Yes, it actually does, at least as long as it is used properly.
A tool should never be used as a target in itself.
The proper use of a tool always requires a certain discipline. The new tools
are no exception to this rule.
Communication remains what is, a process by which information is
exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs
or behavior. The system may change, the principle, however, does not.
Finding over 150 emails after returning from a couple of days out of the office
does not have anything to do with communications. It is frustration caused by
overkill resulting from the unlimited forwarding of information.
We, users of the system, all have our own responsibility in making it work the
way it was meant to.
This not only implies for better-targeted communications at the right time and
with the right frequency but it also means that communication efforts should
be placed into the right perspective by comparing the usefulness of
conventional media with electronic ones. This could very well result in
reconsideration of an established approach.
Could the role of such printed communication tools as brochures, data sheets
and magazines partly or entirely be taken over by an electronic alternative?
Colbond Geosynthetics already successfully provides a substantial part of its
information via the Internet and on CD-Rom.
Could this also be extended to our magazine Geosynthetics News?
Would the advantages outweigh the limitations?
Anticipating the future obviously involves careful consideration of all ‘pros’
and ‘cons.’
The world changes, people change, communication changes.
Whether Geosynthetics News will be changed and how, is still subject to
reflection. We will keep you posted.
Wim Voskamp
Colbond Geosynthetics News 13 - 2002
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