Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    What Goes Down Must Go Up

    By
    Rob Fixmer
    -
    March 5, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Where is the oh-so-rational Alan Greenspan when we really need him? The Federal Reserve chairman disappointed much of the investment community during an appearance before a congressional committee last week, because he failed to signal a further lowering of interest rates. That did not bother me at all. I was disappointed that he failed to wield a far more potent weapon in his arsenal — his bully pulpit.

      This was the guy who first pricked the dot-com bubble by decrying the “irrational exuberance” of the market, especially the technology sector. It took longer than expected, but he finally got the correction he was looking for. Now that things are swinging in the direction of negative growth, hes back in more comfortable technical territory, attempting to right the ship with more time-honored economic tools. But it wont work. Just as raising interest rates failed to cool the relentless growth of the economy in the last several years, lowering rates wont heat it back up. Thats because theres nothing fundamentally wrong with the economy.

      This isnt your grandfathers correction. What we have here is a psycho-recession. Greenspan would be wise to note the markets “irrational panic” in the technology sector before a flood of red ink further erodes the foundations of the nations economy.

      Granted, it is hard to find a silver lining in the technology implosion. Share prices are tumbling. Earnings, where they can be found at all, are anemic. Layoffs are endemic. Industry giants from AT&T to Intel to Sun Microsystems are nervously shifting their focus like a row of hyperactive 10-year-olds in a church pew.

      Even so, things could get a lot worse — in fact, they are going to get downright alarming if the markets current funk becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that snowballs into a full-fledged recession.

      The mood of the tech industries seems to have moved from the nervous caution of December and January to a numbing state of shock. And not without some reason. The dot-com bubble was so enormous that the backlash created by its collapse is threatening many ships afloat on the Internet, from hardware, software and infrastructure giants to the myriad tiny ancillary companies that set sail and picked up speed in sunnier days.

      And yet, the one thing that became clear as we were producing this weeks special issue on the wireless Web is that continued rapid growth in the interactive industries is inevitable. There is no time for a recession. There is too much work to be done, too much promise for huge jumps in productivity and too much money to be made.

      You readers already sense this, of course, because you are the “I-managers,” the folks responsible for steering the course of enterprises large and small, public and private, into the frontiers of online productivity. You know the frustrations inherent in that responsibility as well as the rewards, but you also know that the Internet has become so ingrained in our economy and culture that there is no turning back. And when we look ahead, the future is clearly an era of relentless technological change that will pump billions of dollars of new wealth into the economy.

      The wired world will be the unwired world, as the Net evolves from a place inside our PCs to a place inside our consciousness, redefining our perceptions of community and commerce. If that inevitability fails to impress Wall Streets myopic and impatient denizens, the momentum we document in this issue at least signals sustained confidence within the communities that have always led the way in the technology industries — the visionaries, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

      Only this time around, the folks at the helm are not adolescents hosting an orgy of hype and fast bucks, but a new breed of seasoned managers, people with experience, savvy and real business plans. All they need is a reconciliation with Wall Street and the investing public.

      So come on, Mr. Greenspan. It is time to play the oracle once again and calm the frenzied markets. After that, you can go back to playing with your interest rates.

      Rob Fixmer
      Editor-In-Chiefrob.fixmer@ziffdavisenterprise.comRob joined Interactive Week from The New York Times, where he was the paper's technology news editor. Rob also was the founding editor of CyberTimes, The New York Times' technology news site on the Web. Under his guidance, the section grew from a one-man operation to an award-winning, full-time venture.His earlier New York Times assignments were as national weekend editor, national backfield editor and national desk copy editor. Before joining The New York Times in 1992, Rob held key editorial positions at the Dallas Times Herald and The Madison (Wisc.) Capital Times.A highly regarded technology journalist, he recently was appointed to the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism's board of visitors. Rob lectures yearly on new media at Columbia University's School of Journalism, and has made presentations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab and Princeton University's New Technologies Symposium.In addition to overseeing all of Interactive Week's print and online coverage of interactive business and technology, his responsibilities include development of new sections and design elements to ensure that Interactive Week's coverage and presentation are at the forefront of a fast-paced and fast-changing industry.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×