Bandwidth

Bandwidth, we think, is always about bottlenecks. The amount of information we can get ‘out there’ and its speed create bottlenecks that, we imagine, were they to be solved for would allow us to achieve more with less effort, gain more faster, and just increase everything we do at lower cost.

Yet, that isn’t quite as true as may think it is. Every change we experience, however beneficial, creates a fresh reality that comes complete with its own unique set of problems. Imagine, for a moment, the level of almost uncontrolled happiness initially experienced in boardrooms when the advent of the internet and the initial experience of websites provided a “24/7 commercial presence” for a company and provided the means to make money round the clock.

And then imagine, also, the consternation felt and the explanations that had to be mined when that very same “24/7 commercial presence” did not immediately translate into the promised gains that were expected.

It is always the same: when one set of problems is solved, another set surfaces. How many websites do we encounter still, that think that being professional (which means trustworthy) comes from blunt, emotionless, corporate-speak where being “customer-centric” and providing a “world-class service” in a “value for money” way are seen as being the clincher that should convert every visitor to a paying customer? The figures, for those who understand these things, patently prove this is not the case.

Bandwidth is not the problem. It never really was. But the ability to solve it has helped us forget that the importance of what we occlude every time we communicate with our target audience is equal to what we choose to include.

What do you think?