It was Magic for Me, How Was it For You?
Mike Banks Valentine
1d34 Trade shows will naturally draw those with high end interest and
the 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 the latest knowledge enhancement for their narrow interest
area. But I'm stunned at the techno-babble being directed
at the 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 the scenes at large businesses. Because it will directly
touch us all in ways we haven't taken the 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 the 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 the bank - In Cash! He makes it apparent that business needs to
communicate it's BENEFITS to PEOPLE, not the software features to
IT geeks in the IS department, staffed by the HR department and
fed by the 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 the inner workings of advanced technology,
but not in the RESULT of those advanced technologies on our
lives. I can't tell you anything about the 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 the world with an internet connection.
That's magic! Nobody will believe in that magic once the
technology advances further. Do you think your phone magic?

Mr. Conway spoke in terms that everyone can comprehend about
his company and the changes resulting from virtually all
commerce moving online to operate in real-time. He spoke
of going through a fundamental shift in the way business
is conducted. He referred repeatedly to companies moving
their business online and the major cost savings, and
immediacy of the resulting human experience.

He pointed to the example of banking and the finance
industry move to universal use of ATM machines and how
that has since changed our expectations about how the
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.

This, he says, is how the web affects ALL businesses. No
longer do you need to call for verification of funds at
a bank (it's online or ATM) and no longer does it matter
that the bank is closed or that you are not at your own
branch. The central server for any and all businesses,
large and small, will be open 24/7 and always accessible
to any customer to track their orders, check inventory for
availability of any product they wish to buy and make
instant buying decisions at 3am. If not yet, then soon.

This sweeping change hass come in banking and commerce, in
government, philanthropy, academia and even many personal
interactions. While I commend Mr. Conway for his speaking
ability, I still see a place for helping the world to
understand how this change affects the broad majority of
the public, small business and the vast middle ground --
the rest of us. Conway talks about how BIG business, BIG
finance and BIG government is moving toward total web
adoption, but this affects the rest of the world too.
Because business, government and finance is moving online
it means that instant access to every aspect of our world
will be available to everyone via the web.

It hasn't happened yet, but I believe the web will soon
make it possible to do previously unimaginable (even mudane)
things like lock your front door via the web from your car
or office if you forgot to do it when you left home. I think
we'll be able to do a long list of things undreamt currently
within a very short time. But my question is . . . must it
always be top down?

Does BIG business, BIG money and BIG eGovernment need to
make sweeping, worldwide changes before John Doe learns
about those changes or is it possible that something simple
John Doe does will soon affect BIG business just as
profoundly? I submit that the web-enabling of our world
will have a reverse profound effect on BIG business. They
will know instantly how the public perceives their company,
it's products and it's business philosophy because that
feedback will be available in real-time via the web. If
start-ups had that power, they might fail less often than
they do now.

I now routinely check the web for weather information, maps for
upcoming travel destinations and local public transportation
routes in cities I'll soon be visiting. I make hotel and car
reservations, book airline tickets and I even found free
parking and airport shuttle online for my most recent flight.

Admittedly, this stuff is all travel related, but you can look
up recipes online and find lawn care tips just as easily and
instantly. Our expectations are moving this direction for every
human activity. The web is pervasive, always on and mostly
accessible for most people. It's magic for me, how is it for you?

About the Author

Mike Banks Valentine
Search Engine Optimization for the Small Business
http://WebSite101.com/Search_Engine_Positioning/
WebSite101 Reading List Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet
Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet
http://website101.com/free_ezine_content/