<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1895892629;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1080879516 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello SIGCIS members,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>You may remember some flurries of interest a while ago in the “Inventor of Email” saga. The happy outcome was that the Washington Post had asked me to write an article outlining the actual history of email and putting the claims of V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai in context. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That never took place, but the article is now published in the blog section of the SIGCIS website as <a href="http://www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai">www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai</a>. Thanks to all those who contributed, and I’m sorry if this won’t have the visibility and impact we’d anticipated with the promised Post website publication. For myself I am glad to be done with this and hope the article can still help to put the record straight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A number of people have asked me what happened to the article. There’s an outline of the whole confusing saga in a letter I wrote to the Washington Post ombudsman, <a href="http://www.sigcis.org/node/330">www.sigcis.org/node/330</a>. Basically I don’t know. The article was accepted, but just before publication something killed the planned series of four articles on the episode (including one by Noam Chomsky!!) The only one of the four to be published, by Dave Crocker, is a useful capsule history of Internet email but was published without reference to Ayyadurai and attracted just two comments. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/a-history-of-e-mail-collaboration-innovation-and-the-birth-of-a-system/2012/03/19/gIQAOeFEPS_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/a-history-of-e-mail-collaboration-innovation-and-the-birth-of-a-system/2012/03/19/gIQAOeFEPS_story.html</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ayyadurai’s public relations firm is, at least as of a couple of weeks ago, still trying to interest journalists in his story so perhaps we can anticipate more press coverage to come. Personally I am glad to be done with this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Other news from the world of email invention:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Another journalist featured Ayyadurai as inventor of email, even after the Post’s retraction. Callie Crossley on WGBH ran a full interview segment: <a href="http://www.wgbh.org/programs/The-Callie-Crossley-Show-855/episodes/Mon-31212Innovation-Hour-USPS-Goes-Electric-36918">http://www.wgbh.org/programs/The-Callie-Crossley-Show-855/episodes/Mon-31212Innovation-Hour-USPS-Goes-Electric-36918</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Gizmodo ran a lengthy debunking. The quoting of one word insults from anonymous sources is not really fair, and you could argue that putting “crazy” and “man” a few words apart in the title is prejudicial. But overall it does a good job of investigating. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5888702/corruption-lies-and-death-threats-the-crazy-story-of-the-man-who-pretended-to-invent-email">http://gizmodo.com/5888702/corruption-lies-and-death-threats-the-crazy-story-of-the-man-who-pretended-to-invent-email</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Dave Crocker has set up a website and associated discussion list to try to preserve the actual history of email. <a href="http://www.emailhistory.org">www.emailhistory.org</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Ayyadurai’s book “The EMAIL Revolution: How to Build Brands and Create Real Connections,” is available for preorder on Amazon for just $16.47. Publisher is Allworth (rather than Norton as suggested by Gizmodo). Interesting subtitle there. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-EMAIL-Revolution-Brands-Connections/dp/1581159803">http://www.amazon.com/The-EMAIL-Revolution-Brands-Connections/dp/1581159803</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Best wishes,<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tom Haigh<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>SIGCIS Chair, <a href="http://www.sigcis.org">www.sigcis.org</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom">www.tomandmaria.com/tom</a> <o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>