This is why it's so important not to "write off" people who don't agree with you regarding tech (and Google)
https://plus.google.com/+LaurenWeinstein/posts/AB7VkYDRNvY I frequently hear people say "ignore the haters, you can't convince them anyway." This comes up a lot in relation to the Google-related issues I'm asked about every day. Perhaps it's often true for the real haters, but there's a more important issue: Vastly more people aren't haters, but are confused by FUD and are desperately seeking accurate information. Since I'm interviewed on talk radio a lot, I have very frequent opportunities to speak to audiences that are very conservative overall, and have often obtained most of their "tech" info from highly problematic politically-oriented sources. So misconceptions within those audiences about net neutrality, the Internet in general, Google, and other technology matters are rampant. Yet, I find again and again (and I just had another example this morning, triggering this post!) that I receive messages (and even phone calls) from people who thank me for taking the time to explain these issues *straight* and who write variations of "why the hell didn't anyone bother to explain it to me that way before?" Yes, it's worth taking that time *and not talking down to people*. The benefits for those persons -- and the tech community at large, can be significant indeed. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
