#1: Texting in Social Situations

Response to: mwardcommunications - Texting in Social Situations

If texting involves one person communicating with another, doesn't that make texting it's own social situation? Maybe the real question is: is it rude to talk to somebody in person while you're texting?

Just kidding.

Yeah, I actually find it rude to text while somebody's talking to you, but it really depends on the situation. Like if  I was at some kind of party, and nobody was talking to me, I would start texting my friends, but if I was having an actual face-to-face conversation with a person, I would prefer that neither of us be texting. Texting while having an actual conversation is like saying that a cellphone is more valuable than a person. And even if you do think that texting is more important than the person you're talking to, it's rude to show it.

Yes texting's very convenient, but it's not as fun as actually talking, because you can't hear the persons tone of voice. Technology has been developed to make communication more convenient , but it has also been making older forms of communication obsolete. People used to be able to communicate without cellphones and now they're basic necessities in everyday life.

Like I said before, if you're talking to somebody and texting at the same time, you're basically saying that texting is more important than the person you're talking to. Unless the person you're texting is more important than the person you're talking to; like the prime minister. Or if it's some kind of emergency text like if your friend texts you and says, "Angelica's water just broke and she needs new pants." OR if the person texting you is important and has an emergency like, "Abby, this is the prime minister. A building is on fire and we need your super human ability to put it out. Oh yeah, and this lady's water just broke, she needs new pants." Even if that does happen to be the situation, you should tell the person that you're talking to that there's an emergency and you need to concentrate on texting. Which leads me to...

Five Etiquette Texting Rules:

1. Don't text while having a face-to-face conversation. Even if you think texting is more important than the person you're talking to. Unless you don't care if people think you have no manners...
2. If you're texting an important person, or a person with an emergency, or an important person with an emergency, make sure the person you're talking to is aware of that. That way you can leave immediately, and the person won't take it the wrong way.
3. Don't text more people than you can handle. It just creates more problems for you and the quality of your texts decreases
4. If you  wake up and find that you have a text that was sent to you hours before you woke up, respond anyways. It's better to let the person know that you were sleeping instead of just letting them think that you're ignoring them.
5. Don't send spam. That's just annoying.

#2: Career Mashing

Career Mash introduced me to different areas of work that involve technology, but I think that the area I could work best in is the Problem Solving area. This area is responsible for fixing and answering questions about technology, as well as setting up technological systems. An example of a worker in this area would be those working with tech support.

Those working as tech support agents are expected to provide assistance, and give advice to customers about their computer systems. They are also expected to give thorough instructions in order to teach the customer how to effectively use their operating systems. Most importantly they should be able to install and uninstall equipment efficiently. The website states that jobs in this area are for people who have strong communication skills, are computer literate, work well under stress, are reliable, and have much knowledge of wiring and computer connections. Most tech support agents have bachelors/associate degrees, college diplomas/certification, or gain experience from vocational studies in the field of computer science.

An example of a person working as a tech support agent/IT support specialist is Marc Assaf, he works as a customer solutions engineer at Bell Canada. He was involved in a project for Loto-Quebec in 2008, which lasted about a year and a half. It included designing a solution to connect 8000 terminals across the province. At Bell Canada he works to solve problems for commercial customers, like banks. To get to where he is today, Assaf graduated from Polytechnique Montreal with a degree in computer engineering. He connected with Bell in his final year of University and has worked there since. He returned to school part-time in 2005, entered the MBA program at HEC Montreal, and graduated in 2007 with his MBA. Assaf comments on 'Why This Job Rocks',

"There are so many opportunities at Bell Canada. If you like telecommunications you will find a place at Bell."