[SIGCIS-Members] Email "inventor" claimant to run for U.S. Senate -- alternative facts about technology and democracy collide

[Andrew Meade McGee]

That's very interesting, Bill. Thank you for passing this along. I will
look more into Snyder. The SPARK aspect sounds fascinating, given how much
governors and gubernatorial candidates over the past fifteen years have
linked themselves to "high tech" innovation and job growth. That he called
himself a tough nerd is fascinating.

Gateway is definitely a name with "Tech" connotations for much of America
-- I remember in the 90s and early 2000s when you would see cow-patterned
boxes littering my small town streets on trash days.

This gets at an interesting aspect of the computer industry -- when is a
figure a "tech" person, and when just a "business" person? The way John
Sculley from Pepsi is slotted into the Steve Jobs/Apple narrative suggests
there is a difference. A figure like Ross Perot seemed to straddle the
difference when he sold himself as a businessman and a technologist when
running for president.

Thanks,
Andrew

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Andrew Meade McGee
Corcoran Department of History
University of Virginia
PO Box 400180 - Nau Hall
Charlottesville, VA 22904

On Sat, Feb 25, 2017 at 11:34 AM, McMillan, William W <
william.mcmillan at cuaa.edu> wrote:

> The governor of Michigan is Rick Snyder, formerly the CEO and Chairman of
> Gateway Inc., a maker of personal computers and other electronic products
> (Gateway was acquired by Acer).
>
> The governorship is Snyder's first elective position.
>
> He also chaired Ann Arbor SPARK, a tech-heavy economic development
> organization
>
> Though Snyder refers to himself as "one tough nerd," I think it's fair to
> say that he's not a technical person (other than in law and accounting).
> He's more a business leader and investment expert, so maybe not the kind of
> example you're looking for, Andrew.
>
> - Bill
>
> ________________________________
> From: Members [members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org] on behalf of Andrew
> Meade McGee [amm5ae at virginia.edu]
> Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2017 10:41 AM
> To: members at sigcis.org
> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Email "inventor" claimant to run for U.S.
> Senate -- alternative facts about technology and democracy collide
>
> As a follow up to Ayyadurai's candidacy  -- have there been any previous
> instances of people who identify with the software industry running for
> major political office in the United states or internationally?
>
> --Andrew
>
> -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
> Andrew Meade McGee
> Corcoran Department of History
> University of Virginia
> PO Box 400180 - Nau Hall
> Charlottesville, VA 22904
>
> On Sat, Feb 25, 2017 at 10:37 AM, Andrew Meade McGee <amm5ae at virginia.edu
> <mailto:amm5ae at virginia.edu>> wrote:
> Continuing with the ongoing saga of V. A. Shiva and his claims regarding
> the invention of e-mail, that gentleman has just announced his candidacy
> for the United States Senate.
>
> https://twitter.com/va_shiva/status/835420061993218048
>
> As several SIGCIS contributors noted earlier this month, this nicely
> parallels the upcoming SHOT themes of technology and democracy. "Alternate
> facts" about the history of technology will play a major public element of
> this campaign next year.
>
> --Andrew
>
>
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