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METAFORIX MAIL

Volume 1, Issue 29 February 20, 2001

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CONTENTS AT A GLANCE:

ON MY MIND: ON MY MIND: Once Upon a Time . . .
IN THE MEDIA: "Dot-Com to Dot-Bomb"
METAFORIX MAIL ARCHIVES
INFORMATICON: "Don't Call Us"
CYBERSPEAK: Digital Signature
SITE OF THE WEEK: Netiquette Guide
WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS!

ON MY MIND
[From the Editor]

Stories and Organizational Change

When people tell stories about the groups they belong to -- whether families, business organizations, community groups, or countries -- they are not merely passing time, entertaining one another, or even transmitting a record of their history. Stories offer important clues to the values, the structures, and the world views that make social groups so fascinating and challenging.

In recent years, organizational theorists and management consultants have come to recognize the value of stories in helping organizations clarify the issues they face and develop a common sense of purpose.

For example, "creation myths" about how organizations came into being may help people remember why they became part of the group, providing a foundation for problem-solving and renewed commitment. Tales of organizational heroes may encapsulate the values and behaviors that are believed to keep the organization strong. Stories of crises or conflicts may yield clues to current coalitions or rifts within the group, offering a starting point for improving communications and repairing relationships.

From my perspective, organizational stories are particularly critical as businesses move toward wide geographical dispersion, telecommuting, limited face-to-face interactions, and virtual groups. In my work as an organizational consultant, I encourage people to share stories that are important to them. I ask them to treat the stories as data about how the organization works -- and how it could become more adaptive or work more effectively in the future.

Executives and others who usually think of numbers and charts when they hear the word "data" are often initially skeptical when asked to tell and listen to stories: How can stories contribute to the bottom line? For me, there is no more satisfying moment in working with a group than when the light dawns on one or more of those skeptics -- when they understand what the stories have to teach them about working smarter, communicating better, or improving the interpersonal relationships that work depends on.

That moment is a story in itself.

Cordially,

Lois C. Ambash, Editor
editor@metaforix.com

IN THE MEDIA
[a recent news article, feature, or opinion piece]

Rethinking Online News Sites

Much attention has been paid to the demise, dumbing-down, and downsizing of broadcast news -- most recently, the cutbacks and changes at CNN. Online news outlets are experiencing a similar fate, part of the more general retrenchments in the Internet sector as a whole.

In a recent PBS Newshour report, Terrence Smith and a panel of insiders explored the news website shakeout. An overriding theme was the relationship of money to time -- as in, We have a viable model but investors have not allowed us enough time to build the critical audience mass we need to become profitable.

To read or listen to the transcript of the discussion, go to:
www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/

METAFORIX MAIL ARCHIVES

Access previous issues of Metaforix Mail by date by visiting our archives. Or use the search box on any page of the Metaforix site (www.metaforix.com) to search by keywords.

INFORMATICON
[a provocative quote, statistic, or piece of data]

"Customer Service Is Hardly a Priority"
Susan Stellin, The New York Times, 2/19/01

"These days, 'don't call us' seems to be the prevailing attitude among companies that do business online. Many require customers to fill out electronic forms to contact a representative, but rarely do they offer a phone number. And they tend to bury direct e-mail links - if they publish them at all - deep within their Web sites. . . .

"It is not yet clear where a fair balance lies between the interests of consumers who need to contact the companies they do business with online and the abilities of companies to keep up with multiplying customer service requests.

"But in an industry that gathers increasing amounts of information about its customers, it may no longer be a viable option for a company to use technology to effectively hide."

CYBERSPEAK
[the vocabulary of the information age]

Sign on the Dotted Line

Digital signatures are the electronic equivalent of signing on the dotted line. They provide a unique means of verifying and authenticating the identity of the sender of a message. And as of October 1, 2001, they will have the same legal force in the USA as a pen-to-paper scrawl.

Digital signatures use an applied mathematical technique known as "public key cryptography." The message is encrypted using one electronic "key" on the sender's end, and is decoded by the receiver using a second key.

Although experts, and apparently lawmakers, believe that electronic signatures are secure enough to be treated as the equivalent of written signatures, many expect a flood of lawsuits when the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act) takes effect next fall.

Source consulted: www.internetnews.com

SITE OF THE WEEK

Rules of the CyberRoad

Over time, cultures develop rules to guide behaviors in a variety of social situations. Wedding protocols, table manners, and the proper honorifics to use when addressing potentates and politicians have long been encoded in books of etiquette.

Now, with the emergence of the Internet, comes "netiquette" -- a newly invented and rapidly evolving set of social norms to guide behavior online. DarkMountain.com's Netiquette Guide is one of several sites devoted to educating responsible "netizens," or citizens of cyberspace, in the rules of acceptable communication and interaction. From conventions for formatting e-mail to the perils of chain letters to the vocabulary of acronyms and emoticons, Netiquette Guide is a good place to learn or review the rules of the information highway.

To visit this site, go to:
http://www.darkmountain.com/netiquette/index.shtml

WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS!

Guest Columnists and Interviewees Wanted!

Metaforix Mail seeks your opinions on how information technologies are (or are not) changing your world of work.

Guest columns are welcome. Contributions are subject to editing for length and clarity.

If your column is accepted for publication, it will be permanently posted on the Metaforix web site, along with a link to your e-mail address or URL.

As a small token of appreciation, you will also receive a $10 gift certificate toward your next purchase at Amazon.com.

Alternatively, you may wish to participate in a telephone interview, which will be written up for publication in a future issue of Metaforix Mail. to be considered, please send a brief note indicating your professional perspective and the topic you would like to address.

To submit a column for consideration or to be considered for an interview, e-mail editor@metaforix.com.

Please note that the links contained in Metaforix Mail are current as of the time of publication. Some of them may no longer be operative at the time you access past issues.

To Volume 1, Issue 28 February 6, 2001
To Volume 1, Issue 30 February 27, 2001