George Jetson, Meet Dilbert

On May 23, Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert comics, was in Austin, and Bowie, Maryland -- only minutes apart. His two cats were with him, as he greeted crowds at bookstores (Borders in Maryland and Barnes & Noble in Austin) in both cities. Like other readings, he answered questions, made jokes, and called on people in the audience. But unlike other readings, he pointed out the ceiling fan in his office that, he joked, was attached to a plane on his roof, showed the drawing table where he had just finished another Dilbert strip (syndicated by United Feature) and picked up stuffed creatures, made to resemble the characters he created, from the floor in his office.

Scott Adams is in the middle of a virtual book signing tour, the first of its kind, to promote his new book The Dilbert Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Century (Harper Business, $25 hard), another look at life from the inside of a cubicle. Equipped with Intel Video Phones, ProShare technology, a PC, and a regular phone line, this cartoonist, who has found a niche in nine-to-five office life humor, has managed to promote his new book while remaining at home "without having to put on pants." George Jetson, meet Dilbert.

"This video phone is something that works over a regular phone line. So, in addition to your PC and regular telephone line, which everyone has these days, all you need is the camera (at a cost of about $200)," said Intel's Zia Amsari, after setting up the reading at Barnes & Noble -- a process that took all of 15 minutes. The final product included a monitor, a headset (resembling the one that woman wears on those Time magazine commercials), two microphones wrapped together with black tape, and, so the crowd could see, a basic overhead projector.

Without any training, I sat down at the computer to speak to Scott Adams. As the connection was made, I faced a screen with what looked like a computer-generated image of a basic, modern-day business phone. On the right was a futuristic phone receiver, with Adams' image at the top (where one would normally put their ear), and on the bottom of the screen was a video image of me. After brief introductions, we spoke.

"Is this the future? Will authors ever leave home again?" I asked. After a second-long delay, that kind you get when speaking to an elderly relative overseas, Adams sat back in his chair, and said, "I hope not. This was just the right thing for the right time." He went on to explain that because of the subject of his new book and due to the fact that his audience is computer-friendly, he thought this would work for him. With the use of name plates (stickers), Scott Adams managed to have enough signed copies (along with a hand-drawn cartoon sketch of his character, Dogbert) for those who purchased books. In fact, after seeing it up and running, it seemed only natural for this business-world satirist to both embrace technology and have second thoughts about it.

The former engineer for Pacific Bell was the first cartoonist to include his e-mail address (ScottAdams@aol.com) into a margin of each strip. Today, Adams spends three to four hours daily reading and responding to those messages. Wise, considering his strip revolves around the mundane tasks of the high-tech workplace, a place unknown to Adams since he left his cubicle for good in 1995.

As the reading progressed, audience members (whom Adams viewed through a monitor from his home in Danville, California) walked up to the screen to ask questions. Some were hesitant, but when prompted by Adams ("Hey, you in the blue hat, come up here") they responded with questions about Adams' recent guest appearance on the sci-fi show Babylon 5, his inspiration for Dilbert, and when those ubiquitous stuffed animals would be available for sale. To one audience member's query on predictions about the future of officing, he said of cubicles, "I see them getting smaller. The cubicle will shrink to the size of your head and you will wear it like a helmet."

The Barnes & Noble reading lasted nearly an hour, but as novelty of the new medium ran its course, attention found another place to go. Adams is smart enough to know he made his mark and can move on to something else.