How to prosper in the era of the Internet¹

Issue title: NFAIS Miles Conrad Memorial Lectures

Subtitle: 2000 Miles Conrad Memorial Lecture

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hatvany, Béla

Affiliations: Bois St. Jaume, Route des Salins, St. Tropez 83990, France

Note: [1] Editor’s Note: By all accounts Béla Hatvany gave one of the most stimulating Miles Conrad Lectures in the history of the talk. He gave it live and without a script. Fortunately the tape recorders were running. The talk that unfolded from the floor was more like poetry and fine prose than a technical paper. Perhaps that is what kept the audience spellbound. In editing this transcript we have done our best to retain the artistic merit of the original performance, though words alone cannot help but fail. This paper will have to suffice as the artifact that documents the moment. But, in short, you really had to be there.

Abstract: Two key aspects of success in the business world are collaboration and service. In transitioning to the new environment of fully networked information, content providers will succeed if they find ways of listening thoughtfully to what the user (individually and in community groups) seeks to accomplish in this environment. It is key to recognize that man is a social creature, seeking information from his peers. Content providers already foster that process of exchange of opinion, allowing the authority of consensus to provide credibility and reliability to knowledge creation. By paying heed to what users indicate are the services appropriate to the networked information environment, content providers will prosper. One possible model of moving forward in an era of transition is that used in software development. By allowing users to interact with imperfect applications, by allowing the software to be refined and perfected through collaborative input, information providers will successfully create the appropriate services needed by the marketplace. Of critical importance to success is that we really understand the underlying purpose of our business, for our purpose will be enabled, not disrupted, by technology. Our cluster of industries is here to facilitate the knowledge creation conversation of society. If we actually establish a meaningful relationship and discussion with the end user community (the community of scientists and researchers) and they feel well served by us, they will guide us towards the products and services that they need – and for which they will pay. But first we must build that relationship and engage in that inquiry.

DOI: 10.3233/ISU-2004-24105

Journal: Information Services & Use, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 39-47, 2004