Making Online Work for You

“Come on, Cheryl , do you really think I can switch online?

How am I’m going to make it work? I have no clue which app, what technology or how can I just suddenly just make that switch overnight.”

Shifting Online? Is it really possible?

I’m sure for the last few weeks, such conversations have become a norm among educators, perhaps trainers and basically anyone who is trying to using the online medium to reach out to their audiences.

So, what does it really take to switch online?

Is it the tools you use?

Learning the platforms that will best suit your interest to conduct your sessions?

Perhaps interactive elements that you can integrate for higher engagement?

Or is it about the "human" conducting these sessions?

What truly matters when you are deciding to go online to train or to teach?

For most that have relied solely on physical workshop, classes, seminars and others, making that shift online can’t be easy. After my session with Vyasa on “Conversations that Matter” where I spoke about 3 Fun Technologies that can be Used, we realized that the session opened up a floodgate of questions, in the minds of many, when it comes to this shift.

How can I too shift online and make it work?

But are we missing the point here....

Are we focusing to focus on the medium , so much so that it crippling our ability to make this work?

Is it really, just about the medium? Is the medium the message? Is online the message?

An important communication percept as he called it, Marshall McLuhan coined “Medium is the Message long before his published book “Medium is the Massage ‘[A typo that kind of worked out well in the end]. Our ability to understand his message has the possibility of revolutionizing the way you can approach the whole idea of online teaching and learning.

“Environments are not just containers, but are processes that change the content totally.”

(Marshall McLuhan, Address at Vision 65.’ Transcript of a talk at the International Center for the Communication Arts and Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, October 23, 1965) (numerous reprints)

Referring to the medium, McLuhan talked about how the medium works in tandem with the content, that can change the way we perceive the message completely.

So let’s break it down.

Does the medium we use matter?

Yes, it certainly does, as it has the ability to transform how we look at the message.

So let's take a simple conceptualized of the idea by Jason Gross, a web designer, that I will re-purpose to illustrate my point;

Gross used the idea of a deep well in a vast desert to describe the medium or the “environment”. To relate it back to our discussion, let’s imagine this deep well as a Zoom session and the water in the well as our message.

He further describes the well as the main hub of travel routes and its contribution to a sustainable population. Without the well, the water itself would not be able to sustain its purpose to reach the necessary person, in the quantity or quality desired.

If people were not aware of its existence or it wasn’t accessible [say you have water but no means of giving it or containing for others to use], it cannot and will not be able to support life.

So say for example with the best training materials or being the best lecturer in Marketing would not mean very much if people were not able to access those expertise/training etc or if they didn’t know it existed- how that will you support your audience?

Let’s go back to the well. The well now delivers water for the people that pass through and those who live nearby. Now, the well is no longer just a hole in the ground but becomes synonymous with water and life. It symbolizes hope in a vast desert.

So if the medium [ say online if we look at it generally], is without the water [the message with delivery] is just as Jason says- a hole in the ground. So if you don't breathe life into that well, it just stays there as a container, something to hold your water [your message] but it doesn't go beyond that.

So don’t get me wrong when I say anyone can shift online. The question is:

What do you want that class or session to represent?

Will you shift it from just being a container to something that changes how they absorb that message you are sending out?

Do you want your online facilitation to lift people up to empower others?

To breathe life or meaning into people's businesses?

When shifting online, what you have to remember is that "online medium" has the possibility of reach. that no other mass media possibly can. As educators, we are able to utilize tools, create experiences and build communities as a result of these amazing medium or environment we can use.

But without us adding that human factor into it, the medium or as Jason says the well, is merely is merely a hole in the ground.

It's like Linkedin.

Why does it work so well for some?

·      Garnering them loyal and sustainable followers?

·      Getting interesting collaboration for projects you can only imagine?

·      Increasing traction of their business deals and services

·      Generating ideas that move on to profiting businesses

The question here is, Are we utilizing the tools that is provided by the platform [Linked In] ?

Are we creating experiences [ does it support life]?

Do people follow you because you are entrepreneur or because you inspire them to take action you empower them?

Does your well [Linked In] become synonymous with water [your message] and life, despite just being a social media platform to place your content? 

Without your content, your engagement with others on LinkedIn, it just a website [a hole in the ground].

With the Covid Pandemic, the Internet has become the medium of choice in every way [whether for you its Netflix, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Zoom, Youtube, Facebook etc] with people watching Youtube tutorials, live shows or webinars to learn, using TikTok)

Why do all these mediums stand out even more now during this pandemic? It is not because it is merely a social media, it has always been a social media. Let's take the example of Tick Tock that now has 800 million active users.

Why has it increased drastically?

It’s because of the Tik Tok is now synonym with value of interconnectivity, it makes most people feel connected to each other especially at a time that everyone is confined to their homes worldwide.

These tools, trends of creating videos are a part of the medium, but they are only a complementary feature- to the message you are sending out. But don't be mistaken, it doesn't mean that we should not take time in designing, prepping up, building on the design of the platform/app/ to work in tandem with the message we are delivering.

So my message to you aspiring tech users who are also educators, if you want to fulfill your purpose as an educator, you have to go far beyond just the message but effectively use the tools and in this present time- get uncomfortable to maximize the use of these online based tools, learn how to make it interactive and engaging not just in terms of the design of your class or training but also how it is delivered. That is where the tone, shape, design and delivery will all come together to make your online shift work!

If you want to learn more about how to make this shift work for you or your company, please feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn so we can explore this further.

Also watch out for a free-hour long training that I will be conducting with Vyasa soon.