We had some snow overnight that melted in the morning sun. The wind was fierce at times and made it feel much colder than it actually was out there. My afternoon was filled with online meetings. The first had platform glitches that required me to remake a meeting invitation five times! Bizarre. We did manage to get connected, though. The second was an online focus group for development of new strategic directions for an organization. It was interesting to hear the ideas of others and build upon them as a small group.
A virtual environment seems to work very well for small group gatherings. I used some of the early versions of software to meet with research participants as groups and for individual interviews. Focus groups work very well with this technology, particularly since the recording feature is now built into most platforms. That means less messing around with getting the phone to record or <gasp> having to use old audio recorders. Often such recording formats failed or parts of conversations were missed when tapes had to be switched out or flipped over -- yes, I go back that far <grin>. While not perfect, the newer virtual platforms allow individuals and groups to meet or to attend lectures, classes, conferences and live entertainment events all without travelling. It certainly has expanded the reach by shrinking the world -- making it much more accessible for people in distant remote areas to participate in events that generally have been available only to those in larger centres in the past. I believe this will expand further as we move forward. The pandemic forced the world to find ways to connect by distance and those learnings will help inform the next phases of communications technology and practice.
The selection today was chosen due to the lyrics that speak about being together in an endeavour, much like we have been over the past two years. We've managed together and learned together and now we continue to build together. Keep safe. Enjoy!
We're All in this Together -- High School Musical Cast
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