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PLAIN TALK |
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Leonard Horwin
March 9, 2005
(310) 785-6600 tel.
(310) 785-6644 fax plaintalk@linkline.com http://www.leonardhorwinplaintalk.com |
Questions and Answers are cited below as
"Q" and "A"
1. Q: Why am I bringing this title to your attention?
A: Because the answer is in an article on page 111 of the Economist Magazine of February 26, 2005.
2. Q: Is the lead sentence meaningful?
A: "A funny thing happened on the way to 2005: The digital revolution actually became real."
3. Q: How did it become real?
A: Walk around in any city of town and what do you see? You see young people text messaging; commuters jamming in their I-Pods, friends snapping photos on their camera phones. Look a bit further and you see doctors' decisions aided by patient information called up on hand-held devices; teachers using wireless technology as tools; parents printing photos on cordless printers before leaving their children's football games. Look further still and you see executives going digital and cutting billions of dollars out of supply chains. And if you go to Africa or India, you may even see wireless devices providing opportunities in communities that don't even have electricity.
4. Q: Is this a revolution?
It's a revolution in any sense of the word. But I have another name for it: A warm-up act. We are entering an era where everything is going digital. It's going to be the main event of our lives for decades to come.
5. Q: What happens to photography?
A: "Photography used to be a physical, chemical, analog process. You took a picture and something happened to your camera: you took your film to a photo shop and something physical and chemical happened. You picked up your film, sorted your pictures and when you got around to it, you maybe put some in a photo album or mailed them."
6. Q: What's the difference now?
A: Today, photography is increasingly not only digital, but also mobile, virtual and personal mobile because you can do your digital from photo works anywhere at any time, virtual anytime in that others can enjoy it without being there with you. And it's personal in that you can edit the digital with any image and use it in any way you want."
7. Q: Are there any broader effects?
A: Yes. "Every process in every industry, - from banking to academia and from medicine to international security - is beginning to follow that same pattern. It's empowering, but also a bit scary because it's a leap into the unknown. Nobody knows for sure how to equip themselves."
8. Q: What, if anything, does the foregoing do to exercise of power?
A: "We've already seen glimpses of the kinds of changes that transformation will bring. For starters, it's completely changing the nature of authority. There used to be a time when access to information was the root of all power. The digital age is bring about the democratization of information, the removal of traditionally barriers of time, distance and wealthy and the onset of total transparency. There is nothing secret about my company anymore - our whole company is out there on the web for the world to see and that's a good thing."
9. Q: Does the foregoing make any change in business models?
A: Yes. "Take television, where the traditional business model depends on earning advertising dollars by delivering a certain number of viewers at a certain time, usually of a certain age. This is giving way to a world where consumers can fast forward through commercials, skip them altogether and watch programs when they want, how they want, and on whatever device they want."
10. Q: will the foregoing change democracy>
a: Yes. "Today millions of consumers vote for 'American Idol' finalists using their mobile phones. How long before they expect to cast ballots the same way? What does it do to our concept of community if the places where people traditionally came together, films, music, even grocery-stores - can best be experienced individually?" * * *
cc: George W. Bush, President
Richard Cheney, Vice President
John Kerry, Senator
John Edwards, Senator
Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Colonel Oliver North
Tom Ridge, Secretary of Homeland Security
John Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney General
Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Great Britain
Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary
Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel
His Excellency Daniel Ayalon Ambassador of Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu, Economy Minister for the Israeli Government
Israel's "Women In Green" National Unity Coalition for Israel
Arianna Huffington, Syndicated Columnist
Oriana Fallaci, International Journalist, Interviewer and Author
Yohanan Ramati, Chairman, Jerusalem Institute for Western Defense
Gerardo Joffe, FLAME (Facts & Logic About the Middle East)
Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor in Chief - US News and World Report
Time Magazine
Washington Post - Attn: Bob Woodward
International Jerusalem Post
The Weekly Standard - Bill Kristol, Editor
The Wall Street Journal - Editorial and Op-Ed Department
The New York Times, Op-Ed Department
Los Angeles Times, Op-Ed Department
Dr. and Mrs. Jordan Phillips, Medical Books for China International