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Thursday, November 02, 2000
Fall Internet World was a bit tamer this year. Sure, there was plenty of carnival atmosphere from new companies trying to stand out in a crowded Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. But that was mere noise level bravado that can be created at little cost. The real differences this year were in the goodies.
That's right -- party madness gave way to rational business events. Instead of lavish spreads in big ballrooms, dot.com companies tended toward meeting rooms with doughnuts. Sure, there were a couple of big blowouts, where you could still get your fill of sushi -- but only at the parties that were done en masse by dozens of companies who could split the cost of these expensive treats. In fact, for the first time in recent memory, an entire evening passed us without a major event (except for the World Series -- which kept the whole city abuzz during the conference anyway.)
The trinkets shrank too. The same companies that last year gave out watches and plush sweat shirts gave out Slinkies and T-shirts this year.
It looks as if the dot.com world woke up in the city that never sleeps -- to the realities of business, where p2p (path to profitability) means more than whether you have a B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business) model.
Q: I think that voting online would increase voter turnout. Are there any technical difficulties that are keeping us from voting online this year?
Have a question for David Radin? Contact him at his Web site
A: There are technical issues, but I wouldn't characterize them as technical difficulties. It would be very easy to create an online vote -- complete with security features. However, there are many political and administrative ramifications. In addition to the need for an easy user interface, we'd need a good methodology to count, store and verify each vote. Plus, since not everybody has access to the Internet, we'd need to continue to use current methods as well -- just to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to vote.
According to Craig Smith and Randy Tate, both vice presidents of voter.com, the decision about how votes are collected are actually made at the county level. That's why the process is different when you move from county to county -- sometimes even in the same state. These gentlemen told me that we will see voting online in a few years. (We already can register to vote online.) However, it is likely that it will start with the most progressive counties, then filter down to other counties as the process proves itself in action.
Since we're talking about voting, let's take a quick look at a dark-horse presidential candidate. Jackie Strike is a virtual candidate. Created by an American living in Germany, along with a "campaign staff" from around the globe, Jackie is the perfect candidate -- because she is a combination of politicians you've seen before. If you visit her Web site, www.jackiestrike.com), you'll be able to listen to her speeches and hear her views on various subjects. The words may sound familiar -- because you've heard them before. The creators have used special technology to crunch the speeches of other politicians into a seemingly coherent set of original speeches. Plus they have given her a colorful background. Of course, not all of Jackie's words will be familiar. Since she is a parody, she uses some of her own original campaign rhetoric -- such as "America needs a mother."
You can listen to an interview (in Real Audio) with Chris Goold, Jackie's campaign manager, by visiting www.insiderradio.com/pittsburgh.
David Radin is host of the nationally syndicated radio show Internet Insider, a local version of which is aired on KDKA AM 1020 on Saturdays at noon.
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