Volume 4, Number 9 ---CONTENTS--- September 1988


1 Masthead and Index

2 REMARKS BY WILLIAM LOUDEN, GENERAL MANAGER, GENIE
Keynote address to the ENA Conference - May, 1988 ... Part I

3 REMARKS BY WILLIAM LOUDEN, GENERAL MANAGER, GENIE
Keynote address to the ENA Conference - May, 1988 ...Part II

4 BUY AT LARGE: A REVIEW OF MIND AT LARGE ........ By Jim Dunn

5 The Many Facets of User Support:
A Report from the ENA Conference Session.... by Billye Lemon

The Many Facets of User Support:
A Report from the ENA Conference Session
by Billye Lemon

"User Support" is not a simple thing. It is multi-faceted,
encompasses many tasks, requires multiple skills, and should
impact the whole `system.' In thinking about how to pull this
all together, I started looking for a framework within which to
introduce a subject dear to my heart....

The "user" IS what computer conferencing is all about. It's not
the technology alone. The technology and whole system come
together at the point where they interact _with_ (and for?_) the
user.

To emphasize this importance,
let's begin by thinking of the USER
as the *CUSTOMER.*

We all know that in all good businesses,
CUSTOMERS ARE #1.

The following framework is one which Metasystems often uses in
consulting with clients on organizational development. Let's
use it instead as a framework within which to identify the parts
of the whole _system_ within which the user enteracts. In
presenting this model, the frames were introduced sequentially,
from smaller to larger. This diagram represents the total
system --

This diagram represents the layers upon which a system is built,
from the host and software, thru the interface with the
customer, building towards the comfortable customer. The goal
is to create an environment in which the user can progress to
the point of interacting on the system to be able to DO WHAT HE
WANTS TO DO, with the system becoming a _tool_ which is as
nearly transparent as possible.

The User Support session had a great panel representing a
variety of very relevant and innovative approaches to customer
support. This summary touches the highlights. The emphasis was
on smaller size or special interest networks.

Seth Horowitz, Director of User Services at Telebase Systems
(EasyNet) illustrated with overheads real-life examples of
questions which came to his network where he provides the only
"always live" *24 hour* reference support for database
searchers. EasyNet is tailored to access over 800 databases.
To receive help, users need only send a message asking a
question and immediately receive a friendly reply.

Seth's sample HELP conversations illustrated of the valuable
skill of interpreting questions and illiciting user information.
For example:
Q. "I need information on Florida."
H. "What do you need to know about?"

In this case, through a series of exchanges, the "helper"
discovered that the user was a 6th grader preparing a report for
class the next day. With no visual signals, the skills needed
by the reference person multiply.

A variety of examples sharpened everyone's awareness of the
multiplicity of questions and the significant added value to the
user of having real people to talk to for assistance.

Sandra Greer, as Director of Communications of PresbyNet, told
a wonderful story which illustrated the processes involved in
identifying the communication needs of a specific community --
the Prebysterian Church -- during a two-year experiment with
computer conferencing. Sandra employed face-to-face meetings to
identify needs and develop a plan; a trial network to gain
experience; then selection of the conferencing software and a
host system; free accounts; and group training. The plan also
included providing content which users wanted and every form of
"help." Sandy outlined a total, very well-managed program.

Allen Kratz, News Director of PresbyNet, followed Sandra with an
explanation of the evaluation of the project. Beginning in 1986,
by the end of 1987 more than 600 persons had signed up to
participate in PresbyNet. All participants were sent complete
questionaires. The survey analyzed such areas as:

- greatest satisfaction = those who wanted to receive current
information and feel more connected,
- greatest disappointment = those who wished to obtain material
normally available only in print,
- biggest attraction = instant access to church news and sermon
ideas.

The evaluation included complete analysis of user and non-user
reactions, including barriers to usage, habits of participation,
cost incentives, user profiles, fulfillment of expectations,
etc.

Session attendees were absolutely delighted that there was a
full copy of the research for each of the 30 or so people
present. Seasoned network managers were totally appreciative,
since, as one commented, "When you're busy running a network,
one never has time to conduct this type of valuable research!"

Peter de Jager operates ICSnet, a private network for
information center managers, which he began on a Fido board in
Canada. Growing to 500 users, the decision was made that a
larger host was needed and ICSnet moved to space on The Source.
ICSnet users experienced the transition or `changing' pains of


needing to learn different software and a different system.
Illustrating how importnat these kinds of transitions are, even
when as much support as possible is given, is the fact that
membership dropped considerable. It is now up to 200 again.
Peter's presentation was greatly appreciated -- as well as
the fact that he made the drive from Canada to support ENA and
be part of this session.

Closing:
USERS are our primary concern. Everything done should
be done with the USER in mind. On every
system.

USERS NEED A CHAMPION -- BE ONE!

--------
author's note: Billye Lemon is a partner in Metasystems Design
Group in Arlington, VA (703-243-6622) and Director, The Meta
Network.

BUY AT LARGE:
A REVIEW OF MIND AT LARGE
By Jim Dunn

MIND AT LARGE, by Paul Levinson, Ph.D.; JAI Press, Greenwich, CT
1988;ISBN 0-89232-816-9

_Mind_At_Large_, by Dr. Paul Levinson, will likely prove an
academic "chaos attractor." In it, the critics of technology
will find their worst nightmare: a compelling explication of the
*necessary* relationship of people and the manipulation of
materiel. The champions of technology, however, can take
little comfort; to embrace Levinson, they must accept a degree
of ethical responsibility not usually associated with a blind
faith in the blind funding of R&D. Levinson is a rationalist, a
fallibilist, a humanist; one who develops an evolutionary
epistemology and shamelessly crowns human beings as the most
important things in the universe.

This is an important work because in it we find a lucid and
compelling explication of our relationship to what is around
us. Some may describe, _Mind_At_Large_, as a book about
technology, one among a host of contemporary volumes. This, I
think, is a mistake. While others describe the "hows" and
"whats" of technology, Levinson stands out as he addresses some
of the essential "whys." _Mind_At_Large_, may sell because
technology is a hot issue, but it is important because it
transcends popular fascination with machines and gets to the
heart, the human heart, of the technological phenomenon. In
short, it is good philosophy.

This book, more than most, will suffer (or enjoy) as many
different readings as there are strong positions. To be fair,
let me say that I am an environmentalist, and not a particularly
optimistic one. To wit, I recall that there once was a time
(two billion years ago) when oxygen was a form of toxic waste;
that early shift from photochemical to photosynthetic oxygen
production is the source of our "hospitable" atmosphere and the
cause of one of the first mass extinctions. I sense that we may
now be encouraging a similar shift, an atmospheric transition
which we may or may not survive. As the greenhouse effect,
ozone depletion, massive deforestation and population growth
remain unchecked, I have to wonder about the quality of life my
grandchildren will enjoy.

Levinson, by contrast, is imperturbably optimistic. He
looks to space flight as strong evidence that the species will
survive, barring our self-annihilation. And if mere survival is
the only criterion, then optimism may be warranted; even the
staunchest romantic must concede that each generation derives
its satisfaction and displeasure from the circumstance of its
day, in caves or in orbiting canisters. Whether or not some
future generation will have to step off the planet remains an
open question. But, no matter how much we deplore the spoiling
of the Earth, Levinson compels us to see that any response to
the current mess, from birth control to solar energy, is a
technological solution. In fact, all human activity, malignant
or benign, is essentially technological.

Levinson begins with the assumption of evolution. This is
the foundation of everything presented in the book. If you
accept the legacy of Darwin, then it is difficult to deny the
thesis of, _Mind_At_Large_ . If evolution does occur, then
there is an objective reality (something that some appear to
deny). This reality functions as a proving ground for
innumerable forms of life, each form consisting of a genetically
encoded "idea" about objective reality. Those organisms which
correspond well to reality will survive and enrich the gene
pool; those which fail are unfit because the information
encoded in their genes does not stand up to the test of
objective reality. In this process, Levinson finds a model of
human knowledge. In the human arena, Truth is much like
objective reality. Just as living organisms arise, confront
reality and either perish or propagate, so human knowledge is
generated, criticized and either forgotten or disseminated.
The "market place of ideas" serves the function of reality.

This is not to say, however, that because there is an
objective reality, there is also an objective Truth. Truth is a
human phenomenon, and humans can no more know unqualified Truth
than they can objectively know reality. That is, according to
Levinson, we can know that there *is* an objective reality, but
we can never *know* objective reality. Levinson subscribes to
the anti-doctrine of "fallibilism."

To the fallibilist, all attempts to explain the world are
conjectures, to some degree flawed or inaccurate. It is,
ironically, our inability to find definitive answers which
enables the growth of knowledge to occur; as Truth can only be
approached asymptotically, so there will always be room for
improvement. This is to say that all assertions are wrong, but
some are less wrong than others. Just as the shark has changed
little in millions of years, so "Thou shalt not kill" has lasted
throughout history; but, as goes Ptolomy, so goes the dodo bird.

How do we distinguish between the wrong and the less wrong,
the shark and the dodo? Rationality. Rationality is the key to
Levinson's epistemology. Rationality gives value to ideas, and
forms the basis of criticism, criticism serving as the "testing"
element analogous to reality, reality corresponding to Truth.
Levinson defends rationality on the basis of evolution. The
mind has evolved to correspond to the world. Levinson argues
insightfully that rationality, like vision, hearing and the
other senses, is a medium through which we perceive and
understand our surroundings. An irrational proto-human
would encounter the same difficulty as one that hallucinated;
neither would persist very long in the gene pool. Here Levinson
enters the debate between the rationalists and irrationalists.

The irrationalists have long frustrated rationalist with
the simple observation that the rationalist cannot justify
rationalism without a self-referential argument since
justification is a rational act. The non-rationalist can then
say: "Aha! Since rationality cannot be justified, you must take
it as an irrational leap of faith." Levinson deftly puts a
stop to this by again turning to evolution. Just as we have
first matter, then living matter, then dead matter; so we have
pre-rational animals, rational human beings, and then irrational
human beings. We cannot call a dog irrational any more than we
can call a rock "dead." Death is a state which occurs only after
living, and irrationality can exist only after rationality has
been expressed.

The foundations of Levinson's argument thus admit three
things, all of which derive from evolutionary theory: 1. there
is an objective reality, 2. we can never know the truth about
reality, but, 3. rationality is the faculty of mind which allows
us to get close.

From this base, Levinson synthesizes and modifies the
thoughts of Kant, Marx and Popper to develop his three
"T-Worlds," which comprise the cosmos. T-World 1, consists of
all materiel, living and non living, with the exception of the
human brain. T-World 2: the human brain. T-World 3 holds all
of the interaction between 1 and 2; in other words: technology.
Levinson's genius here is the recognition that far from
"inhuman," technology represents the materialization of human
ideas, it is the mix of mind and matter. When we create
technology we express, in material, our fundamental ideas about
ourselves and our world. Levinson then demonstrates how ideated
materiel (technology), follows the same evolutionary pattern as
immaterial ideas, and unintended life forms; that is generation,
criticism/selection, and dissemination/propagation. The history
of technology, aptly put, is the story of Mind at large.

Though many of us would like to change that Mind, would
like to see a different kind of materiel manipulation, I think
few can reasonably assert themselves as anti- technological.
Instead, we must call for a more rational ideation of materiel.

--------
author's note: Jim Dunn graduated from the University of
Chicago in 1986 with a BA in English Language and Literature.
In June of 1988 he received his MA from the New School for
Social Research in Media Studies.

REMARKS BY WILLIAM LOUDEN, GENERAL MANAGER, GENIE
Keynote address to the ENA Conference - May, 1988


The information age is upon us; that should be no surprise
to members of the ENA. But it has surprised some MIS managers of
companies over the past few years. MIS managers were comfortable
when the company's information and data was on their mainframe or
mini computers; but their users wanted to connect to outside
sources, too, by using their PCs. Well, enter the inter-
information age.

At GE Information Services, the parent company of GEnie, we
have seen a shift in market demand in three key areas: notably
electronic mail, electronic data interchange (or EDI as most call
it), and external information sources, such as GEnie, the GE
Network for Information Exchange, which became commercial in
October 1985.

Electronic mail is certainly not new; GE Information
Services has been providing commercial private electronic mail
systems for over 10 years. And our QUIK-COMM System is considered
one of the leading private electronic mail services in the
industry.

What is new, however, is an increasing demand for global
access, interconnectivity to external, and perhaps "alien," E-
Mail services, and the beginning of the elimination of foreign
government regulations on the transmission of electronic mail
across borders.

First, let's discuss global access. Increasingly, many
corporations are thinking in terms of global access for their
products. These corporations are rapidly finding that they need
access to global information services - such as E-Mail and EDI -
if they want to compete on a global basis. The technology exists
to use these network-based information services worldwide, but
the ability for companies to use these services to their fullest
capabilities is restricted by actual and threatened regulatory
impediments in many countries.

These corporations also are establishing branch offices
throughout the world. They see the critical need to be able to
communicate quickly and efficiently with their co-workers,
regardless of whether they are in the Tokyo office or in the
office down the hall.

Second, there has been a fundamental change in the way that
corporations view electronic mail services. In the past, E-Mail
services were viewed as private castles, with addresses doled out
sparingly only to the secretaries of the "corporate nobility."

And these castles were only considered private and secure
when they were protected by thick electronic walls limiting
access to a select few internal users, with perhaps an electronic
moat barring access to any company outsiders. No more.

Today, corporations are increasingly requesting private and
secure E-Mail systems for all employees, from the guard at the
front desk to the CEO. And they are all increasingly requesting
inter-connectivity to other external and/or private E-Mail
services as well.

At GE information services, we offer our QUIK-COMM system
users the capability called "cross community," which allows one
private QUIK-COMM system to transmit an electronic message to
another private QUIK-COMM system, if permitted by the
system administrators, while still ensuring the privacy and
security of each E-Mail community.

We are also actively pursuing interfaces to other private E-
Mail systems. To date, we provide QUIK-COMM System interfaces to
IBM's PROFS (Professional Office System) and DISOSS (Distributed
Office Support System) E-Mail Systems and to DEC`s Al-In-1 mail
system.

This, however, still does not address the interconnectivity
requirement between two dissimilar E-Mail systems, such as
private vs. public, on different provider's mainframes, located
in different countries with, perhaps, a different billing system.

Thus, the X.400 standard has emerged as a method to span the
bridge between those differing E-Mail systems. GE Information
Services, as well as many other international electronic mail
providers, have already stated that they will support the S.400
standard in their E-Mail systems.

But technical standards and technology are not enough;
network service providers need a harmonious political and
regulatory environment in the nations where they seek to operate.
Only where such an environment exists can they help their clients
to achieve the leading edge competitiveness required in a fast-
changing global economy.

However, in many countries today, it is still difficult, if
not illegal, to send a simple electronic mail message across a
country's borders. Fortunately, a liberalization is now taking
place, particularly in Europe as part of Europe 1992.

In Japan, for example, private networks and information
services such as GE Information Services or NEC may now offer
communications and value added network services that, in the
past, were only reserved for the government.

In Europe, liberalization is also speeding up as a result of
the plan to create a European marketing community by 1992. Last
year the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland permitted
private enterprises to offer electronic mail and information
services traditionally reserved for the PTTs. And the objective
of total liberalization of most industries, including
telecommunications, in the European Economic Community is
targeted for 1992. That date may be a little late by our
standards, perhaps, but it is welcome nonetheless.

-----

The second area of increased market demand is in electronic
data interchange. EDI in its simplest form is the computer to
computer exchange of intercompany business documents, such as
invoices and purchase orders, in a public standard format.

Some people consider EDI to be a specialized form of
electronic mail; but it is differentiated from electronic funds
transfer (EFT). EDI moves information in a standard format; EFT
moves money.

GE Information Services is recognized as the leading
provider of EDI services today; with the following major
corporations as EDI clients: Eastman Kodak, Levi Strauss,
Burlington Industries, Gillette, 3M, Texas Instruments, and Toys
"R" Us.

In some industries, EDI has already become the norm; not the
exception. For example, in the wholesale drug industry, 95
percent of all purchase orders today are delivered to
manufacturers via EDI. In an industry with an average profit
margin of less than one percent; EDI has been critical to the
continued success and profitability of many organizations.

At GE, we estimate that 70 percent of computer output is
another computer's input; and that 25 percent of a transaction's
cost is the data entry and data re-entry. EDI makes good business
sense; but that is usually not enough to get some businesses to
adopt a new technology.

In the case of EDI, adoption of the new technology is aided
by gentle coercion. No one called you and said, "Use Electronic
Mail, or FAX, or personal computers, or we'll cut you off!" But
in the case of EDI, that is exactly what is happening now in
major industry sectors, such as automotive, transportation and
wholesale drug businesses.

What usually happens is that a major purchaser (called a
hub) in a given industry sector will issue a directive to its
suppliers that if they wish to continue to do business with the
hub, then the suppliers must implement EDI services. Faced with a
loss of revenue, suppliers soon adopt the EDI technology in their
business. The 80/20 rule seems applicable with EDI; if 80 percent
of your dollar volume comes from 20 percent of your trading
partners, those 20 percent will force you into EDI, and it may be
sooner than you think.

Before I leave EDI, I would like to come back to the X.400
standard. Many people in the information services industry
believe that the X.400 standard also has significant applications
for EDI as well as electronic mail. In fact, some say that the
rapid acceptance of EDI will be the major force in the future
acceptance and use of the X.400 messaging standard.

In fact, GE Information Services was recently selected by
CEFIC, the European Council of Chemical Manufacturers'
Federations, to provide a pilot EDI service to its member
companies. CEFIC is the recognized voice of the European Chemical
Industry which employs more than two million people. What makes
this contract of particular mention here is the use in the pilot
of the X.400 messaging standard as a carrier for EDI documents
across Europe. In this respect, the CEFIC EDI pilot is the first
major implementation to employ both the X.400 messaging standard
and EDIFACT, the international EDI standard.

The third emerging market is the area of external
information services, such as GEnie. These services are not all
that new; the concept of these services, often called videotex,
has been evolving for the past several years and they continue to
grow in popularity.

The world leader, by number of terminals in place, in
videotex services is the French Minitel service. They currently
have delivered over 4 million free terminals to French users;
with 58 million accesses per month and over 7,000 information
providers online. The French experience was made possible by the
French government's subsidizing the cost of the terminals and
mandating a common network gateway through the government
controlled telephone and telecommunications ministry.

In the United States, the market is being driven by personal
computers in the home, not low-priced terminals. It is estimated
the U.S. now has over 14 million PCs in the home; plus 17 million
PCs in the workplace and an additional 13 million on-line
terminals. Of the PCs in homes and offices, one-fifth, or some 6
million, are equipped with a modem. And approximately one million
of these PC owners subscribe to a commercial online service in
the U.S. today By the year 2000, it is estimated that 50 percent
of the U.S. population (35 million households) will be using
videotex services on at least an occasional basis.`

Now where does GEnie fit into this scenario. GE Information
Services, which has been providing network based business
applications and other services to corporate America for more
than 20 years, decided in 1985 to use some of its excess
mainframe computer capacity during non-prime time by offering a
consumer information service.

Thus GEnie became operational on October 1, 1985, with zero
subscribers, other than the internal GE Information services
people online. After only a little over two years in operation,
GEnie recently passed the 100,000 subscriber level and now has
110,000 subscribers as I speak here today.

As a result of this phenomenal growth, GEnie is now number
two in the U.S. consumer information industry. GEnie is an
excellent example of where the online consumer information
services industry can go in the near future.