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Opinion
Network Cha Cha
10/25/2006
Already struggling with network challenges? Wait—
there’s a new headache on the horizon.
One of the nice things about penning this column is that I can write about anything I have “seen & heard” that I believe may have a real impact on campuses and their use of technology. That means: something that already is having an impact, or something I predict may one day have an impact. Of course, it’s always more fun to take the fortune-teller route; if it comes to pass that I’m right, I’ve not only had fun prognosticating, but people think I’m smart, too. (Always worth the risk, at least for an editor.) And if I’m wrong, I’m still out there, trying to prepare you folks for the next wave. And the next wave, as I see it, is all about ChaCha, and I don’t mean the dance.
Head over to www.ChaCha.com, and you may think you’ve found just another new search engine, but actually, ChaCha is a whole lot more. Users can not only hop on ChaCha to find information, but they can hop on the search engine to find someone else who will find the information for them. Ah, the great American work ethic: Why clean your house, cook your food, walk your dog, wash your car, when you can find someone else to do it for you? This may not be so unreasonable at that: As anyone who has ever conducted any web research—personal or otherwise—will tell you, though the internet may be fast, a hunt for kernels of information buried in tera-heaps of other information can take quite a while. (How many of us have sat down at our computers after dinner to find out just a wee bit more about something, and then have signed off at 1 a.m.—only a scant five hours after we keyed in our first search word?)
On ChaCha, anyone who wants to earn extra money and qualifies (yes, there are questionnaires and tests involved), can become a personal (read: human) “guide,” existing only to help millions of people conduct information searches they are just too busy to conduct themselves. For the informationseekers, this kind of assistance can be more reasonable than the “soft” cost of the internet-surfing hours (in work time lost, for instance). But for the ChaCha guides, the job can be a goldmine.
First off, ChaCha guides are not only
paid five to 10 dollars per research hour,
but they are paid as they work, and
almost instantaneously. In fact, if sending
out checks the same day is not fast
enough action, their compensation can
be downloaded directly to their debit
cards (work in the a.m., shop in the
p.m.). And second of all, almost anyone
can sign on as a ChaCha guide, if he or
she qualifies. (I assume there is a minimum
age, but my guess is that anyone of
working age would make the first cut.)
Finally (and most importantly), a ChaCha
guide can work from anywhere, as long
as he or she has access to a computer
and internet connection. That means
part-timers, mothers at home with their
children, and (are you thinking what I’m
thinking?),
Today, it's clear to almost every campus executive that moving an institution from the traditional purchasing model to a strategic eProcurement program can greatly increase staff efficiency and save the institution money. Because eProcurement automates so many purchasing processes, it eliminates reams of paperwork and allows procurement staff to refocus their efforts on cutting costs and improving strategic partnerships. Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno didn't start out in IT. She joined San Jose State University (CA) in 1981 as an assistant professor in the school of nursing. But somewhere along the way, she realized her energy was focused on academic technology, and how it could help a variety of learners gain knowledge.
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