InformationWeek

March 27, 2000

Secret CIO:
Technology's New Manners
Notebooks and cell phones are changing our social behavior--for better or worse

Herbert W. Lovelace notion that has always fascinated me is the extent to which the developer of a technology is accountable for its use. Does Henry Ford bear any responsibility for the suffering caused by auto collisions? Are we answerable for the way in which the computer and communication systems we helped create are used?

At a recent conference, I walked into the spacious meeting room a little early, sat down, and began reading the newspaper left that morning at the door of my hotel room. A few minutes later, a man about my age settled himself into the seat in front of me. He immediately took out his cell phone and made a call.

He quickly became agitated and his voice grew increasingly strident. I found his carrying on distracting and glanced about to see the reaction of others. No one seemed troubled and, in fact, I saw a fair number of people using their own phones--a not-unusual scene in today's world.

The meeting began with a beautiful laser light show punctuated with vibrant and rather loud sound clips. My colleague continued his conversation, raising his voice to be heard over the din, but finally ended his call in obvious frustration. The conference chairman strode toward the podium to loud applause--and to the less-than-muted tones of the Windows startup jingle as more than a few participants powered up their notebook PCs to take notes.

The keynote speaker was introduced, and I became intrigued when the host of the session requested that all pagers and cell phones be silenced. The speaker smiled, unclipped his own telephone, and said, "Well, I guess that means me, too." Everyone laughed and he began his presentation. I wondered idly if he would answer his phone if it rang during his talk.

For a while, the room was quiet, his words competing only with an occasional cough from the audience and the clicking of keyboards, evoking the sound of mechanical crickets on a summer night. Then the first pager went off. Then the second. And the third. The person next to me looked at the beeper at her waist, frowned at its screen, and went back to listening. A few minutes later the cell phone of the man in front of me rang. He answered it and, in a somewhat softer voice than before, carried on a conversation for a few minutes.

The rest of the morning session was accented every so often by the tones of various electronic gadgets. I took pride (perhaps it requires superior technical skills to change the operating mode of these devices) that my own pager was on vibrate, my cell phone set to take messages, and my PC tucked securely in my briefcase. I then began to muse about the amount of radiation zapping through us to power all these toys. Recognizing that as a depressing line of speculation, I turned to contemplating what we, as purveyors of technology, had wrought.

The English poet John Donne wrote, "No man is an island." For years, I thought that was an insightful statement. We are social animals and require human interaction, but I'm beginning to question if this is still true. We seem to be developing behavior patterns that would have been considered very rude only a few years ago.

Why? Is it because we are trying to do too much and are willing to risk irritating others in the pursuit of utilizing every available second? Or is it insecurity--the fear of being out of the loop coupled with the need to know at every moment what is happening in our own little sphere? Perhaps it comes about because so many of us have jobs that don't require physical interaction with others--we sit at our desks and E-mail the person in the next cubicle.

Conclusion? It doesn't really matter what the reason is. Society is changing. We have lost touch with what used to be the norms of behavior, and we are developing new ones--for better or worse. Maybe under these circumstances the increasing use of telecommuting, and working at home or on the road from our hotels, is a good idea. After all, we already act as if no one else is there except us, even in a crowded room.

Herbert W. Lovelace shares his experiences (changing most names, including his own, to protect the guilty) as CIO of a multibillion-dollar international company. Send him E-mail at lovelace@home.com, and read his online column, "Ask The Secret CIO", where he will provide real--and sometimes whimsical--answers to your questions.

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