DISINTERMEDIATION & DEMATERIALIZATION

Cutting out the Middleman & Cutting out the Middle

Dennis B. Kottler, MD

Westlake Village, CA

Appointments: 818-991-8376

See also: INFO-lag

An apology for the long words. The world is undergoing a sea change...thanks to what else: The INTERNET

DISINTERMEDIATION and DEMATERIALIZATION are increasingly trimming the fat and turning society into a "lean, mean, machine." The gains in productivity will be enormous, something only glimpsed at during the first decade or so of the wired (now wireless) world.

A few examples will help define these laborious terms:

DISINTERMEDIATION

After several frustrating attempts at getting the best fares from my travel agent, I finally did all the arrangements myself on the net.

Same fate befell my stockbroker - I now trade exclusively online.

Same fate befell my local wine merchant - I now purchase exclusively on the net.

Same fate befell my answering service - I now use a digital answering machine.

Downside: A lot of lost jobs.

Upside: Convenience, cost-savings, increased productivity.

DEMATERIALIZATION

LIBRARY...the net is my new library.

CD COLLECTION...I ripped and loaded them all onto my hard drive....my music will all be immaterial (?)...MP3's or whatever format is available.

LOCAL BANK...I do almost all transactions online.

REAMS OF RECORDS...I download all my statements, stock confirmations, etc. and keep them all on my computer with a single CD-RW back up.

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES...I read all the articles online.

We will solve the problem of how to carry a dozen keys, credit cards, paper money, frequent shopper cards, etc. All of this STUFF can be reduced to digital data housed either on a single card or an implantable chip.

Downside: ???

Upside: Convenience, cost-savings, increased productivity...and maybe someday we can empty all that STUFF from our wallets, pockets, and purses (Purses? What are they?).

INFORMATION may turn out to be the fundamental unit of the UNIVERSE.

Return to Top

Return to Homepage

Appointments: 818-991-8376

Email: doc@psychiatrix.com