The Web and Communication

by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media

I was reminded this week that it had been a long time since I’ve posted a blog, and, indeed, when I checked the date I had found out that it had been more than a year. I did a little self-assessment of why I hadn’t posted for so long had to admit that it was because I thought I was talking to myself.

It’s been a busy year for me with new opportunities arising all the time. Being self-employed and working on the web has both pitfalls and rewards. I’ve found that although it’s hard work that takes not only dedication and self-discipline, it also takes a certain stubbornness and refusal to accept what sometimes amounts to reality.

I’ve discovered that although I can’t see them, people are looking at me and assessing me as a professional all the time. It’s a humbling thought to think that our workspace and play space has been combined, but this is the reality for most of us. Whether we work at a home office, for a corporation or organization, the Internet has brought our worlds together. It should, but doesn’t always, make us more cautious about what we disclose and how we go about it. The news (online of course) is filled with stories telling us about yet another government employee who gets in trouble with a personal blog or a corporate worker who gets caught Tweeting at a bad moment.

It might be a little frightening to think we’re alone only to find out the world is peaking in at us, but I find it oddly comforting too. When I got an email from an unexpected source who said he recognized my name and appreciated my blogs, I looked up my website statistics for the past few months. While I was busy working on various projects and building my career, the hits on my site were growing every month. Even though I solicit a sizable amount of work from my site, it somehow seemed anonymous. It seemed like no one was home.

So back to the title of this blog: The Web and Communication. The truth is that none of us is anonymous out there in this new frontier. People are watching; we are communicating, and we get to choose how to communicate. We get to shape our realities, re-invent ourselves, destroy or develop our relationships, build our lives and mold our futures. Just like in real life, we are always communicating.

Thanks for the reminder, Jim.

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