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Eric Rice
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9 ヶ月 ago
in 2008/10/07/politics-damaging-your-brand/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
With both major political parties having distinct ideological differences, why wouldn't that translate to an individual's broader world view? Many issues in our social-tech world tie to a world view open vs. closed, shared vs. locked down, microsoft vs. google, indy media vs. mainstream media.
There is deep passion in many tech topics and those tie to dollars and cents-- politics is no different. And since there's so much 'social capital' in what we do, a belief IS important. Is someone more interested in a greater good or a financial gain? Where they stand politically is very important, if it is to believed that one party is for a greater social good and the other for maximum profitability.
Beyond just the political season, it's a much bigger issue not yet realized for all who engage in social broadcasting. Our lives, histories, changes, and evolution are posted-- sometimes inadvertantly-- wait until more geotagging of photos shows up and that sexy computer you posted a picture of to Flickr is tied to a ______ political HQ office.
We're still writing this history each day.
show all 3 replies
There is deep passion in many tech topics and those tie to dollars and cents-- politics is no different. And since there's so much 'social capital' in what we do, a belief IS important. Is someone more interested in a greater good or a financial gain? Where they stand politically is very important, if it is to believed that one party is for a greater social good and the other for maximum profitability.
Beyond just the political season, it's a much bigger issue not yet realized for all who engage in social broadcasting. Our lives, histories, changes, and evolution are posted-- sometimes inadvertantly-- wait until more geotagging of photos shows up and that sexy computer you posted a picture of to Flickr is tied to a ______ political HQ office.
We're still writing this history each day.
3 replies
Rob Diana
OK, I see your point when you got into the Dave Winer example. A person's general views can greatly impact the type and function of an application. I was not thinking about the issue from that perspective, but it makes complete sense.
Eric Rice
Personally, no. However, I do believe that software is born with (is affected by) the ethics of its creators (we'll definitely see this with AI in the future)... software can be inadvertently elitist. That's more of a social condition, yet I think it's part of the same sphere. What kind of politics might the creators have of a site that focuses on Creative Commons licensing as its core ethos? Would it be far-right or far-left?
I think the judgement is valid. If you share your opinion and support of a political candidate or ideology that I disagree with (esp economic), I have to consider if the things you create are in my best interest. Many web software tools out there are not inherently wired to enable me to make the most possible money with their use-- why is that? Is it because the creators aren't of a ideology of making gargantuan amounts of cash and are in it for the greater good?
To use Dave Winer as an example--he's fairly open about his politics so I'll use him as a basic example (not picking on him)--- could I trust Dave to make some software so amazingly awesome with all the tools built in to make craploads of cash by its use? Heh, probably not, because I believe Dave views things much differently than someone hellbent on making a ton of cash and securing that cash-making.
That's where I'm coming from when I disagree. Not saying it's particularly a pleasant thing, but I think it's very real and very much part of our modern social business landscape.
I think the judgement is valid. If you share your opinion and support of a political candidate or ideology that I disagree with (esp economic), I have to consider if the things you create are in my best interest. Many web software tools out there are not inherently wired to enable me to make the most possible money with their use-- why is that? Is it because the creators aren't of a ideology of making gargantuan amounts of cash and are in it for the greater good?
To use Dave Winer as an example--he's fairly open about his politics so I'll use him as a basic example (not picking on him)--- could I trust Dave to make some software so amazingly awesome with all the tools built in to make craploads of cash by its use? Heh, probably not, because I believe Dave views things much differently than someone hellbent on making a ton of cash and securing that cash-making.
That's where I'm coming from when I disagree. Not saying it's particularly a pleasant thing, but I think it's very real and very much part of our modern social business landscape.
