NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE TO CIO
 
Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!

 


Wed, Feb 28, 2007 0:22 EST

Time to Disrupt Disruptive Technology

Topic: Architecture

Blog: CIO Knowledge Space

Current Rating: 0 Comment: 1

Here are some tidbits I culled from news items both recent and not so recent:

  • Only 14 percent of people turn off their cell phones during sex
  • Wireless technology can accelerate teen dating abuse
  • Many workers suffer from information fatigue syndrome leading to hypertension, heart disease, irritability, headaches, lack of concentration, anger and ennui
  • An average of 22 stressors hit us each day, many in email form, repeatedly unleashing cortisol, a stress hormone, responsible for numerous stress-related diseases 

Here’s another piece of news that’s a bit dated:

On Saturday, February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated nearly 40 miles above earth traveling at 18 times the speed of sound. Human remains were found in fields in Texas. There were no survivors. Human that is. Weeks later, hundreds of small worms that were part of an experiment did survive the crash and were found, again, somewhere in Texas in some canisters about the size of coffee cans. Curious.

I remember that day of the crash. I was watching in horror at the events. Weeks later, when I read about the worms, it became clear to me. Human beings are not designed to withstand Mach 18 at 200,000 feet in the air. Maybe worms are, but human beings definitely aren’t.

And one final tidbit to tie these two disparate set of facts together: 

  • More information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 5,000

As I read about the worms, I thought about the amount of information flow hitting us daily. Are human beings designed to absorb this amount of information this quickly? Can we live successfully with the information equivalent of Mach 18, with cortisol raging, uncontrolled, through our veins?

Maybe. Maybe not. All depends on two paths we have available to us: a) designing computers to think on behalf of us, relieving us of the need to process so much so quickly; or b) designing computing devices that enhance our ability to absorb information by “calming” things down for us.

In a classic 1996 paper titled “The Coming Age of Calm Technology,” Marc Weiser and John Seely Brown discussed the impending age of the Internet and the growth of ubiquitous computing (UC). They wrote eloquently:

“The most potentially interesting, challenging, and profound change implied by the ubiquitous computing era is a focus on calm. If computers are everywhere they better stay out of the way, and that means designing them so that the people being shared by the computers remain serene and in control. Calmness is a new challenge that UC brings to computing.”

None less than Stalin observed that quantity has a quality all its own. With that in mind, I have following questions:

  1. Does the sheer amount of information our systems spew forth render useless any calming effects that even the best UC designs offer?
  2. Did everyone who designed these darned things and the information they spit up forget all about the concept of calmness?
  3. Is this disquieting information flow responsible for the life-style ills found in people in developed countries?
  4. Longer term, are we multi-tasking ourselves into oblivion? Don’t we need relatively stress-free IT workers to invent those computers that Raymond Kurzweil believes can save us?
  5. How much faster are we capable of going?

I don’t have time to deal with these questions. I’ll leave it to you. My Blackberry is buzzing and I gotta go. TTFN.

Vince Kellen is Vice President for Information Services (CIO) at DePaul University and a member of the faculty for DePaul's computer science graduate program.

 

You do not have flash or javascript support.
Average (0 votes)
0
 
 
Sun, Mar 11, 2007 11:04 EDT
Anonymous user
Posted by: Roger Smith
Rating:

Researchers at McMasters University are conducting a study of CTOs and similar technology leaders. In their own words:

"This questionnaire is part of a research program investigating technology leadership in organizations. The highest ranking manager/executive in the organization charged with the oversight of technology is usually called the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), although some organizations use other titles such as Vice-President of Technology. For convenience we use the title CTO to refer generically to all such positions. Not much research has been done on CTO’s and the important leadership roles that they play. Neither is there much reliable information about best practices for the position. This questionnaire is being used to gather information about these issues in a sample of American, European, and Japanese companies.

This questionnaire is intended to be answered by CTO’s or those in equivalent positions and includes three short sections:
In the first part are questions about your career history. These will help us build a profile of the kinds of experiences which lead people to the CTO position. The second section asks about the tasks, responsibilities and authorities associated with your position and what you perceive to be the important trends and issues in the management of technology. The third section asks questions about the important upward and outward aspects of CTO leadership."

If you would like to participate in this study, please download the questionaire at:
http://www.ctonet.org/documents/CTO%20EITIM%20survey%202007%2003%2001.doc


About this Blog

CIO practitioners discuss their personal experiences and yours.

Start a Conversation
Click to post

Got something to say? We want to hear it! Click the Post button to get started. GO»

EXPERT ADVICE
See our roster of experts.

Advice & Opinion from more than 108 of IT's most insightful thinkers.

  PARTNERS       WEBCASTS    
 

Preparing for the Next Cyber Attack

Ensure you are up-to-speed on the latest security technologies available to keep your network safe in this Executive Guide. Get a thorough assessment of the corporate security threat landscape. Protect your network with data leakage protection, NAC and other technologies explained in this report.

Sponsored by Qwest  Read this Executive Guide »

 

Cloud Building: 8 Ingredients for Internal Clouds

Cloud computing: a fundamentally new way to deploy IT services and functions cost-effectively and quickly. Learn how the VMware vCloud initiative dramatically improves how consumers access their information and experience applications as well as the 8 ingredients to get you going.

Sponsored by VMWare  Read this White Paper »

 

Investing in Business Analytics Technology

You're thinking now is the time to take the plunge into business analytics, but you still have some unanswered questions. This research summary addresses the most common questions and concerns surrounding the successful launch of a business analytics initiative. It also includes real-world examples of organizations already getting return on their investment.

Sponsored by SAS  Read this White Paper »

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notification when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library. Don't just be up-to-date—be up to the minute with our new Resource Alerts.

Improving Transparency and Accuracy in IT Cross Charging

During this Webcast you'll learn how KBC Group implemented SAP BusinessObjects Profitability and Cost Management and realized many benefits.   View Now »

 

Cost Savings and Risk Reduction with Effective Systems Management

Join us and see how Novell can help you respond to today's economic challenges by increasing productivity, reducing costs and aligning IT initiatives with overall business goals.  View Now »

 

Capitalize on Your SAP Content

Learn ways to improve your content management by viewing these Open Text webinars today.  View Now »

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notification when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library. Don't just be up-to-date—be up to the minute with our new Resource Alerts.

 
NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for the Blogs & Discussion Newsletter

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Introducing the new HP ProLiant G6 server family

Accenture: Outsourcing for Competitive Advantage. More...

Better spam protection with Postini for just $1/user/mo

Introducing the new HP ProLiant G6 server family

infoBOOM! - The Mid-Sized Company CIO's Exclusive Community

Accenture IT Consulting: Logical meets technological. More . . .

The Fraudster Economy Model: Operating a Business in the Underground

Trade in your old laser printer and get up to $1000 back!

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Revolutionizing Enterprise Application Deployment

Why Data Loss is Increasing--and What You Can Do About It

Data Loss Prevention: A Better Way to Approach Security

Learn how to managing client systems in the enterprise.

Build a High-Performance Open Web Platform

Mid-Sized Company CIO Community: infoBOOM!

Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide

Getting Value from Outdated Networking Equipment

Losing Ground: 2009 TMT Global Security Survey

Stop Application Fraud at the Source with Device Reputation

Learn about the VMware vSphere (TM) & Intel (R) Xeon (R) Processor 5500 Series

Learn how a virtualized enterprise can help your company reduce costs

Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More?

Learn how to save 30% through project & portfolio management.

How Open Source is Changing the Face of Enterprise Software

8 Key Ingredients to Building an Internal Cloud

Accenture IT Consulting: Enabling high performance. More...

Top Five CIO Challenges

Insight makes it easy to spend your Microsoft subsidy check.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.

Dangerous Collaboration Practices: 5 Ways IT Can Minimize Risk

Accenture: Outsourcing for uncertain times. Click to learn more.

The Case for Investing in Business Analytics Technology. Read white paper.

Live Webinar: Applying Business Analytics. Click here to learn more

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Developing A Dynamic, Real-Time IT Infrastructure

Maximizing the Business Value of the PC Infrastructure

Communications and Collaboration Needs at Business Organizations

Using Open Source to Deploy Web Applications

Cloud Computing: Read about VMware's compelling vision & set of products

Enterprise PBX Buyer's Guide

Secondary Market Primer: Your Network at Half Price

How Interactive Viewer Reduces the Effort to Meet Visualization Requirements

Top-line Performance that's Bottom-line Efficient

White Paper: 8 Key Ingredients to Building an Internal Cloud

Read about virtualization and consolidation effort best practices

Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure

The Global Marketplace Today: Strategies for Tough Times

Top 10 Business and IT Drivers for the Wealth Management Sector

5 Steps to Automating Accounts Payable

Bottom-Line Benefits of Virtualization