I bought my first laptop, a Toshiba Satellite 110 CS, back in 1996. It possessed an 11,3" STN colour screen with a resolution of 800 x 600 and a 100 MHz processor “for all those lavish presentations and complex programs” - like it was mentioned in the product brochure. It had a Windows 95 operating system and an 810 million byte hard disk drive.
“Isn't that the sort of storage you've always dreamt about? At last, enough space for all your vital data and software programs - and they're mobile too!” – someone could read in the product brochure. In our days, it looks like a museum item, but it was huge at that time, and having it gave me a feeling like being Captain James Tiberius Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise.
New technology is often received with equal degrees of excitement and fear when it is introduced for the first time. The telegraph sped up communication between people and organisations in the 1830s, like it is the case today with internet. It was at the time "to metamorphose business practice, give rise to new forms of crime, and overwhelm its users with a deluge of information," as Tom Standage notes in his book about the telegraph, The Victorian Internet.
In 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the web while working at the CERN. Back in the 80s, even the simple concept of documents which could be hyperlinked was hard to understand.
In April 2016, I published the book Powerful Online Communication including 51 recommendations for a powerful digital communication. It is intended to help others getting the most out of their digital communication and more happy clients and stakeholders.
This book is about how to manage your online reputation and how to become the first thought in your stakeholder's mind. It focuses on the challenges of building trust in the digital age and includes practical advice. It is intended for readers with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and from different corporate and organisational levels.
It is also designed for individuals that want to have powerful insights on the most significant roles of digital communication. It will help you to understand how to use the internet in a fruitful, secure and efficient way for yourself and your organisation.
I'm managing director of StP Communications, a European consultancy solely focused on helping organisations get value from communicating about their craft. You can follow me on @StPapagianneas
The book is available here