Last month, I mentioned opening a virtual business by setting up a web site so that potential customers from anywhere in the world can visit your online store, browse the merchandise, select the item(s) they want, and purchase them…all from wherever they have an Internet connection. Let’s take a look at some of the specific ways the technology that makes this possible has affected all of us.

The information super highway was built on the billions of dollars invested in the dot com boom. Telecommunications companies laid hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber optic cables under the oceans from America and Western Europe to Japan, India, Malaysia, and China. These cables enabled many thousands of terabits of information and voice communications to travel at blinding speed to and from virtually anywhere in the developed (and developing) world.

In order to explain how this affects you and me, picture yourself purchasing a single item at Wal-Mart. When the UPC code on that item is scanned at the checkout, Wal-Mart’s general office in Bentonville, Arkansas is notified of the sale, the manufacturer is notified to replace the item, the shipping company is notified of the impending freight and Wal-Mart’s own shipping department generates a way-bill for the return of the product to the local store’s inventory!

The technologies that made possible the global supply chain I just described also brought us the functionality of our PCs, the enjoyment of browsing the Internet and the convenience and time savings of shopping online; but technology is a two edged sword. These very same technologies have also forced the outsourcing of many manufacturing and tech support jobs, which is why, when we need help with our computer, printer, or scanner, the person we talk to is quite often, not a native English speaker.

It is human nature to resist change, and a very old cliché that “change is inevitable.” Americans tend to view the outsourcing of jobs to those who can provide them at lower cost as a negative, almost unpatriotic act, but some 3 billion people in Mexico, Japan, India, Malaysia, and China see it as a tremendous opportunity to rise up from the poverty they have known.

On December 6th 1941, America learned that isolationism could not protect them from enemies abroad. We must realize that protectionism cannot shield American workers from the realities of today’s advances in technology. We must find, and tap the opportunities offered by the world we have created!

Prior to the globalization of communications and economics, the only hope people from underdeveloped countries had was in coming to America. Now they can compete globally from home. They are very determined and extremely ambitious; the way Americans were as we fought for prosperity after the Great Depression.

Americans have always risen to the challenges they have faced and we must rise to today’s challenges as well. As technology progresses, the world gets ever smaller and job security has become a thing of the past. Current and future Americans must become better educated and increasingly adaptable to the changes brought on by life at the speed of technology.

The risks of identity theft while doing business electronically are very real, but they are a mere trifle compared to the dangers America faces if we do not adapt to the globalization of supply and economics. If Americans fail to adapt, we will be left behind as developing nations gain more market share, money, and power. Adapting to life at the speed of technology involves not only learning new jobs or changing careers, we must continue to innovate.

Just as we are now too dependent on foreign oil, we must avoid becoming so dependent upon foreign trading partners that we cannot demand accountability from them. To accomplish this, we must ourselves, be accountable. We must be responsible global and corporate citizens.

Good citizenship begins at home. In order to demand accountability and good citizenship from trading partners, global corporations, and foreign political leaders, America must set the standard. We must demand accountability from ourselves and our corporate and political leaders. Setting standards high, and living up to them, will require a lot of adaptation, but the stakes are high. We must learn to live and work within the increased demand and competition of our technologically advanced and connected world.

Most of us remember when a cash register didn’t tell the clerk how much change to return to the customer, they had to actually count it back to you. You still count your change…(DON’T YOU?) Security risks today aren’t really worse than in the pre-electronic world, they are just different, so we must adapt.

Last month I mentioned a couple of key ways to reduce the likelihood that you will be defrauded when shopping or paying bills online. Following are some more ways to improve your security when exchanging personal information or money online:

• If it sounds too good to be true, IT ALMOST ASSUREDLY IS!
• At any site that requires you to register and login, never allow the site to maintain (Save) your password.
• Never reveal your password to anyone unless you trust them with your bank account
• When making an online transaction, always check to be sure that the web address in the address bar of the merchant’s “checkout” page begins with https. The “s” stands for “secure” and look for the locked padlock icon at the bottom of the page.
• Never allow yourself to believe a pop-up ad or an e-mail warning of urgency to act now to give, or update, personal information!
• A legitimate merchant will never ask for personal information unless you initiate the transaction

As I pointed out last month, the convenience and time saving aspects of shopping or paying bills online, that allows us to conduct business anywhere in the world from the comfort of our homes, assures the continued growth of the Internet, not only as a viable way to do business, but as the most efficient means of moving vast amounts of information as well.

I encourage everyone to embrace the new opportunities created by our technology. Learn to use and manage your computer. Shop and pay some of your bills online. Search and find information about anything you have an interest in. Life is good…Enjoy…but NEVER stop learning and growing!

Terry