Latest on Email Invention incl. my article
Hello SIGCIS members, 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. That never took place, but the article is now published in the blog section of the SIGCIS website as www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai. 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. 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, www.sigcis.org/node/330. 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. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/a-history-of-e-mail-co llaboration-innovation-and-the-birth-of-a-system/2012/03/19/gIQAOeFEPS_story .html 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. Other news from the world of email invention: . Another journalist featured Ayyadurai as inventor of email, even after the Post's retraction. Callie Crossley on WGBH ran a full interview segment: http://www.wgbh.org/programs/The-Callie-Crossley-Show-855/episodes/Mon-31212 Innovation-Hour-USPS-Goes-Electric-36918. . 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. http://gizmodo.com/5888702/corruption-lies-and-death-threats-the-crazy-story -of-the-man-who-pretended-to-invent-email . Dave Crocker has set up a website and associated discussion list to try to preserve the actual history of email. www.emailhistory.org. . 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. http://www.amazon.com/The-EMAIL-Revolution-Brands-Connections/dp/1581159803 Best wishes, Tom Haigh SIGCIS Chair, www.sigcis.org www.tomandmaria.com/tom
Vittal and Pogran met with the reporter from Boston Magazine last week to try to set her straight before she wrote her story about SA. She originally contacted Van Vleck. At 03:49 PM 4/17/2012, Thomas Haigh wrote:
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Hello SIGCIS members,
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.
That never took place, but the article is now published in the blog section of the SIGCIS website as <http://www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai>www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai. Thanks to all those who contributed, and Im sorry if this wont have the visibility and impact wed 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.
A number of people have asked me what happened to the article. Theres an outline of the whole confusing saga in a letter I wrote to the Washington Post ombudsman, <http://www.sigcis.org/node/330>www.sigcis.org/node/330. Basically I dont 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. <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
Ayyadurais 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.
Other news from the world of email invention:
· Another journalist featured Ayyadurai as inventor of email, even after the Posts retraction. Callie Crossley on WGBH ran a full interview segment: <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.
· 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. <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
· Dave Crocker has set up a website and associated discussion list to try to preserve the actual history of email. <http://www.emailhistory.org>www.emailhistory.org. · Ayyadurais 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. <http://www.amazon.com/The-EMAIL-Revolution-Brands-Connections/dp/1581159803>http://www.amazon.com/The-EMAIL-Revolution-Brands-Connections/dp/1581159803
Best wishes,
Tom Haigh
SIGCIS Chair, <http://www.sigcis.org>www.sigcis.org www.tomandmaria.com/tom _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members@sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members
-- home address: 12 Linden Rd., E. Sandwich, MA 02537 home ph=508-888-7655; cell ph = 503-757-3137 email address: dave@walden-family.com; website: <http://www.walden-family.com/bbn/>http://www.walden-family.com/bbn/
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