Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

Hello there, my name is Owen Perry. I’m new to the Yellow Dawg team here in Victoria, BC. Over the next little while I’ll be bringing you stories about interesting trends in the web design business and how Yellow Dawg is continually trying to improve value for their customers.

-------------------------------------

Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

       Having worked in the Systems and Technology division of Canada’s largest telecommunications company, I certainly know useful email can be. On the flip side, however, I also know what it’s like to be up to your neck in it. In fact, I vividly remember a point during a major system release where I sat motionless, gazing in awe as a steady stream of new email populated my inbox in an almost intravenous-like fashion. Was there substance behind every single message? Of course not. Most of them were minute-by-minute updates from our PMO team, or contained impertinent information from adjacent departments having absolutely nothing to do with the projects at hand.

        I guess the point I’m trying to make here is this: while it’s clear that email occupies an ever more pivotal role in our daily communications, it can often be a little overwhelming.  And this, in turn, brings up a important question: is email the best way to communicate your key messages or ideas these days? More tangibly, can you be sure your email will stand-out amongst the hundred or so other emails flooding your client’s inbox? Will they pay attention to what you have to tell them? As of late, the happy elves of YellowDawg.com have been considering just such questions and are busy at work brainstorming new and unique ways the drawbacks of email can be alleviated.

        “Time and time again,” says James Manke, owner of YellowDawg.com, “our most successfully designed websites are those where good communication exists between us and our client.” Exploring ways to augment this vital communication, without bombarding clients with truckloads of requests or approvals via email, is of chief concern. One way James and the team believe they can accomplish this is through a new software called Jing.

        At its root, Jing allows James and the team to instantly capture screen shots or record desktop videos of the projects they’ve been working on for clients. These images and video can then be uploaded to a temporary website where Yellow Dawg clients can view their emerging project and provide direct feedback at a time of their choosing. “It cuts down on email, phone and in-person consultation, yet improves transparency for our clients,” says James, “Clients want to be a part of the creation of their website’s design and functionality. Jing’s ‘Visual conversation’ technology empowers them to do this.”

Watch the official Jing video to learn more about this exciting technology:

http://video.techsmith.com/jing/latest/demo/introvideo/index.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=440&width=640