Technology has always both created and
destroyed jobs. Think of the pony express
riders rendered obsolete by the comple
tion of the transcontinental telegraph in 1861. As
the dejected riders were leading their horses to
pasture, a new job market was emerging for
skilled telegraph operators.
But the effect of new technologies on busi
ness is more profound than just the jobs created
to support them. The telegraph's significance as
a communication device, for example, had ram
ifications far beyond the fates of pony riders and
Morse code experts. Writing in the 1930s. econ
omist Ronald H. Coase cited use of the telegraph
as a contributing factor in the development of the
vertically integrated, geographically scattered
business firm. This new structure, in turn,
required a larger set of administrators whose new
responsibilities included overseeing specific
departments and processes within the firm. In
effect, the telegraph helped create management
as we know it.
Substitute the Web for the telegraph, multi
ply expom utially the effects on business, and you
see the process occurring again. "What's more
significant is not the multitude of these new
Internet jobs, but rather the new organizational
structures they are imposing on traditional com
panies," says Walid Mougayar. an ebusiness strat
egy consultant, author of Opening Digital
Markets, and Business 2.0 columnist "If you
haven't organized entire departments to operate
like an Internet company, you're not effectively
competing in the New Economy."
Business 2.0 set out to find 10 examples of
jobs created by this technological shift—10
innovative ways companies have responded to
the opportunities, or threats, the Web represents.
The tasks and responsibilities of these new jobs
vary, but they share some qualities shaped by
their common Web heritage, and these charac
teristics are rapidly becoming the new funda
mentals of working in the Digital Age. In par
ticular. the distinctions between job categories
and descriptions are collapsing. Instead of being
pegged to a clearly delineated role, more of
today's workers straddle departments and shoul
der multiple tasks within an organization. That’s
why workers with the broadest skills and expe
rience often thrive in new positions. What's
more, skilled technical workers are no longer
only an IT department resource. As technology
moves into the core of business operations, tech
nical expertise is required in key management
roles to help shape a company's strategy and
development.
"In the past, the IT department was the last
From email
channel
specialists
to chief
community
strategists,
the Internet i
creating new
workplace
roles.
place you'd go to find a [business] strategy guy,
and vice versa," says Geoffrey Champion, a man
aging director for recruitment firm Korn/Ferry
International. "Now technology and strategy are
inextricably linked." The downside to these new
jobs is their massive time and energy require
ment. and the toll that takes on family and per
sonal lives. But as compensation, pioneering
workers often enjoy an unprecedented freedom
for experimentation and self-determination.
Many are simply inventing their own jobs—con
ceiving new ideas, developing the business and
technical systems to launch them, and then man
aging those operations. Creativity is king.
I.New Metrics Analyst
This numbers guru digs beneath the surface of
page views and traffic reports to create a detailed
picture of what's really happening on a Website.
By spotting patterns in user behavior data, such
as visit frequency, visit length, and who's shop
ping at certain times (and what they're buying),
a new-metrics analyst helps Web companies set
advertising rates, identify cross-selling opportu
nities, reduce churn, and develop new marketing
strategies. This analysis also helps the company
make crucial decisions about strategic alliances
and acquisitions, for example,
by putting a dollar value on the
traffic they will generate.
"1 move us away from the
gut [instincts] and toward the
quantifiable," says Ted Wham
of his role as Excite’s director of consumer activi
ty analysis.
The position didn't exist at Excite until six
months ago. Now Wham, with a small staff of
analysts, works frequently with Excite's product
managers and business development executives,
and to a lesser extent with higher executives such
as the CFO and COO. For example. Wham's
analysis of user activity in its community sites
has helped Excite determine the return it's get
ting from the 1998 purchase of community-build
ing technology company Throw.
Evolution: Classic database marketing
updated for the Digital Age, in which data are
richer and more varied than ever before. This
type of deep user analysis, and the informed deci
sions it leads to, are essential to the maturing
Web industry.
Skills needed: Ability to perform quantita
tive analysis and database experience are neces
sary. But above all. Wham says, you must have
a strong business sense. "You can spin Oracle
databases all day long, but if you can't sit down
with someone and translate that data into a use
ful course of action, you'd die in this job."
Favorite part of the job: "Creating value for
the business. 1 can say. 'Because I did this [analy
sis]. things will change.'"
Toughest aspect of the job: "You spend a lot
of time alone, manipulating data. If that's not some
thing you find personally satisfying, it would be a
drag."
Salary: $80,000-$ 110,000 manager; $60,000
$85,000 basic analyst
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