Those who see the future of information professionals as one in which atomized individuals earn their living as infomercenaries working for deconstructed organizations should reexamine their predictions. Organizations are not machines. Organizations are organic systems … Information systems work is a means for an organization to achieve cooperation, integration, coherence, and uniqueness. I do not think that infomercenaries can deliver that.
Predictor: Strassmann, Paul
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for American Programmer, Paul Strassman speculates that information technology workers will not become “guns for hire” or, as he calls the proposed freelancers, “infomercenaries.” In conclusion, he writes: ”Those who see the future of information professionals as one in which atomized individuals earn their living as infomercenaries working for deconstructed organizations should reexamine their predictions. Organizations are not machines. Organizations are organic systems. If you view humans as machines, their component organs and chemical structure are very much alike and often surgically replaceable. Individuals-like organizations-are unique because of the way those parts are put together and how they manage their endowment, which increasingly is not physical but information-based. The prophets of the Internet, in conveying their vision of the future for professional workers, had better come up with scenarios that are supported by proven patterns of success. The year 2020 is not so far off that we do not already have clues as to what works and what doesn’t. Information systems work is a means for an organization to achieve cooperation, integration, coherence, and uniqueness. I do not think that infomercenaries can deliver that.”
Date of prediction: August 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Employment
Name of publication: American Programmer
Title, headline, chapter name: The Internet: A Way of Outsourcing Infomercenaries?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.strassmann.com/pubs/infomerc.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Vellucci, Amanda L.