Hi Ahmad

> The point is:  my call for action is to conduct that careful and thoughtful
reading of history.
I'm sure that there will be both parallels with history and contradictions, and
if the Chaos people are right we will have both at the same time just to confuse
us.

>Nothing to do with doom and gloom ......
Well I'm not so sure that a positive outcome is guaranteed. This is not to be
defeatist, and we need people like you Ahmad, to make us stop, think and debate
about the possible outcomes.

In the previous revolutions I don't recall it was all bright and cheerful for
the average man and women in the street. Didn't the agricultural revolution
result in the enclosures, loss of land and less independence for the peasants?
Didn't the Industrial Revolution result in the sweat shop factories and the
slums? And didn't the resulting steam ships and railways helped to make an
empire which condemned many to distant rule and inequitable trade?

Charles Handy in his earlier books was very positive about the freedom of the
networked individual but in his later "Empty Raincoat" paints a much bleaker
picture.

I'm currently researching into how financial companies can use the Internet and
other forms of interactive technology. The picture so far is that the big
companies are pouring millions into pilots. Their aim is to protect their
customer base and to *shape* the future. The small ones are hesitant - they
don't have the money to risk - and so convince themselves that it's all a fad.
One third part entrepreneurs are setting up a company to offer a complete
bespoke service to these smaller companies with lower cost entry and far less
risk. They're funded to at least UKP 5m by other bigger companies in the supply
chain. There is a big battle forming here and I've yet to see the small guy
playing a proactive and shaping role.

Customers are seen as slouch potatoes fed on a diet of satellite TV programs
(games shows, soaps, films and sport). To do this they will need to buy the
black box on top of the TV and with it will come a variety of consumer services
dominated by the few. The Internet might effectively become a secondary
"service" highway, used for business-to-business transactions and professional
groups like GP-UK plus populated by electronic hoboes.

We can't stop the _technological_ developments so lets look to shape how they
are used. If information is power then information needs to be dispersed and
people given the means to receive it but they also need convincing that they
will benefit from receiving it.

Regards
Alan

Are sigs allowed? With 50 items in my mail box in less than 12 hours I deleted
two thirds without reading them, including the ones on sigs.



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