Thanks to modern technology, the old methods of communication (think snail mail and home telephone lines) are quickly becoming extinct and are being replaced with text messages, social networking and email.
These new technologies and tools facilitate tangible worldwide connections that expand business opportunities and eliminate geographic limitations via real-time communications.
However, while modern technology touches all aspects of our lives - from healthcare to sales and everything in between - we now find ourselves balancing upon a thin line between technological convenience and the demise of person-to-person connections.
By its very nature technology is task-oriented and impersonal, and when not used properly, puts us in danger of losing essential human connections.
It has been said that a person is six times more likely to retain information when it is given with visual and oral elements.
So much of what we present is more than just words; our body language, reactions and gestures are all crucial to forging, strengthening and enhancing connections with others.
That being said, in the current market there is a gap between communications technology and our personal learning needs.
This has led us to try and bridge the gap by supplementing our need for personal connections with various technological tools to create a rewarding online social experience.
In order to remain successful, it is imperative that future communications solutions evolve from basic tools to valuable online experiences that fuel each of our learning centers - visual and oral - taking technology from a necessary yet impersonal convenience and developing it into a personal and efficient way to connect.
Audio, video and web conferencing aid us in conducting online presentations and training sessions.
File sharing aids us in virtual collaboration.
Blogs give us an inside view of the writer's ideas and opinions.
Twitter and Facebook allow us to communicate our interests and parts of our personal lives.
YouTube offers shared videos.
All of these tools connect us to the world in their own unique way.
Prior to the launch of PGi iMeet, multiple tools were needed to connect on an audible, visual, and personal level that rivals in-person meetings.
PGi iMeet unites collaborating, listening, sharing, video and social interaction with face-to-face communication in real time to help you create personal connections in an increasingly virtual world.
Hear - video in presentations, listen to messages and everyone speak in real time - wherever they are See - each participant receives their own personal "cube" that glows green when they are speaking.
View active presentations, videos, spreadsheets, PDFs and slides.
Chat with all participants or just a few, you decide.
Learn - each person's "cube" provides personal information, such as their location, favorite things, pictures, even links to their personal social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
You can also customize your virtual meeting room by personalizing the name, background, etc.