What an infographic from We Are Social.
It’s amazing the ways we can communicate nowadays: Twitter – 180 characters now, blog posts on our website, vlog on your own Youtube channel. Virtual technology is steaming ahead into the 21st Century and small business owners have to at least consider keeping up.
I’m a bit of a fence-sitter in general and to my mind there are definite pros and cons about this. Finding out what’s on at the cinema without a newspaper and not having to wait till the end of the film to place that actor who you can’t quite remember are two little perks. Being able to work more flexibly – from home or anywhere there’s a decent internet connection is something to be celebrated, especially for those with family or other commitments who otherwise may not be able to work at fixed times and set locations.
Unfortunately, that very ease of contact means more and more leisure time is being eaten by the invasion of the mobile and tablet armies. Ipads, tablets, laptops, smartphones all conspiring to gradually invade your friend and family time. Or even just plain old watching the TV time. I also have a terrible tendency to book a trip online and only then read the Tripadvisor reviews, torture myself and everyone around me with “what ifs?” until we get there.
However, in my line of business it’s a definite perk – being able to help companies without taking up their office space and managing my own time to provide the best possible service is only achievable with modern email, internet and file sharing services. And I still get the perk of meeting people in person with a cup of tea, and hopefully a biscuit! Best of both worlds.