Sample editorial
The Mooka Times 18th January 2000
"Fads are leading us where we would not go"
We cannot not allow the remark this week by Australia's Trade Minister that "e-commerce is merely a temporary fad" to go without comment. In his summary dismissal of this new way of doing business, he typically reveals an old fashioned disregard for anything new as temporary and ephemeral. But that is clearly not the case; ecommerce is here to stay. He needs to face up its very real challenges.
Crazes, fashions and fads come and go but not without leaving their mark. Fads are often 'gadgety'. True, there is an element of foolishness in fads with their appealing naivety and zanny novelty. By definition, fads are always new, so by embracing them we get ahead of the crowd. Fads may contain an element of the peculiar such as in body piercing but they are not merely harmless novelties as the Minister apparently thinks. The advent of ecommerce in Australia is a subtle revolution now upon us, the effects of which he and his Department should be examining very closely.
Clearly too the Minister needs to realise that fads belong not only to the young; fads make people of all ages conform and are demonstrably addictive. Fads happen quickly and are always social; they need a community to 'take them on'. Fads bring psychological rewards, social prestige, and so national fads bring national kudos.
We also need to realise that fads are like bait; they allure people. There are many social penalties for not engaging in the current fad. Fads are dangerous because they compel people but not necessarily in the right direction, not for permanence. ecommerce has its own lures, dynamics and agenda. Like driving cars, once it 'captures' consumers, it will be here to stay.
Worse still, fads like ecommerce remove personal choice for they are manipulated by commercial marketing agencies e.g., yoyos rapidly became more complex and more expensive. Managing a fad or craze is just another marketing campaign. So undoing fads, despite the Minister's apparent cavalier unconcern, can be expensive and never guaranteed successful.
Today this newspaper warns that the ecommerce fad is leading us where we would not go. Australians are already using ecommerce in their own homes. It behoves the Minister to devise adequate consumer guidelines to protect all consumers, not just the unwary. For, being lured by its ease of use, consumers of ecommerce will readily fall victim to its perpetrators' tricks and wiles. Sad stories of this kind are already emerging. No one wants our people to lose their savings nor our nation its repute for fair dealing in business. The Minister must act now to control ecommerce.