Multiple, simultaneous meetings

The cost of having many permanent employed contacts to the Internet is likely to be prohibitive. However, it would be quite viable if the contacts were temporary: used on demand and only when needed. A managed team (or an entrepreneur, or an auteur) could perhaps establish a list of appropriate contacts who would be available to provide assistance or advice whenever needed - perhaps paying them a retainer for priority treatment when the needs arise. This is illustrated in figure 14.6.

The 'on demand' links, or retained services, would probably involve specialist who were experts in different areas of knowledge. For them to be called upon to help or advise only on an occasional basis might appear to be somewhat disconcerting. However, this would only be a problem in the world of bricks and mortar where physical realities impose practical limitations on the number of clients a specialist can deal with at the same time.

In the world of the Internet, it is as practical for experts to serve several clients, as it is for clients to have several experts. This is because virtual meetings - with email discussion - can take the place of real life meetings. This can bring into play an unique feature of the Internet which makes it possible to take part in several discussions at the same time.

In the bricks and mortar world, business is run mainly by physical meetings where it is impossible to be at more than a single meeting at any one time. In the world of the Internet, this is possible because the sending and receiving of messages and information do not have to simultaneous. There can be gaps between when a communication is dispatched and when it is assimilated by the intended receiver.

In face to face meetings, video conferencing or telephone conversations, sender and receiver must be synchronised in time. With e-mail, they can be out of time sync so that both sender and receiver can choose a convenient time to either send or receive. This allows conversations to overlap, it can allow different conversations to merge without disharmony.

In a real life meeting people cannot all talk at the same time, people cannot wait several minutes to answer someone's question while they go across the world to get the answer from someone else. It isn't possible to break off halfway through a meeting to join another, or, ask the people in a meeting to wait until tomorrow when you' might have more time to consider what they have been saying. Yet, this is the normal way for internet discussions to proceed. Many discussions can be interleaved without confusion. There is time for contemplation and thought before responding.

Although his method of communication can take some getting used to, it is has many powerful advantages over face to face meetings. It is this unique feature of email - not possible in the real world - that can provide opportunities for communication strategies are couldn't even be imagined in the non Internet world.