Don Fowler's Lecture and TWIT

I found Don Fowler's lecture to be especially interesting considering that IT consulting or management consulting are occupations that I may be looking to pursue in the near future, after graduation. At first, I found myself questioning the validity of the occupation because it is hard to imagine how small changes in efficiency can translate to larger changes that actually impact the business. However, Fowler did a great job at illustrating the advantages and uses of consulting. One example I found quite interesting that Fowler mentioned has to do with outsourcing, which, often times, is a solution to reducing costs for many businesses. Fowler talked about how outsourcing allowed projects to cycle around the world, thereby, ensuring that the project was being worked on 24 hours a day. For example, a project could be worked on in the US, but after the work day, it could be sent to, say India to be worked on, and then maybe Australia, and then back to the US. This would drastically increase efficiency. I think consulting would be a great field for any graduating student considering that just about anyone, from any major, can be hired by a consulting company, such as Accenture. Furthermore, Fowler also mentioned that it was a relatively stable job; whether the economy is in a recession or in a boom, consultants are in demand, either to help cut costs or help expand businesses.

Fowler also made it clear that consulting would be nearly impossible without the advent of the information technology revolution. For example, outsourcing would be next to impossible because companies would not be able to transfer data and projects across the world, like it is possible now.

One topic I found interesting from TWIT was how print newspapers are on the decline and how they are even starting to disappear. The panelists on the radio station were discussing how print newspapers were becoming redundant and that using the online versions of newspapers would be relatively easier and less redundant. They also mentioned, however, something I agree with, which is that reading a print newspaper has a different feel to it. For example, it feels more natural to scan the headlines of a newspaper and to be able to flip through the pages. Obviously, online newspapers have very different layouts than print newspapers, and, in my mind, are less conducive in allowing readers to scan the news. At the same time, I believe that online newspapers have significant advantages as well and that neither version of the news can be sacrificed. I, however, may be biased, coming from New York, where the world-renowned New York Times is found in practically every household. Another reason for the demise of newspapers, according to the podcast, was that they waste a significant amount of paper, a process that is extremely detrimental for our planet. And, at the same time, online newspapers can be stored relatively easily and in large amounts without wasting many resources. When listening to this podcast, I thought of a story in the news that I had heard recently. Apparently, Seattle's main newspaper ended their print version and now only have the online version. Though this may have a few significant benefits, for the most part, it does not make much sense considering there may be a large population of readers that either do not have Internet access or do not know how to access the online version. This is just one example of how technology may be leading to the demise of the publishing world (though I do not buy the argument that it is leading to the demise; rather, I believe that the world of technology and the publishing world can coexist and complement each other).