Wall Street has been so far removed from its individual customer base, and is still broadly so distant from the new technology, that you can't help but excuse their misunderstanding of Iomega and their new products. Who the heck woulda thunk two years ago that a disk drive could be marketed to consumers like a snowboard, or a soda can, or a running shoe? Even Michael Dell appears to misunderstand consumer demand. . . or was he negotiating with IOMG in his comments last month?

Occasionally [in the Iomega] folder, we've all been reminded of some of the basic lessons of consumer demand. As with the recent mention by MATTKEEFER, "You can't force consumers to buy what they don't want." Each time I hear this, I return again to the question of whether a disk-drive can be marketed as aggressively as a perfume, or razor blade, or coffee cup.

Then, of course, I return to those "Intel Inside" advertisements during college basketball games. I think of the lead Iomega has on the competition in technological sophistication. And I remember who it is that's been telling us that these drives are nothing special, that this company is aching for a breaking, and who it is that ties all things questionable, all things objectionable, to the interactive world. Bottom-line accountability, consumer pricing, consumer preference. . . right now these are broad-siding Wall Street; they're equally startling to the media. The weaker elements of both are getting rubbed the wrong way by it.

Take the financial media (newspapers, magazines, television shows, et cetera) which are really feeling the heat now from the growth in interactive technology. Wherever and whenever investors and corporate bankers can meet technologists, and the two can meet consumers, look out. That web of competencies far exceeds the work of a single reporter, enough so that I actually feel sorry for the individuals who have to stamp their names on reports tied to "secret sources." The world of new media and communication isn't going to treat them favorably in the decade ahead.

As the cost of computers and online services comes down, those looking for financial info are going to return to the print medium and the words of an individual listening to an "unnamed source" about as frequently as they drag out a carriage and pony and head out onto RTE 95 North. . . against traffic!

This weekend's offline coverage of IOMG reminds those of us who've been in this forum for months, those of us who have learned from the wonderful blend of finance, technology and consumer expertise, just how poor the chances are for the old media right now, given that the majority of them:

1. Have not read many prospecti, have not learned how to value companies and stocks by industry, have little or no experience with financial statements, do not understand how to finance and run a profitable business (Financial Expertise);

2. Do not understand the new technology---from personal computers to software applications, network equipment, storage technology, etc. Nor do they understand how to use this technology---from online forums to electronic mail to scanners and Zip drives (Technological Expertise);

3. Have not had the opportunity to talk with their subscriber base rather than "to" or "at" them, and thus have little understanding of what consumer demand *means.* Consumers are still considered to be largely ignorant in closed-media environs. One-way communication has a way of making the talker feel damned intelligent, no? (Consumer Expertise);

So I don't think we should be too shocked in the months ahead when, as the sea changes, those with less financial, technological and consumer expertise push their way to the fronts of lines, talk too loudly, listen too rarely, complain about shrinking salaries and the way things are instead of were, and express total bafflement at what has become of their "name." In "Times" like these, Fools find it best to satisfy themselves quietly with quality and performance standards---with merit.