The Third Wave

　　在第一波網路時代，是網路的起飛時代，
　　隨著網路基礎建設與個人電腦普及，逐步建立起跨越時間與距離的世界網絡；
　　第二波網路時代，因為雅虎、Google 等搜尋引擎突飛猛進，以及 Apple 領導智慧型手機進化，
　　將網路與服務透過 APP 延伸至行動之中，是謂 APP 經濟時代；
　　而其實我們正處在第三波網路時代的開端──
　　物聯網時代The Internet of Things，
　　作者預言這將如同工業革命，是一場訊息的革命，正在改變社會。
　　一切體驗、產品與服務都將成為能夠轉換於網路的資訊，並且運用於各項決策的判斷，
　　不論你是實業家、各領域從業者、政策參與人或是意見領袖，
　　這個趨勢與每一個人都密切相關。
　　且看深具影響力、從第一波網路時代就參與其中的專家，如何史無前例地清晰描繪前瞻地圖！

　　1985年，史蒂夫．凱斯（Steve Case）共同創辦了美國線上（America Online），當時全美只有3％人口上網。儘管有許多接近失敗經驗，美國線上僅花了十年就獲致極大成功，不僅成為1990年代最出色的公司，在巔峰時期，甚至擁有全美超過一半的網路流量。其後，凱斯主導美國線上與時代華納合併，並成為合併公司董事長，擁有全球最大媒體與通訊帝國。

　　在《The Third Wave》書中，凱斯帶我們隱身觀察在我們這個時代最具影響力的商業決策幕後故事，並提供幾十年來身為一位企業家、投資人、慈善家如何洞燭機先的真知灼見。

　　凱斯說，我們正進入網路的「第三次浪潮」。在第一波浪潮中，我們看到美國線上及其他公司為消費者奠定了網路基礎。第二波浪潮則是由Google、Facebook在網路基礎上創造了搜尋及社交功能，而Snapchat及Instagram等應用程式則充分利用隨之而來的手機革命。

　　現在，在第三次浪潮之下，企業家將大大改變真實世界的醫療、教育、交通、能源、食品等領域，並在這過程中重新譜寫我們的日常生活方式。但要在這第三波浪潮成功將需要不同的技巧，而凱斯在本書中即告訴我們這些技巧為何。

　　《The Third Wave》由回憶、宣言與未來劇本組成，闡述未來新興科技公司將必須重新考慮與顧客、競爭對手、政府之間的關係，並提供企業家制勝的商業決策與策略，以及我們如何面對這數位時代所帶來的不斷變化。讓美國最有成就企業家之一，告訴你在科技日新月異的現代社會，如何取得成功！

One of America''s most accomplished entrepreneurs--a pioneer who made the Internet part of everyday life and orchestrated the largest merger in the history of business--shares a roadmap for how anyone can succeed in a world of rapidly changing technology.

Steve Case''s career began when he cofounded America Online (AOL) in 1985. At the time, only three percent of Americans were online. It took a decade for AOL to achieve mainstream success, and there were many near-death experiences and back-to-the-wall pivots. AOL became the top performing company of the 1990s, and at its peak more than half of all consumer Internet traffic in the United States ran through the service. After Case engineered AOL''s merger with Time Warner and he became Chairman of the combined business, Case oversaw the biggest media and communications empire in the world.

In The Third Wave, which pays homage to the work of the futurist Alvin Toffler (from whom Case has borrowed the title, and whose work inspired him as a young man), Case takes us behind the scenes of some of the most consequential and riveting business decisions of our time while offering illuminating insights from decades of working as an entrepreneur, an investor, a philanthropist, and an advocate for sensible bipartisan policies.

We are entering, as Case explains, a new paradigm called the "Third Wave" of the Internet. The first wave saw AOL and other companies lay the foundation for consumers to connect to the Internet. The second wave saw companies like Google and Facebook build on top of the Internet to create search and social networking capabilities, while apps like Snapchat and Instagram leverage the smartphone revolution. Now, Case argues, we''re entering the Third Wave: a period in which entrepreneurs will vastly transform major "real world" sectors like health, education, transportation, energy, and food--and in the process change the way we live our daily lives. But success in the Third Wave will require a different skill set, and Case outlines the path forward.

The Third Wave is part memoir, part manifesto, and part playbook for the future. With passion and clarity, Case explains the ways in which newly emerging technology companies (a growing number of which, he argues, will not be based in Silicon Valley) will have to rethink their relationships with customers, with competitors, and with governments; and offers advice for how entrepreneurs can make winning business decisions and strategies--and how all of us can make sense of this changing digital age.

作者簡介

　　Steve Case is one of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs—a pioneer who made the Internet part of everyday life and orchestrated the largest merger in the history of business between America Online (AOL) and Time Warner.  Case’s entrepreneurial career began when he cofounded AOL, which became the top performing company of the 1990s. At its peak, nearly half of Internet users in the United States signed on through AOL. As chairman and CEO of Revolution, a Washington, DC based investment firm he cofounded in 2005, Case partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build businesses such as Zipcar, LivingSocial, Sweetgreen, and many others. Case was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership—an effort launched at the White House to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. A member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, Case also serves as Chairman of the Case Foundation, which he established with his wife Jean in 1997.