Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
Divorce, Maintenance, Personal Injury, Medical Negligence
I love the age of the Internet and I was probably the first attorney in South Africa with a website in 1995. I remember when I first signed up for the Internet there was statistics in the newspaper about how approximately 1,000 people in South Africa were then on the Internet – so it was very early days. As more and more people have come on and what has now become a dreaded feature for me every day is to look in my unread e-mail box at the number of e-mails that I currently have not read.
I am an extremely diligent and hard worker and there would be a very few clients who would ever not hear back from me either within a few hours or within a day or two, but recently it has become harder and harder to keep up. Once one factors in 75 or so staff members e-mailing you every day, as well as clients, not to mention people who would like to suggest advertising opportunities to us, business opportunities, would like to ask for loans as well as e-mails that I get that are related to the affairs of the profession, which actually are not too many, I could easily receive 300 e-mails on a normal day and at certain times of the year it would go as high as 400 to 450 e-mails. I now have to spend almost every weekend in catching up on 150 unread e-mails or so. The worst part is that I generally leave the more difficult ones for later in the week and try and deal with the client queries, new business and any problems during the week. By more difficult I mean the e-mails that have complicated reports attached to them which require my reading and then input and contracts or quotes that have to be read.
Modern technology has definitely made a huge difference in our world and it will continue to bring down many dictators in one party states around the world, and has been wonderful for me in terms of business because I have always been technologically ahead of my competition, but it certainly brings with it extra stresses. Attorneys of 15 years ago would be expected to reply to clients by fax two or three weeks later, if not via post, and now people write to you and after 24 hours if they have not received a reply they forward you a copy of the e-mail they sent you the day before, as if you have missed it.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Thursday 17-Apr-14
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Comments
Kaylee said:
on Wednesday 23-Apr-14 04:06 PM
Ah, wonderful technology what would we do without you! I love technology, I can check my emails, catch up on facebook, send emails, instagram a picture, tweet, chat to friends over whats app, skype overseas friends, watch Utube. Ah, yes, technology, time consuming and overwhelming, but its the best.
Cornelie said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 06:00 PM
I love Technology i can't even remember how we used to live in the old days without telephones and internet and it is still growing and growing.
Joyce said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 05:49 PM
Technology really plays a big roll in people's connection
Lucretia said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 05:28 PM
email has certainly made things easier in terms of delivering of documents, etc, however, it is also a painful tool because yes, one is expected to respond immediately which can be extremely annoying at times, especially when you are busy and, therefore, not even aware of incoming emails.
Henrietta said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 05:23 PM
Internet definitely plays a big roll in our lives today, I mean Google is just a finger away and most communication - Chats Facebook etc. - enable us to stay in contact to people who are far away and too expensive to phone.... So ja Internet is part of us.... but like everything else this also has a down side..... a lot of kids today have BB or Samsung and Google is really easy access to thing you don't want your kids to know yet... Glad I don't have kids yet....;)
Angelique said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 03:43 PM
Where would we be without technology! At the end of every day and every morning I attend to emails. Email has made life so much easier - rather send requests through email than fax. We really have come a long way. Then there is social media always filling up your personal email, notifications, messages, pokes, tweets, linkedin invites, comments etc - it all can get a bit too much
Bianca Els said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 12:09 PM
Technology is a good thing but can also be such a pain these days, especially when you buy a new phone, you think WOW now i have the best phone on the market. And after a week or two there is a better one.
Monique said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 12:01 PM
Technology.... Bitter sweet!
Liesl said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 11:55 AM
This article is as true as rain and how we ever made it before cell phones and the technology available to us today is beyond me. Businesses who do not keep up with the rest will certainly lag behind
Juliet said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 10:38 AM
Luckily we can get our emails on our phones so we can reply at any time and this can be useful especially when you may be away from your desk and have a few minutes to spare eg in a doctor's waiting room. Unluckily it means you never really switch off and relax. You are in a constant state of awareness and activity which can't be good for your health. Lately given that I am pregnant I really try switch off over the weekends to try recoup and build energy for the next week.
Sheena said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 09:51 AM
Technology is a wonderful thing. I cant believe how much technology has improved since I have left school. Technology has made our lives so convenient.
Lizanne said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 09:38 AM
Technology has grown so much over the years and i really wonder how the world is going to communicate over 10 or so years from now. How our children's life styles are going to be and are we going to fly around in spaceships......LOL! I also try to deal with as much emails the minute they come in but most of the time you are busy with more important work. I than deal with all the emails i did not get time for during the, the following morning. That also works for me.
Yolandi P said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 09:23 AM
I agree with Bianca. I try to sort out my inbox before the end of every day but of course I don't receive the same amount of emails that you do.
Jessica said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 09:21 AM
You got to love technology, it has helped people connect in a faster way.
Sarah said:
on Thursday 17-Apr-14 09:20 AM
Its time the other attorneys get with today times as well. Technology just keeps improving it is quite hard to keep up with all the new technology
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
