It was Magic for Me, How Was it For You?Written by Mike Banks Valentine
Trade shows will naturally draw those with high end interest and technical knowledge that leads to that jargon spewed by keynote speakers. Enterprise-speak vendors display their wares and attendees at break-out sessions are full of techno-geeks seeking latest knowledge enhancement for their narrow interest area. But I'm stunned at techno-babble being directed at atttendees of conference Keynote speeches. What SHOULD they say? I'd like to offer my highest compliments to Craig Conway, one of dozens of keynote speakers at InternetWorld. He is President and CEO of business processes software company, PeopleSoft. Conway made a compelling case for EVERYONE to care about what is going on behind scenes at large businesses. Because it will directly touch us all in ways we haven't taken time to understand. Most speakers are so jargon-bound they are tongue-tied if it's using plain-easy-to-understand English. In fact, understanding software is much easier when you have Conway doing talking. Clearly PeopleSoft is aptly named when most would call it ERP-CRM-Soft. Maybe that's why he proudly proclaims that his company is profitable and has $2 Billion in bank - In Cash! He makes it apparent that business needs to communicate it's BENEFITS to PEOPLE, not software features to IT geeks in IS department, staffed by HR department and fed by HS (Hunger Solutions) department serving NU's (Nutrition Units). "Any sufficiently advanced technology," Conway quoted, "is virtually indistinguishable from magic." This 1972 statement by science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke has subsequently become known as Clarke's Law. I'd like to suggest Clarke's law is true of inner workings of advanced technology, but not in RESULT of those advanced technologies on our lives. I can't tell you anything about technology behind my magical one-inch-thick notebook computer but I can tell you it has a profound effect on my life and allows me to work from anywhere in world with an internet connection. That's magic! Nobody will believe in that magic once technology advances further. Do you think your phone magic? Mr. Conway spoke in terms that everyone can comprehend about his company and changes resulting from virtually all commerce moving online to operate in real-time. He spoke of going through a fundamental shift in way business is conducted. He referred repeatedly to "companies moving their business online" and major cost savings, and immediacy of resulting human experience. He pointed to example of banking and finance industry move to universal use of ATM machines and how that has since changed our expectations about how banking world operates and how it touches all of us. We want real-time access to our money and instant, always-accessible information about our transactions through those machines.
| | When Does the Web Come to the Poor?Written by Mike Banks Valentine
I heard Larry Irving speak recently on "Digital Divide," a term he coined while working in Clinton Administration. Irving makes a compelling case for inaccessibility of web to poor. He emphatically demonstrates that business is ignoring a huge market when they ignore those without access to web. That means that anyone without a computer right now and those numbers can reach up to 85% of poor. That is not just those who can't afford computers, because many work where there is no online access. This would include employees of all kinds on factory floors and in warehouse operations, food service workers and blue-collar employees.Even "Digital Divide" will (eventually) be overcome by publicly accessible kiosk web terminals or web enabled automobiles, web-connected televisions and web encompassing every aspect of our lives. I believe that there will come a time in near future when business can no longer afford to ignore those who don't own computers. Although necessary public access computers will inevitably come in form of limited access to specific sites at first, I am certain that you'll be able to buy stuff online from anywhere, and that we can find ways to make that service pay handsomely for those businesses making web sales via those public web terminals. Marketing rep Barry Baker of KDS Pixeltouch, a manufacturer of on-site touch screen kiosk solutions, was rather negative about idea that publicly accessible web terminals were coming anytime soon. Although he valiantly struggled to brainstorm as we spoke on how such a scenario might play out. Even folks acting as a driving force behind touch screen kiosk use failed to offer any significant ideas for using their own product for web access in public places. I'd suggest they hire someone to develop a public web access kiosk of some type if he is one of those hoping for overnight riches, because when it takes off, riches are inevitable. He readily sites more mundane uses such as standard trade show display, store product locators and giant discount warehouse product mapping. Even Walmart auto parts lookups were mentioned. But that is handled currently by smaller, purpose built electronic part listing sort of calculators in each section. One for wipers, one for car batteries, one for oil filters. Those are all well and good, but why not have a central server with kiosk terminals throughout store, each programmed to provide just information in each section? Some terminals could provide home-improvement presentations in flash from web.
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