PCs are becoming so commonplace that I expect we'll soon see them priced by the pound at the local supermarket. This is due in large part to the Internet, which has dramatically expanded most people's awareness of computer technology. Before the World Wide Web exploded onto the scene, most people's involvement with computers was in the workplace. Now, we use the Internet to communicate with friends and family (how did we ever do without E-mail, anyway?), and the Web to obtain information about practically everything in the galaxy. Looking ahead, the growing world of E-commerce seems to have grabbed the spotlight - probably because that's where the money is - but I've got a few questions.

First, a bit of a digression. While the basic functions of the Internet and the Web are pretty much what their developers envisioned, management guru/historian extraordinaire Peter Drucker points out in a recent Atlantic Monthly article that E-commerce - perhaps the most significant development of the Information Age - was not really envisioned by the prognosticators. This is somewhat curious, although history is littered with similar stories; the example Drucker uses in his article is that of the railroad, which although completely unprecedented was one of the most important developments to come out of the Industrial Revolution.

Anyway, the word is that E-commerce is the Next Big Thing, that we'll all be buying more and more things online. Why is this? And although E-commerce is another "sales channel," as they say - probably the ultimate one - does all merchandise fit into an online sales model? My gut says no - but then I ask what really differentiates merchandise in this regard? And I can't really answer the question.

Convenience is one of the reasons E-commerce is becoming such a big deal. Convenience is also one of the main reasons for the success of catalog sales over the last 10 or 15 years. Many retailers will tell you their studies indicate that convenience has become incredibly important; in fact, some customers even rate it higher than selection and price. And, if you think about it, the convenience quest began long ago; supermarkets and shopping malls are both manifestations of the desire to make shopping more convenient.

So - does this mean we're too busy? Whatever happened to the idea that technology was going to turn us into kings and queens of leisure? George Jetson may have only been a cartoon character, but I still recall how he reflected a tough day spent at the office. He'd come home with a sore finger and complain about how many buttons he had to push that day. (Kind of amazing to think that those Hanna-Barbera animators foresaw an early version of carpal tunnel syndrome...)

Anyway, I AM trying to ask a serious question or two here. What the hell are we so busy doing in this world of laborsaving devices that we've created? Have we become trapped by technology, or captured by consumerism? Or are we working more to provide our kids with all the things we didn't have in our collective childhood? Are we working more because we're becoming a society of haves and have-nots with virtually no middle ground, and we're desperately trying to stay on the side of the haves? Or perhaps one of my too-much-wine-late-at-night theories is really true - we're approaching a black hole, and everything really IS speeding up - including us.

E-commerce is happening for lots of reasons, one being the healthy economy we've enjoyed for the better part of the last 20 years. Not only has the bull market provided additional disposable income for many people, it's also stoked the furnaces of innovation and technology. These, in turn, have brought us new products, new markets, and new ways to sell things.

Still, E-commerce makes me wonder about the other web, the web of society in which we live. The neighborhood, the grocery store, the dry cleaners, the hardware store - these are all vital parts of our societal web, because they provide places for people to interact with each other in a variety of ways. As scribes were put out of business by the printing press, so will other businesses be affected by the emergence of E-commerce. Nevertheless, sometimes I think the hype gets a bit out of hand. Social interaction is important to our collective well being, and the traditional marketplace provides a setting for us to interact with other people. Virtual interaction is not the same thing.

The convenience issue intrigues me, though. Do more and more people feel they don't have enough time to go out? Or is it the hassle of driving, parking, and lack of inventory? In other words, have we lost control of our lives so much that we can't go out? Or has our world become so crowded and our physical infrastructures so inadequate that we just don't want to?

Copyright © 1999 Stephen Wacker

Contact Stephen Wacker at swacker@accessone.com regarding use of this copyrighted material.

Stephen Wacker writes about technology, culture and society. His career as an information technology professional has focused primarily on communications and the Internet. Mr. Wacker also writes about contemporary popular music and is an accomplished songwriter and guitarist.