Page 3 - EngineerIT September 2022

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK

There will never be a

“New Normal”

ver the past year there was much conversation As all Covid restrictions were recently removed,
about the “New Normal”. I too have written there was an outcry of joy that we could all go
Oabout it and shared my views what the “New back to the office, attend functions, launches and
Normal” would look like. But how wrong have we all seminars, only to find that a new bug had hit us,

not been? There will never be a “normal”. The world the petrol price and cost of travel. We soon dealt
has moved into a time warp, a period where nothing is with this, the hybrid events. Yes, it was a challenge
the same and where everything is subject to change at a but technology had developed enough to make it
moment’s notice. work. So now I can choose to travel to an event or
attend it virtually.
It is however not all negative. The new situation we
find the world in has it upturns. It has taught us not to I must admit that we still have a lot to learn
sit back and just let things happen. The dream of the about video meetings, hybrid meetings and
Europeans that cheap energy supplies would last for even in-person events. The main issue remains

ever was smashed by one man. The lesson is clear, do around how to present the message, how to
not take everything for granted. We must be agile in engage the audience meaningfully and how to
our thinking and continue to explore how can we do it physically involve participants even if they sit in
better tomorrow. front the screen. I have often heard people say:
this was a great presentation and he was such
The Covid-19 pandemic was a wake-up call. We an entertaining speaker. So, what did he say …
started thinking, not only outside the box, but also eeh, he said we should think more about digital
around it. What was the most amazing for me was transformation and stuff like that!
how quickly we took to online video meetings within
weeks of being locked down, when for the past decade So the new hybrid era has arrived, challenging us
companies had been trying to sell video conferencing every kilometre of the way. Can we call it the era

with very limited uptake. of hybridism, giving a new meaning to the word?
Or should we call it the “New Hybrid World”.
For years companies were urged to allow working from
home for categories of occupations where it would be Enjoy this edition of EngineerIT, on line as a PDF or
feasible. Bosses resisted it, they wanted bums on seats so as a flipbook!
they could see that employees were “working”! I trust
that those bosses have learned that it is about output Greetings from the new hybrid world!
and not whether you are sitting at your desk or not. But
for some the penny has not yet dropped as they install Hans van de Groenendaal

every possible bit of software to monitor all keystrokes Hansv@nowmedia.co.za
employees make, just to ensure they are “working”! 082 781 4631

EngineerIT | September 2022 | 1