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April 14, 2008
What’s your cellphone communication strategy?
Yesterday, as I read The New York Times magazine article, "Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?", I was struck once again by how much cellphones are revolutionizing communication—and how many of us who have responsibility for communicating in our organizations aren’t yet prepared for this revolution.
While the article focused on the impact of cellphones on the 3 billion people—mostly poor, mostly in Asia and Africa—who don’t have mobile (or any) phone service, the article made me think of the broader implications of a world in which the dominant communication device fits in your pocket.
Just how significant are cellphones? According to Nokia’s Jan Chipchase, “in an increasingly transitory world, the cellphone is becoming the one fixed piece of our identity.”
Some relevant facts from the article:
- Today, there are more than 3.3 billion mobile-phone subscriptions worldwide.
- According to the market database Wireless Intelligence, it took about 20 years for the first billion mobile phones to sell worldwide. The second billion sold in four years, and the third billion sold in two.
- Eighty percent of the world’s population now lives within range of a cellular network, which is double the level in 2000.
- According to the Internal Telecommunications Union, by the end of 2006, 68 percent of the world’s mobile subscriptions were in developing countries.
And here’s an important thought from article author Sara Corbett: “As cellphone technology grows increasingly sophisticated, it has cannibalized—for better or worse—the technologies that have come before it. Carrying a full-featured cellphone lessens your need for others things, including a watch, an alarm clock, a camera, a video camera, home stereo, television, computer or, for that matter, a newspaper. With the advent of mobile banking, cellphones have begun to replace wallets as well.”
If cellphones are this important—particularly in countries where your company may outsource or offshore manufacturing or service—what is their role in your communication program? Do cellphones have the potential to narrow the gap between wired (tethered to a computer) and nonwired employees? Can cellphones overcome some of your toughest communication challenges, such as access, timing, geography, and interaction?
I urge you to read the article, but, even more importantly, to think about the potential of cellphones in your work.
Posted by Alison Davis at April 14, 2008 10:54 AM