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Dear Sacha,
Do
you remember the first time you went online? How long did it take
you to become comfortable with using the Internet? How long
before you thought you had some idea of what you were doing?
Every
time we encounter something new on the Internet we essentially start at
zero. Our previous experiences make the learning curve a lot
easier, but that's just a question of knowing what we're doing.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself about the impact a new technology
has on you, or what impact you're having by using it?
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Now what do I do with it?
The
Internet can provide vast amounts of information to anyone, anywhere,
whenever they want or need it. Today, chances are that you
don't have to drive more than fifteen minutes to reach a store where
you can buy everything you need to get online. If you compare how
much you know today with how much you knew when you first got online,
you probably wish that getting a handle on being online had been as
easy as getting online in the first place.
There is no denying
that the Internet, that being online, has a social impact. This
shouldn't be overlooked when any talk of "going online" comes up.
Especially when going online will also affect other people or companies
for whom you can't judge the impact. When you go online,
you are in effect either creating or joining an online community.
The
words technology (usually in the guise of 'online' or 'Internet') and
community are easy to bring together. Today the Internet almost
makes it a matter of course to create communities. These might be
short-lived chat rooms created and joined through the likes of ICQ,
AIM, Yahoo, MSN Messenger or Meebo, or an online bulletin board, or
even a weekly video conference call between employees. There is
even a case for declaring the Internet, as a whole, a very large and
eclectic community.
Perhaps it well help you to imagine that if
you picture the Internet to be like a college, with all its students
studying different subjects, engaged in different clubs, playing
various sports, and engaged with various interest groups. It's a
daunting place and it may have taken you the first six months to get
comfortable with the campus and really know your way around. The
same is generally true of the Internet. Once you start using it
you will spend several weeks or months getting acquainted with it and
establishing some regular hangouts (websites) to visit.
As with
any simile, the comparison eventually breaks down. Colleges are
largely static and if they do change, these changes are small or occur
over a period of years. Internet traffic, on the other hand, doubles
every six months. And unlike at a college, there are no campus
tours or readily accessible advisors to help you figure out the
Internet.
In short, when you first get online you've taken your first step to becoming completely lost.
This
is why it is very important to be aware of the quality of the community
you create. The work involved in seeing to it that
everything on your end works properly makes it easy to lose one's
overview. You, as the person responsible for buying goods and
services, now have a system that is perfect for you. How easy to
use is it for your vendors? Do you have an effective, efficient
community or are you the only one who can draw any benefit from it?
That remains one of the cornerstones and a unique feature of the ElectronicTendering System.
The ETS, as a whole, is designed for both you and your vendors.
It is a ready-made community where both essentially use the same tools
and gain the same benefits. We have done the worrying for
you. All you have to do is get online.
And I promise you, you won't get lost.
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Last but not least, I want to pass one wish on to you all.  Happy Easter! Sincerely,
Sacha Hartmann
YSER Inc.
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