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PlanetMullins Special Feature, cont'd
The first in a series
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JE:: Well, the first thing is to keep in mind that the Net is not a
path to instant riches, nor is it useless.
It can be a new market, it can be a new profit center, but like
any other business activity, it costs money, and needs effort.
Existing business can save money on customer service for
example or migrate some of their sales functions there.
But, it is not magic.
RM: So what do you suggest for a small business that it just starting
out on the Web, or for a musician like myself?
JE:: For small businesses I suggest keeping it simple. Take your
core business and see if the Web can offer you a new market,
get you new customers or allow you to serve existing markets
and customers cheaper.
The Web is a good tool for a musician it seems to me because
the general demographic online buys a lot of CDs etc. Also the
Net itself lets you show your product thru sound files.
But, gospel music would be harder to sell than new age
the demographics would work against you.
RM: Internet World was recently held in Los Angeles, and you
attended.
What were some of the new technologies and/or innovations you saw
there that you think will have an impact on the future?
JE:: I was disappointed overall with that, but I did see a few things.
First, both audio and video production over the Net will likely
improve since many companies are now interested in
providing tools for that.
There were lots of new web authoring tools so you will see
even bigger and zippier graphics.
Many of the large NAPs and providers were touting better and more
bandwidth which remains to be seen.
RM: What is a NAP?
JE:: National Access Provider -- the guys who provide the huge
backbones.
RM: You mentioned ftp and telnet earlier..can you briefly explain
what those are?
JE:: ahh FTP is File Transfer Protocol -- this allows a user to log
into a remote site and upload and download files. Telnet is a
remote loging progream that allows a user to login and use
remote computers programs.
I use FTP to upload files to my server for my web sites, and I
still use telnet to access my mail using 'Pine" on my server when I am travelling.
RM: Ok, thanks.
RM: A lot of people complain about AOL, and its lack of
consistency in service.
What do you think their problem is, and how could they correct it?
JE:: AOL is a huge service with possibly 8-10 million users. When
small things go wrong for them, it goes wrong in a big way. I
think they need to put some money into hardware -- more
redundant systems to support e-mail and the like..
and more money into hiring more sophisticated, experienced
personnel in charge of their hardware and software.
They tend to rely on thin resources and that reaches out and
bites them frequently.
RM: I have noticed that they always say that they are already doing
those things you mentioned.
Yet, hey don't seem to be.
Are they trying to pull one over on their customers or something?
JE:: Yes, and I think they are trying to do some of that, but they
tend to focus more money and personnel on "frills":
things like fonts in chat.
It appears to be that they allocate fewer resources to being
more robust, and more to being "popular."
There is nothing fun or really marketable about redundant
systems.
RM: They seem to be making money hand over fist it would appear.
Is that true, or just hype in your opinion?
JE:: Yes and no. They have made a rather large number of
acquisitions in the last couple of years which cost them a
bundle. The raise in prices starting in April will help the cash
flow a lot. They however are a long way from broke.
Buying compuServe for example has reaped no benefits to
users, yet cost a ton of money.
RM: AOL and its five screen names per account make for a lot of
possibilities for personal interaction.
What are some of the more interesting ways you know of that
people have used their names?
JE:: Well, one is not very interesting really -- it lets 5 employees
at a business have their own accounts, or a business to have boxes for
customer service, orders, etc. But at a personal level
I see members who will explore gender issues by having both
male and female identies.
And some for pursuing sexual identities with gay,
dominant/submissive identities etc.
And of course, some pursue "snert" identities and activities.
Overall it lets people experience different facets of their
personalities in an rather anonymous way.
RM: Yes, I can see that is true.
In looking around at the aol chatrooms, in the member area
for example,
there are a lot of unusual types of rooms that seem to be very active.
Frankly, if i were a parent,
I would be terrified.
And, there are "free porn" invitations being sent out every few
minutes.
Why doesn't AOL stop this, and
what can parents do to protect their kids online?
JE:: I think parenting is a verb, and far too many parents let AOL
baby-sit, and they should be terrified. Too few parents
exercise teen controls, and let their kids run wild.
AOL is NOT a safe environment for unsupervised kids of any
age (well even for young adults too). AOL has some good
controls for chat, file attachments and email that too few
parents have any clue about.
And I think far too few parents have any idea what it is like
online.
Parents need to be in control, need to learn what is going on,
need to talk with their kids, and need to be more attentive to their
kids online activities.
RM: In my opinion, the lines between virtual reality and real life
can become blurry for people who get addicted to being online.
What effect do you think this is having on our society?
JE:: Well, it is obvious that overall civility is breaking down all
around. Kids and others insult adults.
Adults heap verbal abuse on other adults in ways we did not
see 20 years ago. That being said, online is very seductive.
One can be whomever we want to be online, and that is very
attractive. You can meet people and be beautiful and young,
even if you are not. That for some lets them create a different
life all together.
I am leery of the term "addiction" in that I am leery of the
notion of the victim mindset. Too many people find it easy to do what
they want and call it addiction.
Still, the Net, and AOL have changed the landscape considerably
in this regard.
RM: To me the online way of interacting is very interesting.
It would seem that what you were just describing is common...
people in cyberspace don't really see, or can't really know
the effects of what they say or do.
A whole different kind of interaction appears to be happening.
JE:: A very interesting way of interacting -- the very characteristics
I have described make it wonderful for getting to know others
outside of racial, gender, "class" issues.
RM: True.
Personally, i think that online interaction can negatively affect
a person in their offline relationships,
if they are spending a lot of time online.
JE:: I think too, cyberspace lets you say and do things without
facing the consequences very clearly either.
RM: It seems that relationships that are created online can be too quickly ended.
just by turning off the machine.
JE:: Yes.
RM: The emotional residue floating around from that must be something
else..lol.
JE:: Again, it is that lack of real consequences.. you do not have to
deal with the hurt.
RM: If there is the "ether" that Thomas Edison was talking about, it must be getting very cloudy by now.
JE: Yup.
RM: What's your take on the whole Year 2000 deal?
JE:: The year 2000 thing is a real problem in a couple of ways.
Mainframes rely on stuff like
Cobol and Fortran and software build on those have significant
problems with the 00 digits issue for the years. Lots of older
systems support banking etc.
Y2K is not really a PC problem for the most part, but it could
affect banking, air traffic controlers, insurance, health
systems.
another big problem is in Asia and 3rd world countries where
they run sustems on pirated software... they are not going to
get the
patches and upgrades to fix them unless they go legit, and that
is a billion dollar issue.
RM: In Los Angeles, we are hearing a lot of ads for something
called "broadband".
Can you explain what that is, and if a normal person or family
would need it?
JE:: These are basically net hookups thru cable modems and
sallelites. Most families have NO use for it... business is
hungry for all that they can get generally.
RM: Your bio says that you are part of the Microsoft Small
Business Council.
JE:: Like most big companies, Microsoft has advisory groups to help
them in product development and marketing. The Small
Business Council advises Microsoft about how life really is in
the trenches for small business people, and then uses us to
find creative ways to use MS products in the small biz market.
RM: In your opinion is AOL part of the whole Big Brother deal?
Does Microsoft have something to do with it as well?
Or is the whole Big Brother deal just a rumor?
JE:: Hmmm, well. Many large businesses scratch each other's
backs. AOL has deals with MS to use their browser in their
software, and to that degree they are in bed together. They do
compete on another level with MSN and AOL
And, of course, Microsoft likes any activity that promotes the
use of PCs.
But as for a Grand Consipiracy, I doubt it.
RM: It always bothered me that these big computer and credit card
companies compile our personal statistics and watch our
activities. Do you think that what most of them are doing is
legal, and what can a person do to protect themselves?
JE:: There really is no such thing as personal privacy anymore.
The CC card companies have tons of info on us, as do health
care agencies, etc. I think most of them use this information in
ways that will raise the hair on your neck. Is this illegal?
Probably not since the fine print in all those agreeements
basically strip you of your rights. Is it Moral... probably not.
RM: cool..
change of topic..
How did you become interested in jazz?
JE:: Hmmm well, I like many forms of music... all kinds, some in
larger doses than others. My mother is a fine musician
(classical violin, professional for a time) and she made sure
we each learned about music broadly.
I am not a knowledgable listener, rather an interested amateur.
RM: Do you have a favorite song on the new Rob Mullins CD?
JE:: ROFL, I rather like Obsession
and Dance for the New World.
RM: Creative people like you are always working on something new
it seems.
What projects are you involved in currently that excite you?
JE:: Hmmm... well I am just about to start some work on creating
virtual communities of interest online. Mostly from a business
standpoint, but the personal will play into it.
This involves some research, and then most likely writing a book.
RM: Sounds interesting. What kinds of virtual communities?
JE:: Lots of differnt kinds -- using 3D things like the Palace,
MOOs/MUDs, Web chats, discussions lists and the like
Maybe some stuff with avatars.
RM: Those are all of my questions, and I want to thank you for your
time.
Any final comment?
JE:: I am reminded of the Sgt. on Hill Street Blues... only this:
"Let's be careful out there".
RM: Lol, ok.
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