During the Q & A after a London book tour talk by Clay Shirky not long after the 2008 release of Here Comes Everybody, an audience member told a story I remember going something like this:#
I had a contractor renovate our kitchen and the work was very poorly done. I asked for changes and the contractor blew me off. So I opened up a blog site and posted a detailed account of the shoddy work, with pictures and naming the contractor.#
Then I invited the contractor to view the site. He didn't understand the dynamics of the web, didn't know that for the time being almost nobody would likely find the blog, and he freaked out. He came back and got back to work on the kitchen.#
This story came to mind this morning in the final minute of a radio piece about OSHA's impact, where employers are said not to mind so much the fines OSHA gives them as the stern press releases and bad publicity:#
"Employers told us OSHA penalties are generally not very much. They are really just a part of doing business. What [they] really don't like is having our names in the press." #
The final moment of the audio version, starting at 2:00 or 2:30, tells this part of the story more directly than the written version.#
Gerrymandering, a great old American tradition, is underway again in the the Hoosier State. It's not hard to learn about it here, to see its history, its demoralizing impact. But apart from a bit of choppy water during the months when the process of redistricting is underway, politicians seem to have no trouble enduring the publicity. Hoosiers who want voting to be more honorable, and government more representative, don't seem to be able to make the issue stick.#
So Hoosier politicians are not fearful enough of bad publicity. We haven't figured out how to rile up enough of our fellow Hoosiers to shame the bums.#
During the Q & A after a London book tour talk by Clay Shirky not long after the 2008 release of Here Comes Everybody, an audience member told a story I remember going something like this:#
I had a contractor renovate our kitchen and the work was very poorly done. I asked for changes and the contractor blew me off. So I opened up a blog site and posted a detailed account of the shoddy work, with pictures and naming the contractor.#
Then I invited the contractor to view the site. He didn't understand the dynamics of the web, didn't know that for the time being almost nobody would likely find the blog, and he freaked out. He came back and got back to work on the kitchen.#
This story came to mind this morning in the final minute of a radio piece about OSHA's impact, where employers are said not to mind so much the fines OSHA gives them as the stern press releases and bad publicity:#
"Employers told us OSHA penalties are generally not very much. They are really just a part of doing business. What [they] really don't like is having our names in the press." #
The final moment of the audio version, starting at 2:00 or 2:30, tells this part of the story more directly than the written version.#
Gerrymandering, a great old American tradition, is underway again in the the Hoosier State. It's not hard to learn about it here, to see its history, its demoralizing impact. But apart from a bit of choppy water during the months when the process of redistricting is underway, politicians seem to have no trouble enduring the publicity. Hoosiers who want voting to be more honorable, and government more representative, don't seem to be able to make the issue stick.#
So Hoosier politicians are not fearful enough of bad publicity. We haven't figured out how to rile up enough of our fellow Hoosiers to shame the bums.#
Copyright ⓒ 2021 by Ken Smith
Last update: Sunday October 3, 2021; 10:10 PM EDT.