Julia Dallas

I currently work as a promotion assistant for KIRO Radio in Seattle. One of my main tasks is calling people who win on our radio and getting their paperwork so that we can give them their prize. This includes signing a release form and sometimes a W2. Technological convergence has definitely affected my job. Before our new online system we would have to mail people this paperwork, have them sign it, and then mail it back to us. Many listeners were concerned because of the confidentiality of their social security numbers and sending that information through the mail which is sometimes lost, or stolen. Now, we do everything online through a system called V Promotions. They can safely send their confidential information through this website, that only my boss is able to view. They get an email straight from the website and we don’t have to send them actual paper anymore. This makes listeners feel better and makes it a lot easier to do our job!

Another example of technological convergence in my job is providing tickets to listeners. We often give away tickets to sports games as prizes. Tickets used to be a physical copy and listeners were able to come to the station and pick them up. Now it is only through a ticket app. This is harder for some listeners, as they are not used to using this technology or do not have a smartphone. I almost prefer when physical tickets were an option because we could just hand them the tickets. I spend some of my day emailing app FAQs and talking with listeners over the phone on how to download the app. It is not the choice of my workplace, but the choice of our sports partners. I think this leaves out a large portion of potential event attendees, as many older fans do not have this capability.