Why do we communicate?

With so many advanced tools out there, it’s easy to think of communications technology as something we’ve always had. We wake up in the morning, and there’s yet another social media platform to learn about.

Books are written to show us why we should use them, and how we can best use them for… sharing content, making money, spreading knowledge, promoting music and making people laugh with clever pictures of cats.

It should be amazing.

Furthermore, what must it have been like when we woke in the morning and there was no such thing as social media? There was no radio, no television, no telegraph. If we wanted to know what was happening in the world, we had to hike down to the nearest general store and buy a newspaper. To make our own voice heard, we had to write to that paper, or step onto the nearest soapbox.

Today, we can simply post a random thought to a social site and hundreds, or thousands, of people will see it. Maybe more. We can easily take that for granted.

Imagine how ‘viral’ it must have felt when a few people stopped in front of your soapbox to listen.

Imagine how amazing it was the day people realized they could project their voices across rivers, states, and continents.

Imagine waking up in the morning to be overwhelmed by new technology, to see your way of life shifting before your eyes.

When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, that’s exactly what happened. For the first time, sounds could be recorded and reproduced, storing speeches, lessons, music and news reports for posterity. Content. People thought it was magic. The potential for such technology was endless.

And it still is. Today we have the ability to lean toward our notebook computer screen and make a video recording. We can use that recording for sharing ideas, spreading knowledge, asking questions, exploring, or just joking around. We probably think nothing of it. We know it’s not magic, but the technology beneath modern communications tools is nothing short of amazing.

That’s why we have the Edison Awards to remind us that amazement is never far away. This is an annual award given by Edison Universe, an organization dedicated to innovation. The Edison Awards recognize technological advancements that, in the spirit of Thomas Edison, shift the ground beneath our feet and change the way we do things forever.

That’s why KnowledgeVision is extremely proud to be a finalist for the Edison Award in Content Management. The company is recognized for its KVTrack content analytics features, an ingenious way to measure how viewers engage with online presentation content.

The Edison Awards remind us that even though we’re no longer limited to soapboxes, we can still wake up every day to be amazed and astounded by a world that has completely changed.

To be inspired. That’s what innovation is all about.

Originally published on The KnowledgeVision Fresh Ideas Blog.