Harvard hosts a debate on whether or not IT Is done
Apropos the mournful postings below on the state of IT… On Wednesday May 19 Harvard at 12:30 Eastern Time is hosting a debate on the question “Does IT Matter?” I plan to attend (via telephone). Because it is the business school the debate is priced for those who are already rich and/or work for the rich. And because it is the business school the focus of the debate is probably going to be “does IT matter to profit-seeking corporations?” I might try to get a few words in edgewise about how IT might be more transformative for poor countries than for rich countries. In the U.S. we have magnificent roads, stores everywhere, and seemingly 3 SUVs per citizen. So being able to do a transaction electronically isn’t that much of a time-saver. Someone in the Third World who has to ride a chicken bus over a terrible road for an entire day is going to appreciate being able to do a transaction from his local Internet cafe a lot more than someone who only saved a 10-minute ride in his Cadillac Escalade.
