A world changed.

This is not the editorial originally written for this space.

But, then, a lot has changed since that original article was penned in early September. That column reported on the good news we heard at the August BICSI conference, a review full of positive comments about growth in the cabling industry and what that growth meant for enterprise technology investments in the future. That news seems so irrelevant now.

Now, here I sit, trying to write something more appropriate for our changed world and our stunned audience.

We all know where we were and what we were doing on the morning Sept. 11. I was sitting in a Delta Air Lines seat circling the Atlanta airport at precisely the time of the World Trade Center attacks. Thankfully, we were not aware of the events that were transpiring in New York until after we were on the ground.

As I headed downtown to attend the Networld + Interop (N + I) conference, passengers on the public transit train shared bits of information with others seated nearby. "A plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York," a woman said from across the aisle, as she worked her cell phone to get more information. Then, she reported that two planes had hit the two buildings. Next, there was an explosion at the Pentagon. Finally, someone on the other end of the phone told her that another plane had either crashed or been shot down.

Once at my hotel, I was riveted, like most Americans, to the CNN reports on TV. The images were unbelievable, unthinkable. When the second tower collapsed, even the CNN reporter was unable to speak, except to say, "Oh, my God!"

At the World Congress Center, N + I exhibitors and attendees were mostly standing in front of whatever TVs or videoconferencing feeds they could find on the exhibit floor or in the passageways. Where normally you would find groups clustered around product demonstrations, now they stood mesmerized, 20 deep, as the networks replayed the tragic acts of terrorism.

In all honesty, working in such a situation was extremely difficult. But since associate editor Ray Peckham and I were already at the conference, as were most of the people we had scheduled appointments with, and since getting on a plane to go home right away was not an option, we decided to proceed with our planned meetings. In retrospect, those relatively few minutes where we were able to take our eyes off the TV images and focus our thoughts on other issues were welcome.

Surprisingly, we managed to meet with just about everyone on our schedules, even though many of the exhibitors packed it in and headed home by car or bus the first day. Microsoft, for example, sent most of its staff back to Seattle on a charter bus. By early afternoon on Sept. 11, and all day Sept. 12, the exhibit floor was nearly empty of attendees--either because they were unable to fly in Tuesday, or because they had gone back home.

Despite the black backdrop of terrorism, the exhibitors we met, amazingly, went about their business professionally and enthusiastically. They remained positive about the economic future of their industries and their companies. We talked about new products and corporate strategy. We talked about Communications News. And we talked about the tragic events that were unfolding as we conducted the work we were there to do.

Now, as I write this replacement column, I remain flush with the sadness and anger of 10 days ago. And I remember the strength of those conversations at N + I as an early indication of the resolve of the American people not to allow such acts of cowardice and brutality to intimidate our way of life.

Ken Anderberg
kena@comnews.com