COULD YOU WORK IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?
by Susanna Opper

My electronic networking friends often ask me: "Can you make a living at this?" My answer is... **YES**, if you have a relaxed definition of "making a living." At least your definition needs to be relaxed for now. I think things will change soon.

I've been an electronic networking consultant for two years. To give you an idea of what that means, let's look a case study-- one that involves some people you may know.

Some weeks before the Symposium in New York last Spring, I had lunch with Tom Miezejeski, then Director of Continuing Professional Education at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Tom and ENA member Ed Yarrish were working on a project for the AICPA that involved an electronic network. They had an innovative idea. Rather than tell the association about how useful such a network **could** be, they planned to set one up and demonstrate their idea. Tom wanted to know if I could help.

Naturally I said YES. (Otherwise I wouldn't be writing this article!) Next, Tom and I met and worked out the specifics of "Micronet," the name we gave the network.

"Who is the audience?" I asked. What is AICPA's objective? How will they know when they reach it? Who will pay? How will new members be enrolled? Is training necessary? Do the intended members have computers with modems? (You would be shocked at how many networks fail, or teeter on the edge of failure, because the intended audience isn't equipped.) How will we facilitate the conferences? And, specifically, what topics will members be interested in, so we can set something up in advance? How long will the pilot run? And what are the next steps?

With my client's objectives in hand, I made a blueprint of the network. (I actually draw pictures on my Macintosh.) Since this network would have CPAs as members, it seemed important to have things in their proper place... Other business communities might not care a lot about logic and a reasonable structure, but I hypothesized this group would. And they do.

So we set up some conferences. Since the network's purpose was to provide a forum for CPAs who didn't know each other to share information about using microcomputers in an accounting practice, the topics included hardware, software, tax and audit applications.

And, of course, we had the old standbys--"Forum" where people could post information for the whole community, "Questions" where answers would be found, and "Micronet" itself for system notices and to be the main branch.

Although MICRONET is less than three months old, we already have some pretty impressive results. Currently more than 150 people have said they want to join the network, although not all have signed on yet. We find here, as with most networks, that there is a large gap between the people who sign up and those who actually sign on. The gap is bridged with a lot of phone calls.

We've also found here--as I find on all my networks--that requests for information are almost always responded to, usually within hours. Software programs for accountants have been reviewed in depth; we've had a cocktail party (a little more reserved than ENA had on Unison, but still a good gathering); and we now have members looking for new ways to use the system.

An experiment that turned out well was a "Kickoff Poll" in which network members were asked to describe their hardware, software and their reasons for joining the network. Just to show CPAs are like everyone else, MICRONET members were more interested in connecting with other CPAs to share practice information than
they were in learning about hardware or software.

Now about earning a living. Tom thought the idea was so appealing, he's left AICPA to promote electronic networking for associations.

Next network, please.

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Susanna Opper is a New York City telecommunications consultant
who designs and implements communication systems for
organizations. Exxon, Avon, and Coca-Cola are also on her list
of clients. Before starting her own business in 1983, she was a
communications specialist with Exxon. She can be reached on The
Source and Unison with her full name. She's SOPPER at NYIT
where MICRONET runs.

Tom Miezejeski can be reached on NYIT as TOMM.