< Vol. 7 >
A small enterprise in a big network
The Interactive Tube Communication System
Do you know the Interactive Tube Communication System of Blue Man?
If you knew it, you would be a well-informed man. Blue Man is the very
popular off Broad Way musical in New York. It was so fun that I can
enjoy though I can't understand English. I had never seen such a funny
musical before. Blue Man were painted with blue ink all of the upper
part from the neck. So their eyes shined strange. Immediately they
attracted the audience. The stage and the seat be as one body. It was
as interactive stage. We laughed at it from the beginning to the end.
Their future communication system which mimicked high-technology
computer network was funny. The very serious explanation video said
"Tube sometimes is stooped up. If the tube stopped timely, it would flow
backward from the bathroom or toilet. And that is the Interaction with
the user." They play ironically the new media fever, and their "interactive
communication" has stronger impression than that of mass media. The
audience can feel these funny realities, burst out laughing at Blue Man.
With E-mail
I asked to Miss Yukie Eguchi in New York to get the ticket of this
musical by E-mail. She comes from Kyushu, and now teaches "How
to teach foreign language" in New York university. Though she is week
in computer-sorry Yukie-, she has to use E-mail in her class, so she
uses it as an ordinary tool.
Because there are people like Yukie, there are many providers in the
world. Mr. Tooru Maekawa who takes charge of electronic machine in
JETRO New York makes a contract with the Panix. Panix is the oldest
one of all, and small one. This provider has about 6000 members at most
as COARA. When I went to see Mr. Maekawa, the news paper said
" The Panix damaged by hacker!!". It seems that there often are news
like this case in America, Well, it's not only the COARA's case.
Silicon Alley
Mr. Maekawa showed me a small enterprise, The Media Japan which a
Japanese manages. It is located in the Wall Street, makes homepages
on the Internet. Why is it located there? This is the point of today's story.
Because of the financial depression, most of the enterprises in the Wall
Street went away one after another. The Mayor of New York was troubled
by the vacant building, so he announced that he will build the Silicon
Alley be associated with Silicon Valley. Concretely speaking, the city
remodeling its building to be able to stretch the communication line
like the Internet around it easily. Besides the enterprises in the building
can pay communication cost cheaper, can get some privilege of tax
system. And the Media Japan located there.
Not only big business
It seems that the Media Japan have several staffs. Though the
president is on business trip, Miss Yoshiko Mukai, Web designer works
very hard. They largely make homepages in Japanese of Japanese
enterprises in New York. It seems that there are demands of these works.
Well, though the Time Warner have just started providing of the
Internet by CATV and AT&T provides the Internet by free for one year
to keep the members, there are not only the big business like them but
also small enterprises. We can take action like these small case. It is
fun of the Internet.
written by Tooru Ono, the chief of the NEW COARA secretariat
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