patth@dasys1.UUCP (Patt Haring) (09/29/87)
1 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 12:56 Eastern (4156 characters)
Welcome to NETWEAVER
The interactive, intersystem
newsletter of the
Electronic Networking Association
"Our purpose is to promote electronic networking in ways that
enrich individuals, enhance organizations, and build global
communities."
____________________________________________________________
Volume 3, Number 9 September 1987
Copyright(c) by Electronic Networking Association (ENA), 1987
NETWEAVER is published electronically on Networking and
World Information (NWI), 333 East River Drive, East Hartford,
CT, 06108 (1-800-624-5916) using Participate (R) sofware from
Network Technologies International, Inc. (NETI), Ann Arbor, MI.
Managing Editor: Lisa Carlson
Contributing Editors: Mike Blaszczak
Al Martin
Hank Mishkoff
Stan Pokras
George Por
Peg Rossing
Tom Sherman
Philip Siddons
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NETWEAVER is available via NewsNet, the world's leading
vendor of full-text business and professional newsletters
online. Read, Search or Scan all issues of NETWEAVER as TE55
in NewsNet's Telecommunications industry category. For access
details call 800-345-1301. In PA or outside the U.S., call
215-527-8030.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
We *welcome* anyone interested in joining the Netweaver staff!
The deadline for articles for the next issue is
the 15th of the month.
KUDOS to the "porters," unsung heroes of the Network Nation!
One of them has brought this issue to you.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Volume 3, Number 9 ---CONTENTS--- August 1987
1 Masthead and Index
2 ENA UPDATE ................................ by Lisa Carlson
Planning for the next ENA conference in Philadelphia
in Spring '88 has begun.
3 COMPETING IN TIME ........................... by Peter Keen
A top business consultant describes how new information
technology can be moved out of the "overhead" category
and become a "bottom line" opportunity.
4 AN EDUCATOR, A PC, AND A MODEM ....... by Edward Wondoloski
A management professor at Bentley College talks about
an experimental progarm to introduce students to new
ways of thinking about knowledge.
5 N-GROUP ................................ by Linda Samuelsen
Reflections on the online community group program
within WBSI's online SChool of Strategic and
Management studies.
6 COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY ............
by Jacques LeCavalier
An alternative view of the role of electronic
communications media in socio-political change which
suggests that efforts to link citizens, interest
groups, and politicians via cc have not moved North
America any closer to participatory democracy.
7 TELEZAP ............................. review by David Mills
A lighthearted piece which proves that even the most
zealous networkers have a sense of humor.
8 PICA ......................................... announcement
(xxxx char)
A description of the purposes and services of the
Public Interest Computer Association in
Washington, DC.
9 MEMBERSHIP FORM
2 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:04 Eastern (3600 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 2 (September 1987)
ENA Update
by Lisa Carlson
ENA F-T-F CONFERENCE
====================
Attention everyone with experience of an interesting
application of computer conferencing, new research findings,
opinions on telecommunications issues, and ideas about the
future development of the medium! Plans are underway for
another ENA f-t-f conference to be held in Philadelphia in
Spring '88. You can follow the action in NETWEAVER.
Networking is probably the best way to develop a valuable
program and attract a lively group of participants. YOU are
invited to join the conference team. Stan Pokras has been
scouting out a conference site and is currently working with
ENA's treasurer, Ed Yarrish, on a proposed budget. People in
the Philadelphia area could be particularly helpful with
conference logistics. Others can participate online. Leave a
note in the ENA conference on your home system about your
interests and ideas.
PICA HOLDS CONFERENCE ON ACCESS FEE ISSUES
==========================================
The Public Interest Computer Association (see profile in this
issue of NETWEAVER) held a conference, Communications and
Information - New Access Fees?, in Washington, D.C. on
September 9th to air a range of viewpoints on the proposed FCC
rulings concerning access fees for packet networks. Speakers
included: Robert Loeb of the Telecommunications Cooperative
Network; Len Kennedy, legal assistant to FCC Commissioner
Patricia Diaz Dennis; Sam Simon, an attorney whose views have
been printed previously in NETWEAVER; Joseph Perez representing
Pacific Telesis; and Stephen Bell from Squires, Sanders, &
Dempsey who serve as counsel to Tymnet. A number of ENA
members attended the conference and participated actively in
the question and comment periods.
The complexity of the issue was amply illustrated by the
presentations about the pros and cons of the proposals under
consideration. You can get information from the FCC by
contacting Ruth Milkman (202-632-4047). Some printed
information is available from PICA. We have published several
articles about the issue in NETWEAVER. The comment period has
been extended to September 24th so you can make your opinions
known to the FCC. Formal comments must be typewritten, double
spaced on 8 1/2 by 11" paper, and refer to FCC Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket No. 87-215. Mail to Secretary,
FCC, 1919 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20054. You can also write
informal letters to the FCC Commissioners: Chairman Dennis
Patrick, Commissioners James Quello, Mimi W. Dawson, and
Patricia Diaz Dennis at the above address. You can also
contact your Congressional representatives.
It's important for decision makers to have as much information
as possible from people who are *using* the technology which
will be affected by the proposal. Take some time out of your
online schedule and use your word processor to help shape the
future of this medium.
In This Issue
=============
This month we begin with an article by Peter Keen which puts
communication technology in the larger context of business
opportunity and competitiveness. We have two articles based on
first hand experience with cc applications in the educational
arena - one for students in a management program and one for
executives. You can also read about the Public Interest
Computer Association and an alternative view of the impact of
the medium on democracy. And, just so you know we're not ALWAYS
serious, read a "surreal" service called TeleZAP!
Enjoy!
3 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:05 Eastern (7769 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 3 (September 1987)
Competing in Time
by Peter G. W. Keen
[note: The following are excerpts from COMPETING IN TIME by
Peter G.W. Keen (Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, 1986) and are
reprinted here with permission.]
In a wide range of industries, it is already clear that the
corporate telecommunications infrastructure is a business asset
whose quality and availability will have more than peripheral
impact on any Fortune 500 company's economic health in the late
1980s. This means that many firms who did not recognize this
by the early 1980s will have to move fast to avoid being
preempted.
In the late 1970s it generally made more sense to follow than
to lead. The costs and problems involved in introducing new
systems were too often higher than the likely payoffs from
pioneering in new business territory. The risks are now in the
other direction and at the very least firms need to ask what is
the communications base they need for defensive necessity, if
not for competitive opportunity.
Change the organization; change the nature of work
==================================================
Telecommunications is intrinsically linked to organizational
change. As with almost every aspect of computer-related
technologies, the organizational issues are likely to be far
more difficult to tackel than the technical ones. The scale
and pace of change are apparent in the ratio of workstations to
people in large firms. In 1984 it was about 1 for every 20
workers in the United States. It was closer to 1 to 3 in
leading companies in information-intensive industries like
banking and insurance and information-intensive functions in
manufacturing firms, such as finance and customer service.
Most of them have reached a 1 to 2 or even a 1 to 1 ratio.
This represents an immense change in the nature of work.
It is impossible to cost-justify business innovation. Of
course costs are an essential concern, but they have to ve
viewed in the context of the economics of doing business over
the middle to long term and not in terms of direct cost savings
and accounting mechanisms for allocating expenditures to user
budgets.
Postpone the decision and lose
==============================
Using the rough rule of thumb that it takes 18 months to
implement any significant project involving telecommunications,
three to five years to imitate someone else's business
innovation that relies on communications, and five to seven to
build the communications, processing, data infrastructure from
scratch, this means it may soon be too late to affect 1990.
Sincerity is no substitute for technique. The best
organizations are sincerely doing their best to broaden their
planning base. But sincerity just isn't enough. Technique
comes from:
* systematic cross-fertilization between the information
technology unit and the wider organization.
* using consultants and academics to bring in new knowledge
and avoid personal obsolescence, to provide an integrating
perspective, and to help educate and advise senior
managers.
* hiring, growing, and retaining good talent.
Pay attention and follow through
================================
Advancing beyond limited pilots and localized applications is a
problem in office technology. It is very easy in a pilot
system to get immediate benefits, which if extrapolated to
cover the whole organization would add up to a considerable
improvement in effectiveness and efficiency. The figures are
valid but they are not realized in fullscale implementation.
The problem is rarely the technology. It is more usually
"behavioral," which really means inappropriate design and
implementation, lack of attention to human issues, lack of felt
need. The system may seem like a solution for which there is
no real problem if there is no clear business message and
policy from the top. The introduction of new office technology
has been marked by organizational tinkering. Firms cannot
tinker their way into major organizational change and
consequent competitive advantage, unfortunately.
Top management
==============
In every single step, there has to be top management commitment
and involvement. The issue is not one of time but attention;
in most instances senior managers have to provide direction,
unblock constraints, send signals, and approve or supply
resources. They can then get out of the way and let others get
on with the more lengthy process of planning and implementation.
They do not have to spend much time. They do have to pay
attention.
They also need to make sure that their business message is
communicated and understood. That needs education. Almost a
prerequisite for pushing commitment down through the
organizaiton and mobilizing the interest and ability of people
at all levels is strategic education. This is not the same as
training.
Education must make the abstractions of the technology concrete
and meaningful. To lead change (unlike training which follows
it), education has to be pervasive and sustained so that people
have the vocabulary, the understanding of the business message,
and the insight into the planning process to be meaningfully
"involved" and "committed." It has to have clear behavioral
objectives. The issue is not what people at different levels
of the organization - including top management - need to know,
but what they must do.
Build a shared vision
=====================
Shift the focus and terms of debate for telecommunications from
technology to business, and from cost to benefit.
Provide a forum for sharing views and building momentum and
consensus and bring business people directly into what has up
to now been a technical debate.
Send the message across, down, and up the organization.
Develop technically literate managers
=====================================
The problem is not simply one of the limited supply of bright,
educated, motivated people, nor the salary. Over time, the
market will alleviate if not eliminate the shortage. A far
greater problem is that while a firm can go out into the market
and bid up the price for first-rate technical talent,
organizational experience has to be built not bought.
Telecommunications for business strategy involves building the
human equivalient of a wine collection. The intellectual crop
of 1986 may be the best since 1888. But the wine has to mature
for years.
On the whole, telecommunications and information systems
organizations have been defined more in terms of tasks than
roles: projects, specialist skills, technical niches, and
responsibility for specific applications. The key themes in
organizing information systems have related to building systems
and running operations.
The new roles relate far more to marketing, communicating,
supporting, and planning.
Accept the adventure
====================
There is an old Confucian curse: "May you live in interesting
times." Telecommunications ushers in an intensely interesting
time for all large firms. Telecommunications is a whole new
arena where business imagination combined with understanding of
just a few aspects of what the technology can do opens up
entirely new ways of thinking about customers, markets,
productivity, coordination, service, competition, products, and
organization.
Telecommunications is about competition, innovation, risk, and
uncertainty. That is an opportunity that all senior managers
should welcome.
--------
author's note: Peter G.W. Keen is executive director of the
International Center for Information Technologies, 2000 M
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202-659-1314) and Premier
House, 10 Greycoat Place, London SW1P1SB, UK (01-222-8866).
4 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:07 Eastern (8030 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 4 (September 1987)
An Educator, A PC, and a Modem:
A Multidimensional Approach to Knowledge
by Edward M. Wondoloski
The Overview
============
Computer assisted communication (CAC) can provide a
multidimensional approach to knowledge which replaces the "up
and down linear ladder" concept with a more "spherical" one.
To grasp this concept, imagine yourself as a revolving sphere.
Now, from your center point, imagine an infinte number of rays
extending in all directions with varying extensions and colors.
Imagine each ray being a different aspect of knowledge.
Imagine each ray as it extends as far as you have developed
that particular aspect of knowledge. Imagine your knowledge
ray of mathematics, your ray of personal relationships, then
art, and music. Keep adding these rays of knowledge. Notice
how they complement each other, how they create a dance and
long for further extension and synthesis to form the great
white light. What you have just envisioned is the spherical
theory of knowledge.
Robert Mueller, author of CORPORATE NETWORKING, said:
"Organizations as we know it are obsolete in the
information society in which we now exist ...
human networks are thriving while our staid and
rigid organizations heave and struggle to be
effective or even to survive. Something
fundamental is happening in our organized society
... centered on the intuitive notion that somehow
in some way networking may be basic to organizing
and managing people."
It was this same intuitive spirit that we initiated a project
using CAC at Bentley College to explore the spherical knowledge
concept. We hold the belief that somehow in some way
networking through computer assisted communications is the key
to providing high quality educational delivery systems focused
on self-learning experiences.
This is the first of many experiments we are planning to use
this media. Our purpose is to reach far beyond electronic mail
and computer conferencing by introducing the student to the
experiential dynamics of "electronic organization" and "expert
networks" (note: see Harry Stevens' description of these CAC
applications in the August issue of NETWEAVER).
The Process
===========
CAC was introduced in the Spring of 1987 in an undergraduate
course called, "The Management of Planning and Control
Systems." There were two sections involved in the experience.
To explore a spherical concept of knowledge, seven groups
ranging between seven to ten students interacted with each
other in a collaborative fashion for the purpose of creating an
information product called "cultural smile" (SMILE = Space
Migration for Intelligent Life Extension). This information
product is a model that addresses the social, economic, legal,
social, and political systems to be employed in space
colonization. These systems were then to be aligned with the
class's overall visioned purpose for such space colonization and
exploration.
An HP Vectra PC served as the host computer for a Caucus(tm)
based communications network to support this educational
experience. Students with modems and PC's of all variations
call into the host computer and our traditional educational
delivery system was transformed into a virtual classroom, open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week for dynamic interaction and
creativity.
The Results
===========
An interactive communications and learning space was created.
The traditional classroom was now converted into a virtual
classroom, conducting business and resonating with energy seven
days a week. The geographic and time zone restrictions were
removed. This facilitated conducting the business meetings
because students were able to check in at a time and place of
their choosing. There were simultaneous discussions of
different thoughts and strategies. Students were able to
discuss a wide range of topics and the comments were
automatically organized and retained under their respective
topics. A printable record of the process was retained for
subsequent review by the students. This greatly facilitated
their preparation of individual learning reports.
Brainstorming and problem solving were facilitated and
supported. Creativity was enhanced by an environment which
openly allowed for suggestions to be considered. This
opportunity to toss ideas around, play with them, develop and
build on them, created a stimulating atmosphere for still
further exploration and inquiry. A distributed form of
learning took place. Small project "focus" groups were the
source of the project's activity and leadership. The focus
groups operated independently and at the same time operated as
part of the whole network system. The focus groups developed
separate agendas for action - in fact, any one group could
accomplish a great deal on their own without the other project
members. Yet, at the same time, each group was really working
on a different facet of a larger whole and gained strength
through working synergistically with other groups.
Student reactions to this new media varied, but some responses
were: increased motivation; felt more involved; a better
learning experience; more student interaction; peer reviews
were useful.
What CAC Offers Education
=========================
There is a need to review the beliefs and premises that
underlie our current educational system. These beliefs and
premises which must now be challenged include:
- in any field there is a core knowledge that must be taught,
- once the core is mastered, the capacity for critical thought
can be taught,
- deficiencies in any field are caused by a lack of
instruction in the core and can be corrected by the
right faculty committees making the right curricular
decisions.
But we are now in the midst of an information explosion. Our
body of knowledge is doubling every 20 months. Well folks, at
that rate of growth, guess what? By the year 2000 our common
body of knowledge would have increased 512 times over what it
is today. This statistic very seriously puts a strain on the
first premise above.
Some faculty have tried to cope with this by single handedly
taking on the responsibility for sifting, sorting, and
distilling for the student - an assignment which leads to
premature professional burnout. What is the student's role in
handling this information explosion? When does the student
become self sufficient in ferreting out relevance from the maze
of information? Where and when does the student develop the
necessary skills to process, sift, sort, and distill on his/her
own account the mounds of information? Have we developed the
capacity to manufacture information in excess of our ability to
consume it?
CAC offers us an alternative to the models based on traditional
views of knowledge. In a guided process-oriented environment
like our CAC experiment, students create their own model or
system for employing their skills to sift, sort, and distill
information. The professor, rather than doing the work for the
student, provides the student with process systems skills which
empower the student to perform these functions. CAC provides the
opportunity for people to inform, question, and touch one
another. A community develops which adds emotional color and
drama to the rational content.
We will be expanding this electronic classroom to include
students from other courses, other institutions, and other
countries. Interdisciplinary team teaching will flow naturally
through the use of this media. The opportunities are only
limited by our ability to visulaize new creative applications.
--------
author's note: Ed Wondoloski is Professor of Management, Bentley
College, Beaver & Forest Streets, Waltham, MA 02254. This article is
excerpted from a longer paper given at the Fifth Annual Conference on
Non-Traditional and Interdisciplinary Programs which took place at
George Mason University, Virginia Beach, VA, May 4-6 1987.
5 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:09 Eastern (12049 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 5 (September 1987)
N GROUP -- A NEW FORM OF ADULT LIFE LEARNING & VALUES
by Linda Samuelsen
[note: The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla,
California conducts a two-year executive development program
called the School for Management and Strategic Studies which
includes f-t-f seminars and intensive online courses and
experiences. In 1985, WBSI added a "community group" component
to the program which provided the opportunity for voluntary
participation in small groups as an adjunct to the academic
program.]
For over a year and a half, I've been part of a revolutionary
group. It's not political. It wasn't formed with much purpose
in mind, especially by the 15 or so who started it. What makes
it `revolutionary', using a specific meaning of Webster, is
that it's a complete change. It doesn't overthrow, nor intend
to rebel. But because it's unlike anything which has gone
before, and the particular people involved are noted for their
willingness to try out new things enthusiastically, it's
become revolutionary.
I can tell you what it is _not_. This is not a T-group, nor a
therapeutic gathering. Nor is its primary purpose to always
support its members as we get knocked about while life laps
like a current around our feet, sometimes gently, sometimes as
a riptide. It isn't only a bunch of students gathered to hear
a master, nor convened by an expert who stays in that role.
Nor are we a group of professionals who only swap work war
stories. One glib and pat description of this group taken from
any one of those categories won't fit.
This `revolutionary group' is my small teleconferencing peer
group on Western Behavioral Sciences Institute's (WBSI) School
of Management and Strategic Studies (SMSS) network. It's
called `N' group. The name `N' came from "Network" Group, the
first informal learning group WBSI convened in November 1985.
Later the moniker "community group" was given to us, but we'd
melded our group identity as `N' group, and wouldn't
change...somehow "Comm Group" didn't fit. We're a feisty bunch.
Volunteers were asked to join in this experiment.
Fifteen joined at random, or so we thought. Now I know better.
These 15 were risktakers, people who were quick to spot
something different which could be interesting. All showed
signs of being pathbreakers. This was not random chance at
work.
After 22 months of continuous operation, and thousands of
comments, 12 of the original 15 are still active. Our
facilitator left. Later we invited four more into the N-group
to keep an active core of 15+. One of those four took an
active part talking in "the rolling present". Now, another
year later, we've asked two more to join us to keep the mix
lively.
We've formed habits of checking in with this conference first
when we're on-line, no matter which other teleconferencing
groups beckon. There has been an active dialogue going on for
nearly two years between people ranging in age from their late
30's to 70ish. There are now 6 women and no racial minorities.
Too bad. Because this group can really tolerate differences.
We've got polar extremes in views on abortion, aid to the Con-
tras, management philosophies and agreement on being decent and
loving the sea, to mention a few foods for thought.
What makes this group what it is? Can it be reproduced or simu-
lated? What is its dynamic, its orientation? Many of us have
wondered why the group has had this effect, and why it's lasted.
What makes us tick? Knowing our history might help.
The N group began on-line without us first having met in person.
We'd volunteered to start this experiment in late 1985 between
regular biannual class meetings. The facilitator was a psych-
ologist who had group leadership experience, but not on-line.
The range of on-line experience ranged from novice who barely
typed to whizzes with early computer experience as builders or
users. Seasoned leaders and experienced group facilitators,
most were business execs in high tech, and running second were
people who'd had years of training in psychology and sociology.
Once we were all on-line, and gathered a critical mass of 15,
we began trying to figure out what we were doing there. A big
puzzle was how we were supposed to do whatever it was we were
doing. Many began to get frustrated, then each one began to
tell a little about him/herself. Slowly the 15 began to coa-
lesce into a group. The N group started to define itself and
its "groupthink" and values. What we believed in, the limits
to power and influence in and outside the group evolved and
was later tested. All this came about from people who had only
known one another in the context of formal executive training
or who were work acquaintances. Some had known each other for
years, while others were strangers or were barely acquainted.
The mechanism which formed the N group was our telling of our
thoughts, experiences and opinions. We had serious discussions
and floated ideas and vented our feelings. Sometimes there'd
be 8-9 comments in a day, while other days there'd be nothing.
Hot topics or heated discussions were fodder. The facilitator
gave us his evaluation of our traits, sort of a guessing game
since he hadn't seen us. (Remember, many had not met in real
time. Only our electronic profiles, from what we'd written
on-line and how we'd expressed themselves, were the clues).
Some guesses were amazingly accurate and others hilariously off.
It showed us how we presented ourselves vs. how others saw us.
But it was when our `leader' mentioned the experience of being
on, of all things, a riverboat, that many in the group recalled
their own experience with paddlewheelers and calliopes and
boats plying the Mississippi or California delta. This turned
out to be our first group experience which had some resonance.
It was an unplanned kickoff event which baptized the group by
each one sharing an overlapping memory. Now the comments flew !
We all met in person for the first time two months and hundreds
of comments later. Our acquaintance was no longer limited to
the scheduled time and place in July and in January at La Jolla
or on-line.
As time passed something endearing happened. We began to tele-
phone one or two people with whom we felt close. Then we made
plans especially to see our new friends. N'ers would call,
connive and plan trips around visiting each other. We'd
describe what we were seeing in our N friend's milieu with our
own eyes, borrow their computer to get on-line and check into N
from a new place. Sometimes we played keyboard duets.
Friendships, flirtations, debate, camaraderie and the trauma
of unexpected events were the live wires of N group, as we kept
in touch through computer and modem, telephone, letters, and
face-to-face visits on business trips.
No ordinary friendship process, nor medium, we found out that we
had a round-the-clock friend or someplace to be which mattered
when we chose not to be alone. The ability to speak up and
leave electronic tracks any moment of the night or day began to
have a more lasting and perhaps seductive effect. Some of us
started to speak up more and write more easily, less afraid of
what others might think. We'd tell tales, spin dreams, blow up
or be depressed when it wasn't easily expressed anyplace else.
Nearly always there would be a response, and a quick one. Our
collective senses multiplied and we began to know the world as
we'd never known it.
One chap visited Russia and passed on his observations of Glas-
nost and the changing work world. Music events, good books,
what it felt like to leave a job, and losing loved ones were
mentioned. Slowly over time we had formed a real community.
During the first six to twelve months we tried to describe what
N group was like. "A cocktail party, where you can go from one
conversation to another, and feel as though you heard them all".
"Summer camp for adults". "The neighborhood and neighbor tavern
where the word gets out fast". "An old-fashioned party line".
We found out what we had in common and what we didn't. The re-
lationships in the group, over time, were many and complex.
There were three to five working relationships, either as col-
leagues in the same company or pairs working on projects, and two
employee-employer relationships, both of which derived from on-
line acquaintance via WBSI. Topics covered ran the gamut but
as time passed, more and more life experience and feelings about
life changes were mentioned. Not a bad learning experience,
since we got to hear from our own whom we'd come to respect and
trust. There have been two retirees, and in the company of one
who'd already retired, there was gentle encouragement into a new
arena. Tough times at work brought one woman balloons on her
front door early one morning, although the person sending them
was hundreds of miles away. There were tough times without
work. New business ventures, devastating disease and the fight
to get well. Personal tests and challenges of family, work
tensions and coping were all mentioned in this forum, now a mix
of public and more private concerns. And above all, resources.
What this group _is_, I think, is an adult learning group who
learns by sharing experience. Each person is an equal to ano-
ther. No one takes a back seat, despite great variances in
external success signs: wealth, position, heritage, media expo-
sure, and name. There are some unspoken base rules operating
here: mutual respect, caring which has grown over time, and a
fundamental belief shared which is that we do make a difference,
and we listen to each other. Being an active participant, even
if nonverbal, is the thread, the vital link.
For a long time I've watched what our values and traits are and
wondered if they could be extrapolated, and somehow fitted onto
the rest of the WBSI SMSS group. Here's what N group stands for:
CUTTING EDGE: definitely. The medium and the group. People
who join first have more risktaking, innovative characteristics,
and N'ers certainly like innovation.
CURIOUS, and TRUTHSEEKERS.
ACTIVE: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual. Real doers.
GLOBAL INTERESTS.
LOVE OF LEARNING: cognitive, experiential, affective; any kind.
APPRECIATION OF COMPLEXITY, and the ability to tolerate ambi-
guity, paradox and dilemma.
CARE, which pours out into needs being met, affection, and love.
RESPONSIVE.
CONNECTS ideas, events and people in unexpected ways.
A NEED FOR EXCELLENCE, appreciating and creating it.
OBJECTIVE, despite intense personally-held beliefs.
COMMUNICATES well and has a willingness to speak up.
KNOWS THE MERITS OF THE ISSUES AT HAND.
GETS TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER QUICKLY. HAS THE BIG PICTURE.
STRATEGISTS.
CREATIVE.
WIT and appreciation of irony.
APPRECIATES beauty, nature and the outdoors, along with indoor
pleasures.
CARES ABOUT WORLD AFFAIRS, AND WHAT HAPPENS AT HOME.
WANTS TO MAKE THIS A BETTER PLACE, AND ACTS ON THAT WISH.
INTEGRATES SELF, WORK AND HOME LIFE WITH BELIEFS, FRIENDS AND
BEHAVIOR (in varying degrees, by individual).
RESOURCEFUL.
PASSIONATE.
INDIVIDUALIST, yet places high value on cooperation and interac-
tion.
OPEN TO NEW IDEAS, PEOPLE AND WAYS OF DOING THINGS (if perceived
valuable).
HUMBLE <grin>.
What I've come to know is that with a p.c., electricity and modem
I don't ever have to be isolated. What is most exciting as N
group gets on in life are the possibilities for us. We're peo-
ple who learn from each other as we move towards being more of
a life action research group who learn firsthand and are deeply
engaged in living. As we go, we mention our experiences to one
another. We benefit from this even as we express ourselves.
Wisdom and kinship has developed from sharing our lives. We've
discovered a marvelous enriching set of friends and a process.
Surely this embellishes our approach as we work our way toward
the 21st century.
6 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:10 Eastern (6669 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 6 (September 1987)
COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY:
A DOWN-TO-EARTH VIEW
by Jacques LeCavalier
Here in the NETWEAVER and elsewhere, a variety of individuals
have put forth generally optimistic views about the future
political impact of computer-mediated communications. While I
agree that the conditions for non-dominative rational
discourse--essential to any democratic endeavour--can probably
be achieved better through CMC than in any other manner (Boyd,
1987), I reject the implication by some that CMC is at the
leading edge of major socio-political changes in North America.
While continued development of the medium's capabilities for
facilitating and enhancing intellectual group work is highly
desirable, efforts aimed at simply furthering the spread of
socially conscious CMC are for the most part wasted. The
electronic linking up of citizens, interest groups, and/or
politicians is neither necessary nor sufficient for moving
North American society closer to participatory democracy.
A decade ago in THE NETWORK NATION, Hiltz and Turoff were (and
undoubtedly still are) clearly in favour of CMC being used to
further democratize institutions and political processes. As
have others since then, the authors did address to some degree
the important political issue of general access to the medium
for those groups and individuals in society who may be
constrained financially or physically (e.g. the use of CMC by
handicapped persons, the placement of terminals in public
places, and so on). However, the skills and attitudes required
for productive use of CMC, which are bound to limit its
acceptance to those members of society who are already
`politicized', are rarely if ever raised by those who work with
and write about the medium. At the lowest level, literacy (and
some sort of typing ability) are necessary in text-based CMC,
and not surprisingly, the less literate in the so-called
information society tend also to be the disadvantaged and
non-participants in the political process. (For a very visual
approach to CMC in a social context, see Youngblood, 1986.)
While it is true that the very use of computer technology
furthers the development of literacy, a number of intermediate
steps along this vein precede active participation in a computer
conference. So from the perspective of skills, CMC is a medium
much less likely to empower the disadvantaged than face-to-face
communication or the mass media, upon which most popular
education or social animation are based.
More fundamentally, attitudes favorable to CMC (in a social or
political context) are highly correlated with generally positive
attitudes towards thinking about and resolving problems in
concert with others. Here again, the medium preaches to the
converted minority. (Sadly, and at the risk of contradicting the
perhaps overstated view of John Naisbitt in MEGATRENDS, the
current prognosis for participatory democracy--in Canada,
anyhow--does not lead one to believe that these attitudes are
foremost in the minds of most citizens.) A number of political
communication and action channels already exist in our countries
(open-access parties, constituency meetings, letters to
legislators or the press, special interest groups, etc.), and
these continue to be used by a rather small number of us. There
is little reason to believe that the advent of CMC will wag the
dog of complacency any more than the several tails which have
already sprung forth.
An example which, to some degree at least, exposes the
limitations of computer technology in general for affecting the
public mindset is that of the major computer manufacturers and
their quest for the `home computer' market. They have apparently
been forced to revise their optimistic prediction of the 1970's
that PC's would soon be as common as TV's and telephones in
North American households.
Slow acceptance of the home computer concept and by extension,
of home-based CMC, is probably directly related to the matter of
skills and attitudes brought up earlier. The computer is a tool
for manipulating information, and thus not very attractive or
useful to a large proportion of us who seem happy to lead a
rather passive intellectual existence beyond (but too often
within as well!) the realms of work, school, and serious
hobbies. Similarly, CMC is ideally a communication medium more
demanding of certain thinking skills and related attitudes than
existing media. Its popularity should therefore continue to
follow the social trends, whether negative or positive, in
the perceived importance of such skills and attitudes.
Politically then, computer technology and its communicative form
appear destined to reinforce and hopefully consolidate the
already existing networks of the democratic socially conscious
minority, and with luck, provide a voice to a modest number of
thinking individuals who require computers to circumvent
communicative handicaps. These smaller prizes are still worth
the considerable effort, however, needed to make CMC more
accessible and intellectually powerful. If the quantity of human
political interaction cannot be increased dramatically, we
should still do whatever is possible to improve its quality.
For example, a number of blueprints for more participatory
democracy have been proposed which totally exclude electronic
communication (e.g. community parliaments [Lyon, 1984]). Perhaps
supporters of politically oriented CMC should make good on their
inter-disciplinary promises and accept the less grandiose task
of integrating the medium into such ENDS-oriented proposals,
rather than attempt to democratize the globe with but one
nascent MEANS of communication.
REFERENCES
Boyd, G.M. (1987). Emancipative educational technology. CANADIAN
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION, 16(2), 167-172.
Hiltz, S.R., & Turoff, M. (1978). THE NETWORK NATION: HUMAN
COMMUNICATION VIA COMPUTER. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Lyon, V. (1984). Houses of citizens. POLICY OPTIONS, 5(2),
43-45.
Naisbitt, J. (1982). MEGATRENDS: TEN NEW DIRECTIONS TRANSFORMING
OUR LIVES. New York: Warner Books.
Youngblood, G. (1986). Virtual space: The electronic
environments of Mobile Image. INTERNATIONAL SYNERGY, 1(1), 9-20.
-------------------
Author's note: Jacques LeCavalier is currently a student in the
Graduate Programme in Educational Technology at Concordia
University in Montreal. He has been involved in formative
evaluation and on-line publishing activities on CoSy, and has a
background in engineering and continuing education.
7 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:11 Eastern (7984 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 7 (September 1987)
TeleZAP!
--------
The "Surreal" Service
A Review By David Mills
When the Editor in Chief told me to do a review of this service
I wasn't too enthusiastic. But the E.I.C. is a very charming
and charismatic guy, and when he and all his thugs come into
your office and sit on you and your chairs, it's hard to say no
to him.
Besides, I realized later (while recovering from his proposal)
that I'm not such a bad pick for this job. I seem to have a
hole in my modem down which all my money goes, and I subscribe
to practically every major telecommunications service available
except CompuServe, The Source, Dow Jones, Delphi, Viewtron and
a few others. And I've called up three bulletin boards, one of
them several times.
The TeleZAP! Network is a Telecommunications service with a
difference. Most such services have varying personalities, but
TeleZAP! has... well, trauma would say it well. Comparing the
others is like comparing an orange, a grapefruit, a
lemon--different flavors maybe, but the same idea. Using
TeleZAP! is like biting into a balloon. Not quite sure what
you've got your teeth in, but what a bang!
TeleZAP! offers many special sections, called "Units", which are
accessed by typing the Unit's initials at the main system
prompt. Help is available to assist you if you get into either
on- or off-line trouble. Just type AWWK! and the genie will
appear.
--------------------
NYCE NET INVOLVEMENT
--------------------
Certainly the best Unit on TeleZAP! is NYCE Network's Political
Developments Board (hereafter PDB). The Network runs this
controversial unit (by which I mean we dominate and ruthlessly
exploit it). It is certainly the best-known section;
Washington's strong response to its summer activities put it in
the limelight. The attacks were lead by Secretary Of State
George Schultz. In protest of "The Peking Duck Crisis", he
referred to us as "...A viscous ring of meddlers...". The
Chinese Ambassador, who was even more upset concurred,
"They are irresponsible vandals who wouldn't be tolerated in a
civilized, right-thinking culture."
Washington's ire (and also that of the Soviet Union) was again
aroused last November by the PDB-inspired attendance of nuclear
warheads at the Arms Limitation talks in Geneva. Dismissing all
pleas of fair representation, Secretary of Defense Casper
Weinberger stormed, "These User-Group hooligans are playing
right into Russia's hands!" And President Regan vowed, "We will
take whatever action is necessary to end forever these terrorist
activities within our own borders and those of whatever puppet
states we hold our conferences in."
The aura of controversy surrounding the PDB comes, of course,
from our pursuit of its stated goals, namely to further
Political Developments with all possible speed. The Board
offers advice and training in self-offense, para-military
training and political jaywalking, all in complete
confidentiality--or at least Attorney General Meese hasn't yet
managed to deliver the subpoena for records to any of the
Sysops. The message boards also contain information on
socio-political upheaval, mayhem, pillage, long-armed legal
combat, and the construction and care-free maintenance of smoke-
screens.
On the PDB you can converse with Adi Amin, Winston Churchill,
Ohmar Khadafy and any of the British "double oh" agents. In his
expose' of The NYCE Network, Tom Brokaw concluded "...and that's
it for this, the 304th day of the Political Developments Board
nightmare."
My own suggestion to our members (and any other readers) is to
stop by and see what all the fuss is about.
--------------
OTHER FEATURES
--------------
TeleZAP!'s other areas are just as different from the
competition. Consider, for example, the Alchemy sub-Unit
(plastics need not apply here), where you can dis-regard the
Periodic Table and transmute Strawberry Jam to Tofutti while
endangering your Immortal Soul. Or try the Electro-fizz
quadrangle, which I can't remember what happened there, but
Ohmigod, I'll never forget it either.
One of my favorite Units on TeleZAP! is Pirate's Treasure, where
you can shanghai next year's software packages last year. This
innovative concept was reportedly very tough to implement, and
several major technical hurdles had to be overcome, but I'll
tell you, it was worth it! People who haven't used this service
just have *no idea* the terrific stuff that's just a few
months short of completion! NOTE: This pirated software is
provided for your personal use only and may not be sold or
distributed to others in any form, ha ha.
One thing you should know is that the FBI is investigating this
Unit vigorously, and the G-man at the Conference room door has a
digitizer concealed in his necktie. Also I would wear rubbeIgloves while
typing in this section to disguise your
fingerprints--especially while entering download requests.
Another place where I spend a lot of time is the Religion Unit.
This has very diverse sub-boards, and while there will be some
who go to the odd sections like Jihad (run by Ayatollah
Khomeini), most people visit the Heaven Board. TeleZAP! has
managed to get God (first name Yahweh) to Sysop this board, and
while it's not an exclusive engagement (I suspect He does this
in His spare time when He isn't watching the sparrows fall or
growing the wheat and the Arctic plankton), His presence is a
real coup for TeleZAP!. Sending Him E-mail is a hell of a lot
more effective than prayer, and the replies are less
ambiguous too.
In addition to Tymenet and Uninet, the Heaven Board can be
reached the hard way, though few of the people who choose this
route make it back. The main exceptions are of course, Orpheus,
Persephone, and in more modern times, Mrs. G. E. Schlayermayer
who also has run-ins with flying saucers.
Naturally there's a counterpart to the Heaven Board, and while
it's not on this system, I'll mention it here, namely Ruth's
private room on Playnet; it's worthy of a visit too, though for
different reasons.
The Religion Unit has other goodies too; notable among them is
the Strange Religions sub-Unit hosted Guru Mahara Ji (now that
Rev. Jones has moved on to other areas of endeavor), the
Non-taxable Income Maintenance Program featuring advice from
Rev. S. Moon, and the Reincarnation SIG which, though
valiantly trying, hasn't quite made it back.
Naturally Games are available on TeleZAP! too, and like
everything else here, they're definitely different. Games of
skill and chance are available, as well as the traditional text
and graphics adventures. The first-time user may be
disappointed at how easy most of these games are to win, but
this is a feature, not a bug. When you loose, you *stay* a Dead
Troll until the next time you win, and an amazing number of
friends can disown you in just a half hour because of it.
(Winning again isn't so hard if you're a Dead Troll who
went to the Heaven Board, but if you wind up in Ruth's Room you
may be in trouble--there are (literally) a hell of a lot of
distractions there.)
If you're interested in TeleZAP!'s services you may call the
company directly (for some silly legal reason their offices are
in Singapore) or see me at a User's Group meeting. I have a
special half-price signup offer that includes a dispensation for
three (3) wishes granted by the Almighty. The connect
time charges are quite reasonable too, especially with the
Dollar swinging high on foreign currency markets, though of
course the exact hourly charge will fluctuate daily.
Submitted by David Mills
NYCE Network - Manhattan Connection Secretary
And 3-week Dead Troll
In Serious Trouble
------
author's note: The following article is reprinted from The NYCE
Network News, a users group newsletter. It originally appeared
in the JAN. '86 issue. (NYCE = New York Commodore Exchange)
8 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:12 Eastern (4151 characters)
ENA NETWEAVER Volume 3, Number 9, Article 8 (September 1987)
The Public Interest Computer Association:
Nonprofit Support for the Challenges of Technology
The not-for-profit sector has embraced the concept that
information technologies can dramatically impact the way it
conducts its business. In the past five years nearly 50 percent
of nonprofits have become involved with computers and are at
some stage of automation, either through the internal operation
of an information system or through an external contract for
maintenance of financial accounts and mailing lists.
Unfortunately for many nonprofits, the lack of appropriate
guidance and ongoing support in the selection and operation of
computers and information systems has increased their management
difficulties.
The nonprofit sector requires a support system that encompasses
all levels of service, starting with a needs assessment process
(in order to make an appropriate selection of equipment), and
continuing with education of staff in effective operation of
hardware and software and technical and consulting support with
a sole focus on nonprofit applications.
According to a Rousmaniere Management Association study, 20
percent of the nonprofit sector indicated complete
dissatisfaction with their use of computers, and 40 percent were
only moderately satisfied. Supporting this research, the Center
for Local Community Research's survey found that more than 50
percent of nonprofits indicated technical assistance support was
a major requirement for increasing their effective utilization
of computers.
These studies bear out the experience of the Public Interest
Computer Association in Washington, D.C. in working with its 232
member organizations.
The primary work of PICA is to find solutions for its
constituents' overwhelming requirements for:
* accessing and purchasing computers and software that match
current requirements for information mangement systems and
includes the flexibility for future growth;
* training and assisting in the management of information by
building the skills of staff to match the capacity of the
computer system;
* resolving daily difficulties associated with the operation
of the computers; and
* incorporating the growth patterns of the organization with a
comprehensive computer system upgrading plan.
The Public Interest Computer Association addresses the concerns
and issues unique to nonprofits through its vast array of
services. It provides a component to educate the sector about
future trends and developments in information technologies. The
three core services are:
* EDUCATION: building knowledge of and skills in information
technologies.
* ACCESS: providing an unbiased environment to study, test,
and compare hardware and software.
* TECHNICAL SUPPORT: giving individual, prompt, and expert
assistance to solve problems regarding computer based
information systems.
PICA operates a training and access lab. It has a resource and
software library that gives nonprofits an opportunity to preview
and access software and hardware prior to purchase. In
addition, the center trains on operating systems and software
packages, researchs information; holds private consultations
concerning internal issues associated with the utilization and
management of computer technology, and offers experts in
specific areas of computers and nonprofit management. The staff
provides individual attention to their clients in an unbiased
atmosphere.
PICA also participates in advocacy by representing the public
interest sectors' perspective in the policy decision making
process. This is an important role to the association. This
year PICA has presented its members' views in a filing with the
Justice Department in the review of the information services
restriction on regional telephone companies and with the FCC in
its decision to remove the exemption of access fees payment by
the value added networks.
------
Author's note: For information about PICA contact its executive
director, Denise Vesuvio at 2001 O Street, NW, Washington, DC
20036. (202) 775-1588.
9 (of 9) ENA EDITOR Sep. 12, 1987 at 13:12 Eastern (1877 characters)
MEMBERSHIP FORM
On April 14, 1985, at the closing of
The First Intersystem Electronic Networking Symposium,
a new organization came into being:
the Electronic Networking Association.
The purpose of this association is
to promote electronic networking in ways that
ENRICH individuals
ENHANCE organizations
and BUILD global communities.
You are invited to become a member.
Please complete (download) the form below and _mail_ to:
Ed Yarrish, Treasurer
Electronic Networking Association
c/o Executive Technology Associates, Inc.
2744 Washington Street
Allentown, PA 18104
Enclose a check or money order made payable to the Electronic
Networking Association.
Be sure to include your network affiliations and online
addresses so that you can be informed of the location of
NETWEAVER and ENA activities on _your_ system.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ENA Membership Form
NAME: _________________________________________________
ORGANIZATION:
_________________________________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
NETWORKS
_________________________________________________
AND
BULLETIN _________________________________________________
BOARDS
(INCLUDE _________________________________________________
IDS, IF
NECESSARY)
_________________________________________________
Amount Enclosed: _____________ ($50 - Professional membership
$20 - General membership)
Is this a new membership? _________
Net or BBS where you received this form: _____________________
Welcome!
--
Patt Haring UUCP: ..cmcl2!phri!dasys1!patth
Big Electric Cat Compu$erve: 76566,2510
New York, NY, USA MCI Mail: 306-1255; GEnie: PHaring
(212) 879-9031 FidoNet Mail: 1:107/132 or 107/222