Death of Distance, by Frances Cairncross: About the book

What's new in the second edition

In the three years since the original Death of Distance was written, an extraordinary amount has changed in the world of communications and the Internet. This new edition of the book has been substantially rewritten—at least 70 per cent of the material is completely new, as are several entire chapters—in order to reflect these changes.

Chapter One: Introduction
As before, this chapter puts in perspective and sums up the main themes of the book. It has been completely rewritten to take account of the rise and fall of the tech-share bubble; of the extraordinary spread of mobile telephones and other mobile communications; of the wave of technology mergers; and of the debate on how far there is a "new economy", with faster rates of productivity growth. All of these have occurred since the original book was written.
It also emphasises the importance of a historical view: it opens with a strong image, comparing the shape of communications technology today with that of the car in 1910.

Chapter Two: History
This is an entirely new chapter. It argues that the revolution we are seeing is the third in a succession of great changes in the technology and cost of transportation over the past three centuries. The 19th century was shaped by the falling cost of transporting goods; the 20th, by the falling cost of transporting people; and the 21st century will be dominated by the falling cost of transporting ideas and information. The chapter also points out how frequently past forecasts of the potential of communications technology have turned out to be wide of the mark.

Chapter Three: Voice and Video
This chapter pulls together some of the themes that the original book tackled in separate chapters on the telephone and television. But it has been substantially rewritten to reflect the new importance of the mobile telephone, and to discuss the potential of wireless—for instance, to track everything from boats to pets. It also discusses the importance of price in determining the shape of the communications revolution in different countries, explaining why the United States has been slower than Europe to take up cellphones, but has been faster in adopting the Internet.

Chapter Four: The Internet
Some material from the original Internet chapter has been carried forward into this one, but again, it has been largely rewritten It includes, for instance, a discussion of the raft of Internet start-ups in the late 1990s, and the way in which they helped to change the process of innovation; and also of the impact of combining the Internet with wireless. The potential of objects that "think", from cars to domestic machinery, is another new topic.

Chapter Five: Consumers and Electronic Commerce
The original book contained a single chapter on electronic commerce. The new edition divides that in two, reflecting the way in which trends in B to C and B to B have diverged. Both chapters have in fact been almost entirely rewritten, reflecting the very rapid pace of change and perception in these areas.
This chapter contains a new discussion of the two main ways in which the Internet changes things for consumers: it allows prices to be set in new ways; and it allows buyers and sellers of products and services to find each other more easily, thus increasing choice. It argues that the second may turn out to be even more attractive to shoppers than the first. The chapter also has much new material on the relative strengths of "clicks" and "bricks"; on the rise of "niche" companies selling to global markets, a phenomenon that the Internet has more or less created; and on the way the Internet allows companies to build their customer base into a club.

Chapter Six: Corporate Commerce and Company Structure
Business-to-business commerce has been one of the fastest growing areas since the original Death of Distance was written. This chapter reflects the new understanding of trends that has emerged—drawing partly on the author's long and acclaimed essay on Management and the Internet in The Economist in November 2000. It argues that the Internet's ability to transform the simplicity and cost of handling information will revolutionise the way in which companies operate, both internally and with each other, and may prove to be the single most important impact of the communications revolution in the immediate future. It describes the way the structure of corporate life is changing, including the rise of what it dubs the "Hollywood" company.

Chapter Seven: Government and the Nation State
When the first version of Death of Distance appeared, the Internet had made hardly any impact on government. This chapter, about a third of it new material, describes the ways in which a few governments—including several American and Australian states and the government of Singapore—are using the Internet to streamline and improve services. In a new discussion, it argues that the Internet's principal effects will be on service provision in general, and that it will therefore eventually have its greatest effect on public services. But it accepts that governments are slow adopters, and explains the structural problems that governments have in using the Internet as efficiently as companies can do.

Chapter Eight: The New Economy
This chapter includes a new discussion of the technology-share bubble of 1999-2000. It also contains an extensive new discussion of the evidence that has appeared in the past three years on the debate about the "new economy". Whereas the original book was written at a time when there was no evidence of Internet-driven improvements in productivity growth, the new book takes account of the increasing evidence that America's economy is indeed being transformed. It also has a longer discussion of the impact of the Internet on developing countries, and the ways poor countries are likely to benefit if they take measures that complement new communications.

Chapter Nine: The Five "P" Problems
This chapter is based on one in the original book that discussed the problems involved in policing the electronic world. At least one-third of the chapter, however, is new material to take account of the many developments that have occurred since then. There is an extensive discussion of privacy issues (one of the five "Ps" of the title), and another of the issues of copyright protection which have been given new urgency by the development of Napster. The basic issue—the fact that policing is generally a geographically bounded concept, while the Internet is borderless—remains as intractable as ever.

Chapter Ten: Knowledge and the New Monopolists
It is a sign of how fast the world has changed since 1997 that the original book's chapter on monopoly dealt mainly with the need to introduce more competition into the telephone industry. By contrast, the largely rewritten chapter in the new book deals extensively with the issues brought to light by the Microsoft case. It asks, for example, whether the industries of the new economy are naturally prone to monopoly—and whether governments should take a more tolerant attitude to monopoly to encourage innovation. (The answer is "no".) The chapter also has an entirely new discussion of patent law, a government-created kind of monopoly which has—disturbingly—become much more important in the communications economy.

Chapter Eleven: Society, Culture and the Individual
This chapter was one of the most "blue skies" of the original book, and its futuristic vision has stood the test of the intervening years quite well. Only about one-third of the material is new. But it includes new material on the way the rise of mobile devices, including the cellphone, are changing social and working lives. It also looks at the digital divide, both within rich societies and between rich and poor countries, and at what can be done to bridge it.


	What's new in the second edition In the three years since the original Death of Distance was written, an extraordinary amount has changed in the world of communications and the Internet. This new edition of the book has been substantially rewritten—at least 70 per cent of the material is completely new, as are several entire chapters—in order to reflect these changes. Chapter One: Introduction As before, this chapter puts in perspective and sums up the main themes of the book. It has been completely rewritten to take account of the rise and fall of the tech-share bubble; of the extraordinary spread of mobile telephones and other mobile communications; of the wave of technology mergers; and of the debate on how far there is a "new economy", with faster rates of productivity growth. All of these have occurred since the original book was written. It also emphasises the importance of a historical view: it opens with a strong image, comparing the shape of communications technology today with that of the car in 1910. Chapter Two: History This is an entirely new chapter. It argues that the revolution we are seeing is the third in a succession of great changes in the technology and cost of transportation over the past three centuries. The 19th century was shaped by the falling cost of transporting goods; the 20th, by the falling cost of transporting people; and the 21st century will be dominated by the falling cost of transporting ideas and information. The chapter also points out how frequently past forecasts of the potential of communications technology have turned out to be wide of the mark. Chapter Three: Voice and Video This chapter pulls together some of the themes that the original book tackled in separate chapters on the telephone and television. But it has been substantially rewritten to reflect the new importance of the mobile telephone, and to discuss the potential of wireless—for instance, to track everything from boats to pets. It also discusses the importance of price in determining the shape of the communications revolution in different countries, explaining why the United States has been slower than Europe to take up cellphones, but has been faster in adopting the Internet. Chapter Four: The Internet Some material from the original Internet chapter has been carried forward into this one, but again, it has been largely rewritten It includes, for instance, a discussion of the raft of Internet start-ups in the late 1990s, and the way in which they helped to change the process of innovation; and also of the impact of combining the Internet with wireless. The potential of objects that "think", from cars to domestic machinery, is another new topic. Chapter Five: Consumers and Electronic Commerce The original book contained a single chapter on electronic commerce. The new edition divides that in two, reflecting the way in which trends in B to C and B to B have diverged. Both chapters have in fact been almost entirely rewritten, reflecting the very rapid pace of change and perception in these areas. This chapter contains a new discussion of the two main ways in which the Internet changes things for consumers: it allows prices to be set in new ways; and it allows buyers and sellers of products and services to find each other more easily, thus increasing choice. It argues that the second may turn out to be even more attractive to shoppers than the first. The chapter also has much new material on the relative strengths of "clicks" and "bricks"; on the rise of "niche" companies selling to global markets, a phenomenon that the Internet has more or less created; and on the way the Internet allows companies to build their customer base into a club. Chapter Six: Corporate Commerce and Company Structure Business-to-business commerce has been one of the fastest growing areas since the original Death of Distance was written. This chapter reflects the new understanding of trends that has emerged—drawing partly on the author's long and acclaimed essay on Management and the Internet in The Economist in November 2000. It argues that the Internet's ability to transform the simplicity and cost of handling information will revolutionise the way in which companies operate, both internally and with each other, and may prove to be the single most important impact of the communications revolution in the immediate future. It describes the way the structure of corporate life is changing, including the rise of what it dubs the "Hollywood" company. Chapter Seven: Government and the Nation State When the first version of Death of Distance appeared, the Internet had made hardly any impact on government. This chapter, about a third of it new material, describes the ways in which a few governments—including several American and Australian states and the government of Singapore—are using the Internet to streamline and improve services. In a new discussion, it argues that the Internet's principal effects will be on service provision in general, and that it will therefore eventually have its greatest effect on public services. But it accepts that governments are slow adopters, and explains the structural problems that governments have in using the Internet as efficiently as companies can do. Chapter Eight: The New Economy This chapter includes a new discussion of the technology-share bubble of 1999-2000. It also contains an extensive new discussion of the evidence that has appeared in the past three years on the debate about the "new economy". Whereas the original book was written at a time when there was no evidence of Internet-driven improvements in productivity growth, the new book takes account of the increasing evidence that America's economy is indeed being transformed. It also has a longer discussion of the impact of the Internet on developing countries, and the ways poor countries are likely to benefit if they take measures that complement new communications. Chapter Nine: The Five "P" Problems This chapter is based on one in the original book that discussed the problems involved in policing the electronic world. At least one-third of the chapter, however, is new material to take account of the many developments that have occurred since then. There is an extensive discussion of privacy issues (one of the five "Ps" of the title), and another of the issues of copyright protection which have been given new urgency by the development of Napster. The basic issue—the fact that policing is generally a geographically bounded concept, while the Internet is borderless—remains as intractable as ever. Chapter Ten: Knowledge and the New Monopolists It is a sign of how fast the world has changed since 1997 that the original book's chapter on monopoly dealt mainly with the need to introduce more competition into the telephone industry. By contrast, the largely rewritten chapter in the new book deals extensively with the issues brought to light by the Microsoft case. It asks, for example, whether the industries of the new economy are naturally prone to monopoly—and whether governments should take a more tolerant attitude to monopoly to encourage innovation. (The answer is "no".) The chapter also has an entirely new discussion of patent law, a government-created kind of monopoly which has—disturbingly—become much more important in the communications economy. Chapter Eleven: Society, Culture and the Individual This chapter was one of the most "blue skies" of the original book, and its futuristic vision has stood the test of the intervening years quite well. Only about one-third of the material is new. But it includes new material on the way the rise of mobile devices, including the cellphone, are changing social and working lives. It also looks at the digital divide, both within rich societies and between rich and poor countries, and at what can be done to bridge it.