It's an eWorld After All

With inarguable certainty, if you are reading this blog you are probably reading it on some form of electronic device. Perhaps a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. This era of pulling out your tablet in an airport or being consumed by a mobile device at a coffee shop is becoming the norm. It's a fast and furious world we live in where we expect information to be sent and received instantaneously. We literally are addicted to our devices.  Whether it is checking the instant feedback we get on social media, what the temperature is in our house, outside our house or even in Beijing, or that growing number of emails we have; our devices are constantly vying for our attention.

Email is an example of how our communication methods evolved into the electronic world, all thanks to one man who had an idea. Ray Tomlinson was a pioneering American computer programmer who implemented the first email program. His first email, sent in 1971 was a test message from one computer to another, while the machines were sitting side-by-side. At first, his email message system was not considered important by him or others, as he had only pursued it because "it seemed like a neat idea." Now, roughly 47 years after that "neat idea," within a couple of seconds, you can send a piece of mail electronically to almost anywhere on the globe.

Electronic platforms play a role in nearly every move we make. We have eLearning, eCommerce, eBooks, eSports, eDistribution, eProcurement, ePrescribing (eRX), eVoting, even eWaste! Everything that is anything seems to have an "e" in front of it.   As for my role here at GROWMARK, I am focused on eLearning. I use specialized software to create complex, interactive web-based training programs you can take with you anywhere you go. You can take a one-hour online course at home on your phone instead of attending a half-day program that may require transportation and other costs to attend. eLearning opens up the world of possibilities to make it easy for anyone to grow their knowledge, skills and abilities with any given amount of time that is available.
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So next time you are waiting for a flight, your coffee, or picking up your kids from practice, consider using that time and your technology to learn.  And then, when you are done, you can eFile your taxes and check your investments on E*TRADE, or whatever other "e" action you want to take.  The real "e" word behind all of this is: embrace it. The "e" is here to stay; anything less than electronic seems archaic. ​
 
By: Rhonda Catalino