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METAFORIX MAIL
Volume 1, Issue
33 March 20, 2001
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CONTENTS
AT A GLANCE:
ON MY MIND: ON MY
MIND:The Million e-Mail March
FOLLOWING UP: A Few
More Words on Reinvention
METAFORIX
MAIL ARCHIVES
WANTED: YOUR OPINIONS!
ON MY MIND
[From the Editor]
The March
of the 21st Century
Marches
on Washington as a means of attracting public attention to cause began
after the Civil War. The first ones I personally recall were the civil
rights marches of the 1960s, followed in short order by marchers expressing
their passionate viewpoints on each succeeding social movement and political
issue of the day: women's rights, gay rights, the Vietnam War, abortion
rights, the AIDS crisis -- right up through the Million Man March and
the Million Mom March.
Marches on the nation's capital (and "me-too" marches on state capitals
and city halls)were especially effective in the heyday of network television.
The big players were the three major networks, each with a significant
news division. In some markets, they were the only players. The
nation still considered news gathering and reporting to be important responsibilities
of the broadcast media, and the media responded in kind.
Those were the days of live gavel-to-gavel convention coverage, real-time
coverage of presidential press conferences, and lengthy interruptions
of entertainment programming to accommodate breaking news events. Television
news reporters viewed themselves as journalists. News lite had not yet
made its debut. So a march on Washington was not only a major public event,
but the television networks treated it as such. People who wanted to watch
TV watched the coverage, in many cases, because it was the only show in
town.
With the rise of cable TV came CNN, which rose to prominence during the
Gulf War and spawned a number of imitators. It did not take long for the
networks to cede most of the responsibility for live, serious news coverage
to the cable networks. A march on Washington might only be watched people
with a special connection to the cause or by true news junkies -- a rapidly
dwindling breed.
Enter the Internet. When the number of wired homes and offices reached
a critical mass, organizations with social and political agendas soon
began mobilizing supporters and communicating their messages via e-mail.
Aging baby boomers who had once thought nothing of hoisting a backpack
and boarding the bus to Washington now had a new alternative. The claustrophobic
thrill of milling about on the mall, surrounded by thousands of like-minded
chanting and applauding activists, became less appealing and/or less physically
possible for many people. Virtual participation was an ideal solution.
Although I'm certain it is not the first "Million e-Mail March," senior
citizens are currently mobilizing an e-mail campaign to insure the ready
availability of affordable prescription drugs. Not all members of Congress
are set up to handle this huge influx of e-mail (and similar campaigns
emanating from other quarters).
According to
the New York Times, it takes some Senators and Representatives
as long as three weeks to respond to e-mail communications. A four-day
turnaround time is very fast. Many of the 80 million e-mails sent to Congress
last year were mobilized by grass-roots Web sites.
Are cybermarches as dramatic as throngs of real live people? Hardly. But
for me, this story has two take-home messages: One, e-mail blitzes work
to influence legislation and social policy. And two, the frequent condescension
to seniors on the Web is misplaced. They have the time, the education,
and the commitment to let their fingers do the marching, with the expectation
of highly satisfactory results.
Cordially,
Lois C.
Ambash, Editor
editor@metaforix.com
FOLLOWING
UP: A Few More Words on Reinvention
Readers
Respond
Last week, we
re-evaluated reinvention. A reader had e-mailed to suggest that the Metaforix
tag line, "Reinvent
yourself for the Information Age", had negative connotations and ought
to be replaced. Ultimately, to no one's surprise, we concluded that the
word was a good one, carrying connotations of risk-taking, imagination,
and renewal.
Several readers responded. One, an organizational consultant, wrote that
in her West Coast neck of the woods, "reinvention" is a hot-button word
that provokes heated discussion in some of her workshops. She thinks it's
best avoided. Two others -- East Coasters -- agreed with us on the positive
connotations of the word.
What do you think? Please let us know. E-mail your thoughts to editor@metaforix.com.
METAFORIX
MAIL ARCHIVES
Access previous
issues of Metaforix Mail by date by visiting our archives. Or use the
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to search by keywords.
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.
BACK
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To
Volume 1, Issue 32 March 13, 2001
To
Volume 1, Issue 34 March 27, 2001
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