Editorial & Opinion

From the February 1999 issue of TAARReport, The Automated Agency Report by Steven Brightbill*

Y2K Ad Nauseam

Aren't you sick and tired of all the hype and fear-mongering surrounding Y2K? Hardly a day goes by without hearing, seeing, or reading something about the "Millennium Bug," a media buzzword that sure sounds hot and sexy, but is mostly short on substance and meaning. If you think you've had enough of the malarkey by now, just wait — it's going to get worse before year's end. However, if you're a Y2K junkie and can't get your daily fix quickly enough, you can mainline information right off the Internet at www.countdown2000.com and www.everything2000.com.

Technology-wise, Y2K is certainly something to be concerned about. If it weren't, TAARReport likely would not have been (and continues to be) one of the first resources in the insurance automation business to report on the topic back in January 1997. Those who've heeded our advice should be well on their way toward being prepared for business on Monday morning, January 3, 2000. Of course, many won't be, despite the volume of information available.

Regardless of how well your agency is prepared, you will probably question whether or not all your bases are covered and what else you can do to prepare for the inevitable what-ifs. Are the predictions of doom and gloom fact or fantasy? Will the world plunge into global chaos at the stroke of midnight while tens of millions of millennial revelers toast the year 2000?

While TAARReport does not have a magic wand that will make potential Y2K problems disappear, here are several suggestions worth considering:

Carefully evaluate what you read and hear in the popular press. The number one job of the press is to attract advertising revenue. Sure, they must also deliver a respectable news product, but you won't get much substance or relevance in a 30-second TV report or single-column feature on the business page.
Similarly, be wary of Y2K-specific technology expos and products. A number of so-called Y2Ktechnology expos have been making the rounds, and the pitch is more than just business computer related. Some are little more than "survivalist" expos that appeal to fear and focus on selling everything from dehydrated food pellets to alternative energy sources to weapons.
Find our what your local government is doing to prepare for Y2K. Despite press coverage about federal government preparation, what is being done in your community may be under-reported. Yet, it will likely be local Y2K problems that affect you most.
Take a balanced approach. No one knows for certain the magnitude of Y2K's eventual impact. Yes, there will likely be some temporary inconveniences, but abject worry and fear over the direst of apocalyptic predictions is counter-productive to taking reasonable precautions.
Finally, in the midst of prudent preparation, don't get so swept away by Y2K hype that you ignore the celebratory nature of the event itself. After all, it only comes around once in a, well, millennium.

*Steven Brigthbill is a former editor of TAARReport