Historians like to give descriptive names to different eras that were shaped by powerful technological forces. Because of this penchant for naming things, humans slogged their way through the Stone Age and the Bronze Age without even realizing it (the naming came later) and, more recently, the Steam Age and then Industrial Age — a period of such profound change that it's also described as a "revolution."

It's a valid label. The commerce of information today represents an enormous amount of all economic activity in the world. Millions upon millions of people produce information, refine it, store it and distribute it; billions consume it in the same way we consume air, food, and water. Some of us even suffer withdrawal symptoms if denied access to it.

The Information Age isn't a destination...it's a rest stop on the way to the next momentous period in time. Let me be one of the first to welcome you to the "Participation Age."

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, participation is "the act of taking part or sharing in something." It's a simple word describing a simple concept, but it's a powerful word as well, one that defines the dominant technological forces at work in the world today.

The technologies driving us forward are no longer information-centric. Instead, in the last 15 years, advances in technology have made it possible for more and more people to connect with each other to participate and to share workflows, to compete for jobs, to purchase goods and services, to learn and create.

Information Age thinking says, "Control the creation and distribution of information and you dominate markets; dominate markets and you can use that position to extract profits." Participation Age thinking says, "Value is created through networked human beings who share, interact, and solve problems. An individual's value is a function of who they connect to, how often, and in what ways."

As a result, network effects are quite real in the Participation Age. That why peer-to-peer networks remain so popular and why blogging is now so hot.

It's why eBay has flourished — not because it is a dot-com start-up, but because it facilitates direct connections and participation among individuals. Same with online gaming.

A New Call to Arms

We believe that both enabling and utilizing participation also defines our mission at Sun, so much so that "Participate or Perish" is our new call to arms.

We believe that our success will come by enabling as many people as possible to participate. That means cutting the cost of connective technologies, making it simpler, safer, and more convenient for people to get together. It means eliminating digital divides with low-cost tools and technologies to drive even more participation and connection.

The goal is not to be a provider of low-cost computing, it's to be a creator of high-value participation.

And we believe the process is self-sustaining. The more participation we foster, the more additional opportunities will be created by everyone in the network.

We understand that this is a big job, but it's the kind of challenge people come to Sun to tackle. We are, and have always been, radical problem solvers and proud of it.

Radical problem solvers show people things they cannot see for themselves. We ask questions nobody else asks, challenge assumptions, propose solutions, and engineer systems that no one else can.

We are not incrementalists. Count on incrementalists for revisions, not revolutions.

Sun people believe in tackling seemingly impossible challenges head on. We know "impossible" is just the word people use for big and important problems. Creating opportunities for people to participate and connect to one another is just the kind of challenge that Sun was created to take on.

As a result, living in the Participation Age makes our strategy both simple (albeit difficult) and clear.

We will increase shareholder value and provide our clients with opportunities never available to them before:

• By helping our clients overcome their most daunting challenges
• By sharing the solutions we develop to grow communities, to increase participation, and to create opportunities
• And by creating innovations that make problems solvable and bring value and opportunity within reach

Sun was founded and has prospered on the ideas that the "Network is the Computer" and that "Everyone and Everything are Connected." Over our 23 years we have promoted these ideas first to individuals, then to workgroups and enterprises, and then out onto the Web and to virtual communities around the world. Now, the circle has turned back to where we started and we are once again talking to individuals about participating and connecting — but this time on a worldwide scale.

Stick around. Things are going to get really interesting.