Digital platforms such as social media, blogs, and podcasts have impacted the way we communicate, work, network, and learn today.
My journey going digital
My social media exposure like many others started almost 15 years ago when Orkut was one of the first social networking websites. I feel that since then I have experimented with different forms of social media without even realizing that it has been closely integrated with multiple aspects of my life, right from using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, to Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and multiple other social applications – some of which stuck, and some unconsciously or consciously phased out.
It is impossible to stay up to date on each and every digital platform – there is literally a new one every week!! The purpose of digital platforms as I see is mainly to consume content, be social and have fun – on your OWN terms.
What I have observed is that the way people consume information has drastically changed with digitalization.
Four years ago I ventured into the blogging space with a blog mainly focused on travel and travel-related topics. Since the pandemic hit us last year, and travel went down, I feel that people have started to “listen” more to content that read. I myself started spending less time reading blogs and consuming more content through audiobooks and podcasts. And this realization was the start of my journey towards becoming a podcast host.
So why did I choose the theme “Digitalization & Diversity?
I have always loved technology, being an engineer by training and through experiences in the tech and consulting sectors. I also realized that I love to talk and listen to stories and personal experiences of people – people I met, people I traveled with, people I connected with… And that is what I wanted my podcast to be all about – real conversations with people from diverse backgrounds following unconventional paths and understanding what diversity and digitalization mean to them.
Digitalization and diversity impact everyone, even in ways that a person might not be aware of. They also impact each other, for example, Digitalization can impact diversity by providing more opportunities to diverse groups of people. On the other dimension, true digitalization actually needs diversity as a factor of success because it is different mindsets that actually drive digital change.
The podcast was officially launched on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts in June 2021. Since then, it has been downloaded in over 50 countries, with a steadily growing audience.