Surfing the Info-Tsunami
A "Virtual Interview" with Craig Oda and Tim Burress of TWICS
TWICS has long been a leader in bringing philosophic and social changes to the networking community of Japan. Although TWICS has gone through changes in both management and leadership over the past decade, that leadership has always had one thing in common ó they have been visionaries in the localized global event of computer-mediated communications and pioneers in establishing "virtual" (online) communities.
The current keepers of the TWICS vision are Craig Oda, visionary/evangelist, and Tim Burress, visionary/pragmatist. This month, John Savageau talk with Craig and Tim on behalf of Computing Japan about their work, the status of the Internet in Japan, and their dreams for the online future.
interviewed by John Savageau
"The hall was huge, larger than I had ever imagined. As we waited nervously, the event leader rehearsed our demonstrations over and over again. The computer displays would be projected on a giant screen at the front of the hall for all to see, so any mistake would be immediately obvious. And this was an audience unforgiving of mistakes.
Finally, the Chinese Vice Premier entered the Great Hall, and the Ministers of Telecommunications for each province, with their support staffs, filled the room. I waited while the groups ahead of me gave their demonstrations ó then it was my turn to introduce China's leaders to the power of the Internet.
After surfing through some Usenet newsgroups, and sending a couple of electronic mail messages, I decided to go truly interactive. I fingered the TWICS host, and there were Craig and Tim, online as I had hoped. I "phoned" them, and soon the giant screen split into three windows for an interactive chat: Craig and Tim in Tokyo, me in the People's Great Hall in Beijing. When Tim sent a greeting in Mandarin, the audience erupted in warm applause, and I knew the demo was a success.... .
A virtual interview.
This discussion about the Internet was conducted via the Internet ó a classic case of "the medium is the message." The text of this interview was distilled and edited from a voluminous asynchronous exchange of messages that took place over a period of about two weeks in late 1994, through electronic mail in a non-interactive all-to-all conference. Interviewees Tim Burress and Craig Oda participated from Tokyo (through a direct connect to the host in the TWICS office, and local asynchronous dial-up from their homes to shell accounts on TWICS). Computing Japan interviewer John Savageau used the SprintMail X400-Internet mail gateway, which he accessed via local SprintNet dial-up access points during his travels in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, and through the ChinaPac network in Beijing. .A TWICS profile.
TWICS has provided computer communication services in Japan since 1984. It started as a simple BBS, but quickly expanded its services to begin offering international e-mail and related services. In October 1993, after long-term planning and prodigious effort, TWICS became the first public-access Internet system in Japan.TWICS is owned and operated by the International Education Center (IEC), a nonprofit educational organization specializing in English and Japanese language training. It is administered and operated on a commercial basis by TWICS Co., Ltd., located in Yotsuya, Tokyo.
The vision of the original founders, David Fisher (IEC) and Tanaka Toshiaki (Sakakoh KK) was to bridge cultural gaps by connecting "people to people " (rather than the "people to data" model that most large services followed). The tradition of "the people are the system" continued and expanded under system operator Jeff Shapard (who has since returned to the US) and endures today with the present staff. Membership continues to grow, and the greatest problems faced by the TWICS staff in recent months have been those of "too much success, too little time."
For more information about TWICS, call 03-3351-5977 (voice) or log on via modem as "guest" at 03-3351-8244 (after connection, press RETURN to get to the username prompt). .
On a personal level.
Computing Japan (John Savageau): You guys are now famous throughout Sprint and have played a role in bringing wide access Internet to the People's Republic of China. Computing Japan has authorized me to do a virtual interview with both of you ó topics ranging from TWICS, to the Internet, to general visionary-type stuff.Computing Japan: I'd like to start out by asking how and when each of you first heard of TWICS.
Craig Oda: I think it was in the first quarter of 1991. I was studying Japanese with Tim at the Japanese Language Institute, and one of his friends was Jeff [Shapard] ó a rather colorful character.
Tim Burress: I hadn't heard of TWICS until I wandered into the office one day in 1990. I talked with Jeff then about what TWICS was, and what direction it was going. It was amazing to find an operation like this running in the back room of a language school!
CJ: How important has the legacy of Jeff Shapard been to the ultimate success of TWICS as a network and communications resource in Japan?.
Burress: Jeff's legacy takes the form of a vision, and the groundwork he did here at the International Education Center of introducing people to the technology; that, and being constantly enthusiastic about how it could be used. The purpose of TWICS has always been to put this technology to use ó into the hands of people ó rather than a business effort.
How much did Jeff affect TWICS and the Internet in Japan? Quite a bit. More than anyone else, he had a vision and the drive to push that vision through. We are enjoying the benefits of Jeff's work, and we owe him a lot.
The other visionary here is David Fisher, who has been with the project since its beginning and arranged many of the key contacts to get TWICS started. He and Jeff developed the principle that "the people are the system," and that's the direction we've always gone.
CJ: You two are following in Jeff's footsteps. What was the exposure that first gave you a "taste" for computing, and for computer-mediated communications (CMC)?.
Oda: I'm not a "techie." I dabbled with computers from about the age of 14, but basically as a software player. I was working at a Japanese trading company in the spring of 1993, when my father gave me a 2400 bps modem. I was so excited that I called Tim at home to find out how to connect to TWICS. After the initial connection, I was hooked.
Since Tim and I are friends, I would come down to the TWICS office to talk to him about stuff. Then, in the middle of October 1993, I did my first telnet and decided to quit my job [and work for TWICS].
Burress: The obsession for computing came during the summer after my sophomore year of high school. I was in a National Science Foundation program for science students and spent the summer working with a particle accelerator in Pennsylvania. During the day, we did experiments; at night, we explored the university's Xerox Sigma 7 mainframe. We got into everything ó learned programming by example, did our data analysis, and basically spent our nights poring through the file system looking for interesting things. I was hooked. I spent every free hour of my senior year in high school exploring the DEC PDP 11/70 system that we shared with several other school districts. We had one terminal and a 300 bps modem... it was great! For Christmas that year, all I asked for was the system internals manual for that machine. Got it, too.
As for networks and the world beyond, the main impetus came when I read John Quarterman's "Notable Networks" article in Communications of the ACM. We had a UUCP connection at work, and I started exchanging e-mail. The company was involved in computational chemistry for drug design, and there were quite a few interesting people and resources (we used remote Cray computers to do some computations) online.
What I didn't get involved in was the BBS world. I guess I didn't have time!
CJ: I know that providing the TWICS service takes an incredible amount of professional and personal time. What motivates you to keep going deep into the night, on weekends, and "above and beyond the call of duty"?.
Burress: Fundamentally, I like creating things ó or when they break, fixing them. It's just an immensely satisfying feeling to produce something of quality. The real world sometimes dictates that the costs and benefits of implementing 100% quality have to be traded off, or converted into quality-within-constraints. But when I can go for 100% (as in software), or when all it takes is some all-nighters, I will. I guess the answer is the pure personal satisfaction of having done something well. If you aren't passionate about something, why do it?
Oda: The Internet has had a tremendous impact on my life, and I wish other people to benefit from it as much as I have. This is just too important to sit back and be complacent. The technology of the Internet is thrusting itself rapidly into the lives of people. There needs to be a place where people can hang out, enjoy the technology, and learn from it. The people on TWICS are pioneers who have seen the future and embraced it. I have never met many of these visionaries in person, but it is exciting to converse with them online and learn from them in our virtual community. I have learned and benefited so much from TWICS ó this is the greatest job in the world.
CJ: Both of you have had access, and the relative freedom, to explore and expand/enhance your knowledge of computers at a level very few people in the business can claim. Many new users today are breaking into computing and networking from an intuitive GUI interface. Do you see the dearth of systems-level knowledge as having a negative impact on the capacity of new users to fully understand and exploit the capabilities of the nets?.
Burress: The great thing about the way the Internet is going is that it's a true network. People can come to it with all sorts of backgrounds; rather than that being a source of frustration, it has produced tremendous synergy. I see this increasing exponentially in coming years, with utterly unpredictable results.
It's true that only people comfortable down in the guts of it may really know the ins and outs of various protocols. But at the same time, only someone with application knowledge will really know how to take the tools beyond what their creators intended. I think that's the case with computer technology in general. Specialists create tools that other people use in ways we never really imagined. And the results are wonderful!
CJ: Do you ever make the transition from being a technologist to the role of a techno-sociologist in your relationship with TWICS Japan/international community?.
Burress: Certainly. The notion of connecting people to people (rather than people to databases) was integral to the founding of TWICS, and this emphasis has continued. The social effects of the widespread use of this medium are a favorite topic wherever it is discussed, especially with reference to Japan. Net culture is like viral DNA encased in a sweetly coated package. Once it gets into a foreign host (in this case, a culture different from that which engendered it), things happen. And I think everyone is curious about just what that will be.
CJ: What are your immediate goals for TWICS?.
Oda: With the rush of new people in the Internet, one important objective is ensuring that a wide range of people understand its possible uses. We are looking at ways of extending the virtual community out to the "newbies," and through the community introducing them to this new and exciting technology. A part of this is working more with traditional forms of education and physical meetings to help people adjust to the concept of a virtual community. .
Japan's developing Internet.
CJ: That is a very difficult task: raising the information literacy of potential users, and people who do not even know they are potential users. On a recent trip to the US, I read an article about how to present yourself to new clients as a competent businessperson. One requirement they highlighted was to include an Internet mailing address on your business card. People in the US are waking up to this possible business "necessity," but how do you think we can best bring this concept to business people in Japan?.Oda: Business people will only use the Net if it saves them time or money. The obvious benefit to business is that information can be transmitted at a fraction of the cost of a fax machine or a telephone call. This is a natural extension to business and is an "easy" sale.
A second benefit that is a natural for Japan is that it is a way of strengthening peoples' webs of contacts. However, this will diverge from what we are witnessing in the US. Japanese business people value face-to-face contact more. The solution may be to concentrate on the community aspect.
The first step is to work with a company's established internal network, and show them what is being done with things like Lotus Notes. Once they are using e-mail for external communication and their internal LAN for intra-company communication, they will be ready to enter into the global community.
CJ: Will it be big business in Japan that leads the migration to the Internet?.
Oda: No, before that takes place, small businesses and individuals will begin to utilize the power of the Internet. They will realize that through electronic communication they can cooperate with other small companies around the world to effectively compete with the larger, more established companies. As big companies see their markets being eaten by small, fast-moving entrepreneurs, they will finally realize that they, too, have to cooperate globally with constantly changing partners, all from different companies. At this point, corporate networks will be too limiting. Companies will need a global network, and will join the global Internet in a big way.
CJ: What social and economic effects do you foresee resulting from increasing the information and communication technology literacy? .
Oda: The continuing trend will be toward a flatter hierarchical social structure. Age and rank will matter less as ideas multiply on the Net. Easy access to information will empower more people.
Economically, we will see a widening divergence of the "information rich" and the "information poor." In the beginning, the Net will make the rich richer, because only the rich will have access to the technology to fully utilize it. It is going to cost money to lay all that fiber, and Third World countries may not be able to pay for it. Without the information infrastructure, those countries will not be able to keep up with the change.
CJ: What about the internationalization effects? .
Oda: People who talk about global markets and the internationalization of corporations often miss the point: we already operate in a global economy. The need to function in this global society pushes forth the telecommunication technology. Telecommunications and the Internet are not creating internationalization so much as following it.
CJ: You've mentioned Jeff Shapard as a visionary of the networking culture. Who do you see as the current visionaries in Japan? Who is having an effect on the future of communicating in Japan?.
Oda: Adam Peake at GLOCOM will have a big impact in the future, because he can socially link Japan to other countries ó and, perhaps more importantly, link the academic Internet to the commercial Net. I am not talking about physical connections; I am referring to the social connections. .
Think globally.
CJ: How will the Internet affect society in general?.Oda: The use of the Internet as a tool of communication between people will have the biggest impact on society. All people can become information providers as well as information consumers. This is the magic of the Net ó each participant becomes part of a giant community database, a virtual community. This is what drives me: to see other people express themselves, to create and claim the power of communication ó too long in the hands of the media giants ó for the people.
CJ: I can accept this as a great way to foster community without borders. But we need to go beyond subsidizing the affluent. I personally would rather deliver the Internet to those who may benefit in other ways, such as the six-year-old in Vietnam or Indonesia who will be responsible for building a modern nation. Can this information culture you envision for Japan be used to transfer Japanese cultural and social affluence to those who need the technology for reasons other than personal fulfillment?.
Oda: One concept Tim and I often talk about is an "Internet franchise." Let's say we design a system based on cheap PC Pentium machines and some UNIX-like OS. We could identify the proper configuration to be used on sites based on line capacity, services offered, and number of anticipated customers. A system based on a double-byte code could work in most countries in the world.
Then we design documentation to operate and debug the system, based on three forms: printed manuals (which must be bought), CD-ROMs (published quarterly) that contain updated documentation and software, and HTML (online documents, updated frequently and placed on a server in the US). In this idea, if we find someone ó say, in Vietnam ó who wants to set up a site, we talk to him about the infrastructure, how many customers, and what type of growth. We decide on a configuration and ship him the first module, documentation, and a guerrilla group of engineers to set the thing up. Support and some system administration stuff could be done remotely. The thing about basing it on cheap PCs is that the equipment and spares are readily available, and if it takes off, just connect more PCs to the LAN.
CJ: I'd like you to expand on this concept of going into a new country ó say, Cambodia ó putting in a cheap "intro to Internet" starter system, and then going in to install it with a group of seasoned professionals who can get the system up and running. Getting a connection via a carrier to the Internet is a complicated process; in addition to being very expensive, there are lots of politics to wade through. The Third World, in particular, is known for tightly regulated telecom environments. How would you go about convincing a government that desired to tightly regulate access and management of a public Internet that freedom of access is a good thing?.
Oda: Based on the limited perspective of someone working at an Internet public access site that experienced a few problems introducing Japan to the Internet, I definitely have an opinion. I believe that you have to convince the government that it will bring them money and prestige. For the money part, take the tactic that the only way to attract foreign investment is to develop the communications infrastructure, including access to the Internet. Point out how vital the Internet is to doing business in the United States, and that they might well be hurting their chances in the global economy if they build a wall around their country to block access to the greatest communications network in the world.
I would also emphasize the perceived connection of communications and technology. Point out the White House has a Mosaic home page that basically improves their image in the eyes of the American people. Getting connected to the Internet can improve the image of a government by showing that it is aware of the newest technology, understands it, and is dealing with it.
I am not saying to advocate to the government that they give their people access to the Internet; this is for them to decide. I am saying that the government itself should get on the Internet. For example, a Vietnam home page detailing possible business opportunities in the country might improve the image of Vietnam in the eyes of some high-tech investors.
Once the Internet is in place, it is only a matter of time before the people get access to it. Unless there is free market competition, the Internet will cost too much, and small businesses and independent business people will start to complain. Eventually, the government will be forced to allow affordable access to the Internet out of fear of hurting its commercial base.
CJ: Traditionally, the academic community has lead the world in Internet development and application. However, in the past year we have seen commercial Internet hosts bypass all other hosts Internet-wide. What role do you see the academic community playing in the future of the Internet?.
Oda: The academic community will continue to play a significant ó but no longer a paramount ó role in the Internet. The academic side will be important to attract new users to the Internet. Many people will first get a glimpse of the Internet in elementary school, and have it integrated into their learning experience in college. Countries like Vietnam might well join the Internet primarily for access to academic research.
Also, advancement of the technology of the Internet will remain concentrated in academic researchers. Commercial Internet carriers are still too small to do research on the limits of very high speed data transmission and the fundamental structure of the Internet.
CJ: How about the role of commercial enterprises?.
Oda: This will be the area that gets the most press in the next few years. Commercial enterprises will bring the Internet to the people, and the people will spread it to others, and the Internet will grow and grow.
CJ: The center of the Internet world is extending rapidly from within the US to other non-US, highly developed internetworks, such as in Europe. Ultimately, the same maturation will evolve in Asia. Do you see Japan as a center of telecommunications in Asia?.
Oda: Yes, for now, because there is so much business here. But Tokyo is hampered by a language barrier and a population that does not really know what to use computers for. It is also extremely expensive to do business in Tokyo. What Tokyo does have is the technology; this, combined with highly developed business skills, might make Tokyo into the leading supplier of telecommunications equipment in Asia. It think in the next 2 to 4 years, Tokyo will be the center for telecommunications in Asia. After that, I see Hong Kong and Singapore gaining in influence.
CJ: What about China?.
Oda: They don't have the technology, the infrastructure, or the language. But there sure are a lot of potential users there. Sell, sell!
CJ: What will drive the Asia-ization of communications?.
Oda: The Asian market is growing so fast. The markets in Europe and the US are already reaching maturity, but the Asian markets are hot and ready for telecom cowboys to come and explore. From a marketing viewpoint, Asia is this vast wilderness of enormous potential waiting to be tamed.
CJ: Japan (like other Asian countries) is often criticized for having overpriced telecommunications facilities, and over-regulated telecommunication laws. It is much cheaper for an Internet provider in Taiwan or Korea to get an international leased line to the US than to Japan ó thus, the huge number of international leased-line facilities connecting Internet providers and private networks from Asian countries to the US, rather than connecting those networks intra-Asia. Do you have an opinion on how best to approach this economic roadblock to truly regional communications?.
Oda: I'm not really qualified to answer this question, but as a user of the Internet and a worker in Tokyo, I can tell you what Japan represents to me. Yes, Japan is quite expensive. If Japan does not lower the cost of telecommunications, then businesses will move elsewhere. I would suggest placing as many servers as possible in the US ó because, as you mentioned, the cost of telecommunications is comparatively cheap in the US. If TWICS moved into the realm of information provider, I would recommend placing our server in a small office in San Francisco, staffing it with a part-time college student/entrepreneur, and placing all the information on the US server, with people accessing TWICS through telnet. The only thing in Japan would be the sales office. Unless the costs of telecommunications are lowered, people in Japan will only consume information, and pay money to consume it. They will not be in a good position to produce and sell information, and therefore make money.
CJ: That's an interesting idea! Your customers in Japan could access the host via a terminal server, either via dial-up PPP or switched ISDN, and connect to TWICS via a dedicated T-1, which would cost less than a 64K-bps local loop from NTT..
Oda: This is what I think will happen if NTT does not lower its rates. I am not suggesting that TWICS will actually do this, but it would be a viable idea for any Internet site.
CJ: In New Zealand, local Internet providers are experimenting with usage-based billing, rather than flat rate or time on the terminal server. If you use Mosaic or frequent file transfers in your applications, this might result in primary usage by the rich, further alienating information literacy "haves" from the "have nots." How do you feel about this? .
Oda: Usage-based billing is a good idea. People do not need all the fancy graphics and sound. If the goal is just simple communication, a low-bandwidth feed is sufficient. I think this is a great way to reduce the price of bandwidth and allow everyone access to information and to other people.
All the information that people get with Mosaic can also be acquired through the use of text-based clients, such as Lynx. Charging based on usage can help ensure that each person gets a fair piece of the bandwidth. Rather spreading the gap between the haves and the have-nots, I think usage-based billing will make the gap narrower.
Burress: As with any service that comes at a price, there will be some people who cannot afford it. Access for people at this level ends up being a policy decision for governments, but beyond this level it seems this might be an area where a freely operating market could actually do what it's supposed to do: find the most efficient means of satisfying the demand.
What these systems in New Zealand might see is that, after a time, their top users may get together and open up a competing flat-rate service, drawing away their largest income source. Conversely, a flat-rate service may find its casual users leaving to band together to support a provider who offers usage-based billing. I think that as long as there is freedom for people to start alternative services ó as long as existing players don't get together (with or without the cooperation of governments) and impose barriers to startups ó things will be OK.
Making sure that openness continues to be a basic "cultural" value of the Internet requires vigilance, however. There are clearly organizations who would like to restrict entry into the market, either to protect their own business positions or for other reasons that are not immediately obvious.
CJ: A while back, you guys assisted me with an interactive demonstration of some basic Internet host features via a long-distance, three-way chat. I was in the Great Hall at Tiananmen. It may have been a simple exercise for those of us who have used the net for years, but that single demo has had a profound effect on many people's lives and helped spark a major wave of interest in the Internet in China. The shock wave is still spreading..
It has been said that, "Life is like a pebble cast in the sea. Every action you take will have some effect on some person, reaching places you will never know." While sitting in your room at TWICS, doing day-to-day routine host maintenance and sysadmin functions, your efforts are having a major effect in places you don't even know about. How do you feel about having the ability to actually change the world?
Burress: And, of course, now we have chaos theory telling us that the results of that pebble cast into the sea are fundamentally unpredictable. Watch out, world! The info-tsunami is coming!
Changing the world feels both good and a little scary. I think about the possible implications of what I am doing sometimes, and wonder. The demonstration in China was particularly meaningful for me because I'd been a student there. I was also there in 1989, after the Tiananmen Incident. I stayed in Beijing for a month or two after that, just talking to people, and one of the few I met who wasn't feeling utterly dejected was a woman who worked as a computer engineer. She was obsessed with setting up links between China and other countries. She knew what was out there, and she wanted to get started! I remember the look in her eye while she talked about this pie-in-the-sky idea of hers.
CJ: What advice would you give to persons who genuinely desire to develop their information literacy, but doesn't know quite how or where to start?.
Oda: Talk to others about your problems, fears, and frustrations. Form and participate in users groups. I am one of the founding members of the Tokyo Linux Users' Group, a group dedicated to learning about the Linux Kernel, GNU software, and UNIX. We have people coming to our meetings who do not know much about computers; they come for the pizza and coke. I use TLUG as an example because, although we discuss moderately difficult things, ranging from kernel hacking to TCP/IP programming, it is a very friendly atmosphere. Mac people often come just to check it out.
I have gone to Ringo meetings, and the atmosphere was just as friendly. A total beginner would feel very comfortable. The main thing is to have fun with the computer. Use it as a tool. The primary rule on the path toward computer literacy is, "whenever possible, help others." Helping others, and making friends, is the best way to learn how to use a computer.
Although the Internet is destined to become dominated by commercial traffic, and there is often talk of it as a giant database, always remember that behind every e-mail message, report, or picture is a person. The Internet is merely a bottle for our thoughts. Without your contribution, and the contribution of people like you, the Internet could never exist in the form it does now.
