The Death of Distance

by Cairncross, Frances

• ISBN13: 9781578514380
• ISBN10: 157851438X
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Pr

Summary

In this paperback edition of the acclaimed book The Death of Distance, journalist Frances Cairncross of The Economist shows us how the world is changing with the introduction of the Internet and wireless technology. First published in 1997, Cairncross's provocative book-based on evidence from two sweeping surveys on telecommunications-argues that new communications technologies are rapidly obliterating distance as a relevant factor in how we conduct our business and personal lives. Now, the author has substantially rewritten and updated the book, with 70 percent new data, fresh analysis, and new company examples to offer a look at the economic landscape ahead. Cairncross argues that the story today is not only the diminishing importance of distance, but also the mobility and ubiquity of technology. New material covers the implications of recent events and debates including: Oslash; the rise and fall of the dot-com phenomenon; Oslash; the spread of mobile telephones and other wireless communications; Oslash; the wave of technology mergers; Oslash; the authenticity of the "new economy;" Oslash; diverging trends in business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce; Oslash; the restructuring of the organization in the wake of the Internet; Oslash; the increasing impact of patent law on the communications economy; Oslash; the so-called "digital divide"; Oslash; and the democratizing effects of communications technology on companies, governments, and society. With an updated "Trendspotter's Guide" that offers a snapshot of the new opportunities and challenges we face in a wireless world, this timely book will help all of us envision and enjoy an increasingly connected future.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
The Trendspotter's Guide to New Communications	xiii
Changing the World	1	(18)
The Third Transport Revolution	19	(22)
Voice, Video, Data	41	(34)
The Internet	75	(24)
Consumers and Electronic Commerce	99	(28)
Corporate Commerce and Company Structure	127	(28)
Reinventing Government, Redefining the Nation State	155	(32)
A New Economy	187	(26)
The Five P Problems: Policing the Electronic World	213	(28)
Knowledge and the New Monopolists	241	(24)
Society, Culture, and the Individual	265	(26)
Notes	291	(18)
Index	309	(10)
About the Author	319