An Internet search for the word customized turns up more than 866,000 web pages. Computer-based technologies like the Internet help producer and consumer communicate directly so the goods and services offered more closely match individuals' unique tastes. In virtually every industry-housing, transportation, apparel, medicine, entertainment, finance and so on- modern technologies are shifting the business paradigm from producer-centered productivity to consumer-centered customization.

Just as mass production was the hallmark of yesterday's Industrial Age, mass customization promises to dominate the modern stage of America's economic evolution - the Information Age. New eras, of course, don't arrive overnight. They emerge slowly and incrementally as they overlap with the old, taking years and even decades to transform the economy. Even so, we're already seeing noteworthy moves to mass customization.

Digitoe, a Washington company, uses a scanner to measure every millimeter of customers' feet for custom-made shoes. Using his computerized mobile fitting unit, Alan Zerobnick digitizes each foot's dimensions - no matter the size or shape - and builds a three-dimensional shoe last around which any style can be molded for a perfect fit. Orders are shipped in three to four weeks. Reorders require only a phone call.