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CONTEXT I'd have to disagree with Andy Grove's assessment of Context. [Letters to the Editor, Spring 1998] I don't think you can "overanalyze" something as critical as technology. When I think of overanalyzed, I think of professional sports. Though I've only had the opportunity to overanalyze one copy of Context, I found it without peer in presenting technological issues in a thought-provoking, intelligent manner. Stay the course.
—Ron Knight LAST WORD I found the Year 2000 discussion between Edward Yardeni and David Starr [Last Word, Spring 1998] to be quite interesting. It's especially interesting that Mr. Starr—the optimist—thinks the Year 2000 bug will have minimal effects but still says the government could "crash and burn." Apparently, he thinks that the government can "crash and burn" and no one will notice.
—Ami Wright The year 2000 bug is just one of many such problems. These kinds of transitions happen all the time—people design systems with assumptions that don't scale beyond their limited experience. What's interesting to me is that the Y2K problem is given such a magical significance, compared with all the other such problems that are past and present. Perhaps because underneath all of our psyches lurks a religious layer that expects a Doomsday. What about the area-codes three digits with a middle one or zero problem? What about zip code splitting? Recently, the U.S. Post Office has seen fit to adjust a number of zip code prefixes (many 021xx's, become 024xx's for example) because they have established a new sorting office. The many systems that handle and validate zip codes around the country were not built with the assumption that a location could change zip codes. So, many computer systems reject the new code and "correct" addresses back to the old ones automatically! We'll make it across that transition, despite its cost and scale and propensity for mischief. However, all of these transitions cost a lot of money, and were/are embedded in systems managed by unrelated organizations. Errors during the transitions were/are common, and some failures even caused injury, harm, and lost money and lives. Why is the millennium so special?
—David Reed THE BRAND MAN I have just reread the article on Cendant [The Brand Man, Summer 1998], in which its chief executive, Henry Silverman, "readily admits that he comes from an era of hand-held calculators, green-lined accounting ledgers, and sharp pencils." Since this piece was published, Cendant's stock has tumbled over serious accusations of "accounting irregularities." The same Context issue, both prophetically and ironically, contained an article by David Reed declaring how the accounting world has not kept pace with the technology world. While all of us sing the praises, and race to the opportunities of, the digital world, we should pause for at least a nanosecond to remember that no one can escape the essential need to respect, and treat with integrity, business rules—digital or not, outdated or not. Paul Carroll, editor in chief of Context, expressed hesitancy about the publishing of the Cendant article, because problems were emerging as his publication date neared. He should harbor no regrets. The Cendant story holds many lessons, even more so in light of recent news.
—Mark L. Gordon THE DIGITAL CIVILIZATION I think Nicholas Negroponte's observations [The Digital Civilization, Summer 1998] were right on. Electronic travel agents will eventually reconfigure their product based on the consumers' needs and reintermediate themselves. However, I believe the ultimate competitive advantage on the Internet will be created through brokering relationships between consumers. Facilitating the development of communities of similar people can create powerful, long-term relationships that are nearly impossible for competitors to replicate. I can see the potential of collaborative filtering technology to create communities so tightly woven that consumers buy from you, not only because of the relationship you establish with them as a corporate entity, but also because of the relationships they create with other consumers in the communities you help them build. "I go to this travel agent," a customer might say, "because I can communicate with someone like me who was looking for a similar vacation experience and found it!"
—Michael Pusateri KILLER APPS Following the design principles in Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance [Book Excerpt, Summer 1998] is easier said than done in a big organization. Chief executives are not willing to pay the "transition cost" of change and wait for a longer-term pay-out. Still, the effort must be made by those who believe in the digital age.
—Dennis Wong UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES "Unexpected Consequences" [Technosynthesis, Spring 1998] resonated with me at CompuCom Systems. We in the personal computer network integration business are facing unprecedented challenges. Our suppliers are starting to sell directly to customers. Our customers are demanding lower prices with more services. And average selling prices are tumbling. So thinking outside the box is necessary. Your article stiffened our resolve for bold changes. We have continued to "outsource" order entry, by having our clients do much of it via the Web. We have cannibalized our base business by helping our vendors deal with our customers directly. And we have opened a warehouse/configuration center at the head manufacturing facility of Compaq, our largest supplier. Our bet is that as we reduce our suppliers' costs, they will cannibalize our competition, not us. Our suppliers will, in fact, outsource tasks to us, reigniting our growth. Thanks for the "context" to make a tough set of decisions.
—Ed Anderson My company, Universal Learning Technology, brings together academic communities of interest with content from traditional textbook publishers. I agree that "the value of information increases the more it is used." Traditional textbook publishers do not recognize this dynamic yet, and seem sometimes obsessed with "protecting their intellectual property." This is also sometimes true of instructors. But there are indicators that this is about to change on a large scale. The examples of companies, markets, and industries that are beginning to understand the transformation we are going through validates everything we here at ULT are doing. It would be really interesting to see if giving away the content validates your observation.
—Patrick Laughran
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