Perhaps I've reached the age where I can now think back and remember a day when time moved slower. A time when there were five television stations that you had to get up to change, most households received a newspaper and the phone had a cord. Perhaps I'm also young enough to appreciate the changes that have been made over the years enabling more entertainment, information and conversation options.

How people communicate, relate to one another and share information has changed exponentially in my 38 years. It has happened on the back of the ever-improving technology platforms, connectivity and hardware.

It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users and Facebook only two. The world is moving so fast that we are constantly trying to figure out how to best communicate in technologies as they grow and then wane in popularity. Due to this turnover speed, we in the communications field find our constituents spread out among numerous platforms and are left with limited time and financial resources to reach them all where and how they want to communicate.

The technological advances that make some things easier also are continuing to cost us less money. I bought my first computer in like 1995 for about $1800 (just did a quick Google search and found one for sale for $300). I remember dialing up through AOL and chatting with my next-door neighbor whom I could literally see through our facing windows. We laughed about the irony and kept on typing to one another. Today I can go to Best Buy and get a brand new computer for $279 and it will have WAY more than that old 486. My first mobile phone was a Motorola International 3200. It wouldn't fit in my pocket unless I was wearing those styling camo cargo pants of the 90s.

With technological devices becoming more accessible, they are being integrated into our daily life and society. I have texted people sitting right next to me (if you are paying attention, you may see a pattern developing). I IM with people I could just as easily yell to across the office. How is this introduction into the mainstream changing society?

Having numerous communication platforms integrated into my life (and my friends' or it would be useless) also allows me as an individual to pull in only the information I care about through RSS and personal dashboards like iGoogle. I can pull in NYT headlines, triathlon and cycling news, Seth Godin, FB and twitter feeds and others without having to wade through parts of a paper or newscast to get the info I want. While this is convenient for the end user, it is a terrific challenge to the people who are trying to spread a message or idea.

Yeah, it's difficult to be in the communications world today. So, the main issue and concern we will address at the 2012 BCA meeting is communicating at the speed of life.

Join us all as we gather in Fort Worth April 11-14, 2012 to share experiences, learn new tactics and trends and learn what industry leaders are doing and seeing as the future advances closer.