Discuss the advantages and disadvantage of using a combination of a written medium and a digital channel of communication

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Advantages include the following:
• Allow writers to plan and control their messages
• Can reach geographically dispersed audiences
• Offer a permanent, verifiable record
• Minimize the distortion that can accompany oral messages
• Can be used to avoid immediate interactions
• Deemphasize any inappropriate emotional components
• Give recipients time to process messages before responding (compared to oral communication)
• Messages can be delivered quickly
• Can reach geographically dispersed audiences
• Flexibility of multiple formats and channels, from microblogs to wikis
• Flexibility to structure messages in creative ways, such as writing a headline on Twitter and linking to the full message on a blog
• Ability to link to related and more in-depth information
• Can increase accessibility and openness in an organization through broader sharing
• Enable audience interaction through social media features Ease of integrating with other media types, such as embedded videos or photos

Disadvantages include:
• Can be limited in terms of reach and capability (e.g., on Twitter you can reach only those people who follow you or search for you)
• Require Internet or mobile phone connectivity
• Vulnerable to security and privacy problems
• Are easy to overuse (sending too many messages to too many recipients)
• Create privacy risks and concerns (exposing confidential data; employer monitoring; accidental forwarding)
• Entail security risks (viruses, spyware; network breaches)
• Create productivity concerns (frequent interruptions; nonbusiness usage)