Earlier this week, I participated in an internal symposium in NYC for telecom company Qwest, along with Doug Rushkoff (far left in snapshot here), Sueann Ambron, Omar Wasow, Clay Shirky, Janet Abrams, Justin Hall, Dennis Crowley, and Jane Buckingham. Justin blogs and shares snapshots from the event at links.net. Snip from Justin:
"We wrapped up the extended session by listing all of our telecommunications loyalties – astonishingly long lists (…) That jumble of communications begs simplification. What one company might offer me all those services? A frighteningly large company, I suspect. Or maybe a nimble one. We left them with a number of bold propositions and excited suggestions; I will be interested to see how the company develops itself over the coming years. Between wireless, landlines and high speed internet, with a firm local footing in the middle-West United States, I think Qwest has potential to create new forms of community using telecommunications."
UPDATE: Numerous BoingBoing readers who are current or former Qwest customers wrote in to express, shall we say, less-than-warm-and-fuzzy feelings about past service experiences with this provider. Qwest is currently undergoing aggressive restructuring under a new CEO, after a disastrous recent past. Among the more polite comments received, Robert Rose writes "People here HATE Qwest in Oregon (…) [They need] to get the few services they offer currently right before they start looking at others." To their credit, the handful of Qwest executives I met in NYC this week seemed to be an intelligent and forward-minded lot who are well aware of this fact, and of the inherent challenges involved in planning for the future while contending with the company's past.
