Sorting information and helping people navigate to effective answers has been the foundation of the Extension system from the beginning. However, with the number of Web sites doubling every 100 days, the amount of information to navigate through is phenomenal. Compare the distribution of traditional Extension educational programs to the access model of other providers, where you can obtain what you want, when you want it, in the convenience of your own home or business. The Consequences Extension will continue to have difficulty coping with the transition to a marketplace environment where we are not the sole-source provider of educational opportunities. Christensen's examples clearly demonstrate that large, traditional organizations are unable to effectively compete in smaller, rapidly expanding new markets created by disruptive technologies.
Time is of the essence.
Extension's 100 years of experience may give us a head start toward a successful entry into a newly defined niche of technology-mediated outreach for broader audience segments, but if we don't move quickly, others will. Working with a virtual foundation on the World Wide Web and other technologies, e-CES will attract new customers, new sources and providers of information, and new talent able to overcome the traditional barriers to which incumbents appear blind or by which they are constrained. We'll leverage our brand identity from the larger parent organization into these new markets. The value of science-based objectivity has dropped in relative importance lately, with access and timeliness moving up as higher priorities for outreach audiences. Brand identity will be maintained as Land-Grant faculty and specialists build and offer new educational modules focused intensely on identified customer needs.