Publications |
|
The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be (cont'd) |
|
Taken together, all these factors mean mountains of digital information. The following analogy illustrates how much. Assume that the total amount of information in the world today (residing in governments, businesses, universities, etc.) can be represented by the height of a six year-old child beginning school. How much more information will there be in the world when the child completes high school in 12 years? The amount of information accumulated over the last two millennia will not double or triple in 12 years, but it is expected to increase 50-fold, or the height of a 20-story building, using the analogy. So what are some of the implications for marketers? You will need to be computer fluent. It will not be enough to be computer literate you must be computer fluent. When learning a new language, a person’s ability to ask for directions or order a meal is not enough to conduct complex boardroom negotiations using that language. Working with digital information is no different than learning a new language; you will need to be able to use a computer to access and process information without thinking about your technical abilities. You will need to be an information connoisseur. The ability to critically evaluate and sort through useless or irrelevant information will be a necessary skill. Once you have your information, you will then need to quickly make decisions and act upon them. No longer will wisdom and experience be enough in the boardroom; marketers must know how to find and use the right information as fast as possible. You will need to be a life-long learner. Computer technology is not going to stand still. In order to thrive in an information-based world, you will need to constantly acquire new knowledge and skills. Companies will move to skills-based management, tracking your skills and knowledge and using this information to allocate human resources. A digital divide is now emerging between those who can operate in the information society and those who cannot. North American businesses will continue to automate many processes and let employees go who add little ‘technical value’ and can’t speak the language. Therefore, the digital divide also means that the informational have-nots will be financial have-nots. Four years ago Acadia University recognized that their students must be educated in an environment that prepares them to function in the information society. Now in its third year, the Acadia Advantage program is a technologically enhanced academic environment where students and faculty use notebook computers, a campus-wide network and the Internet as resources for teaching, studying, researching and learning. I recently became aware of a highly successful business that sells its products worldwide. This company closely monitors the market to determine customer trends and builds relationships with its customers through constant contact. Pieces of paper are almost non-existent as orders, invoicing, inventory, and shipping are all managed electronically. The company communicates with its suppliers through its computer network. It is easy to think of this company as quite large and employing many skilled people. However, this web-based business is a sole proprietorship owned by a 23-year-old. If you find this hard to believe, then you have some homework to do. Scott Follows is a marketing professor and Director of the Acadia Centre for Virtual Learning Environments at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He can be contacted at 902-542-3200, E-mail: scott.follows@acadia.ca |
|