April 14, 1992
TO: SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE NO. 9-92
RE: Implications of Electronic Bulletin Boards
__________________________________________________________
For those of you who were unable to attend last week's
Shareholder Communications Committee meeting, enclosed are three
background articles distributed in connection with the discussion
and demonstration of the electronic bulletin board for mutual
fund investors accessible through the Prodigy database. John
Lamond, a local marketing rep for Prodigy, distributed Prodigy
startup kits; any committee member interested in obtaining a kit
should contact Mr. Lamond at 301/588-6281.
Enclosed are the following materials:
1) an article from the March 28, 1992 National Journal that
discusses legal issues surrounding electronic communication,
2) an article from the November 1991 issue of Telecommuni-
cations that describes how businesses can use electronic bulletin
boards to improve both customer service and market research, and
3) an article from the September 1991 Scientific American
that examines how electronic communication is changing the Ameri-
can workplace--including its impact on information sharing, chain
of command, and decisionmaking. This last piece is written by
the authors of a new book, Connections: New Ways of Working in
the Networked Organization.
The Shareholder Communications Committee has formed a
Prodigy task force, chaired by Brian Mattes of Vanguard, to
examine communications and compliance issues raised by this
newest form of investor relations. The task force will continue
its discussion of this topic at the next committee meeting on
September 18. In the meantime, please share your thoughts with
Brian at 215/669-6219.
Sue Duncan
Assistant Vice President
Director of Publishing