Full Version: Al Gore Receives "Webby"
According to AP:
When he was running for President, I found it amazing the number of people who believed that Gore thought he was responsible for creating the Internet. While I was nonplussed about the idea of him being President for a variety of other reasons, I was always willing to give the guy credit for being a pioneer in Congress for helping support and encourage development of this medium for public use. This award, in my book, gives him the recognition that he is due.
Question for Debate:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
edit: corrected a grammar error
QUOTE
NEW YORK - Al Gore may have been lampooned for taking credit in the Internet's development, but organizers of the Webby Awards for online achievements don't find it funny at all.
In part to "set the record straight," they will give Gore a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the Internet, said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder and chairwoman.
"It's just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as congressman, senator and vice president and it got spun around into this political mess," Shlain said.
Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors, will give Gore the award at a June 6 ceremony in New York.
"He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions," Cerf said.
In part to "set the record straight," they will give Gore a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the Internet, said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder and chairwoman.
"It's just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as congressman, senator and vice president and it got spun around into this political mess," Shlain said.
Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors, will give Gore the award at a June 6 ceremony in New York.
"He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions," Cerf said.
When he was running for President, I found it amazing the number of people who believed that Gore thought he was responsible for creating the Internet. While I was nonplussed about the idea of him being President for a variety of other reasons, I was always willing to give the guy credit for being a pioneer in Congress for helping support and encourage development of this medium for public use. This award, in my book, gives him the recognition that he is due.
Question for Debate:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
edit: corrected a grammar error
Personally I find it a bit generous for any American organization to even consider giving an award pertaining to the Internet. Given the fact that the internet was developed in Europe by Tim Berners-Lee, it shouldn't even be an issue that Al Gore ever claimed to have invented the Worldwide Web.
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
Doubtful. Political blunders do not simply get swept under the rug because an accolade is ceded to him. Typically a persons reputation does not become whole again because some organization feels guilty (or any variation of responsibility) and decides to put an award-bandage over their bruised ego.
The claim he made about the Internet's development was a political ploy most likely used to prepare for his 2,000 bid for the presidency. His role in supporting and promoting the Internet was minimal at best; if there is anyone here who doubts the Internet would have not caught on without Al Gore's "support" is blind to the fact prevailing need for communication would have driven the Internet into the home at some point or another... even without the irrepressible "support" of the former Vice-president.
Information on Tim Berners-Lee
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
Doubtful. Political blunders do not simply get swept under the rug because an accolade is ceded to him. Typically a persons reputation does not become whole again because some organization feels guilty (or any variation of responsibility) and decides to put an award-bandage over their bruised ego.
The claim he made about the Internet's development was a political ploy most likely used to prepare for his 2,000 bid for the presidency. His role in supporting and promoting the Internet was minimal at best; if there is anyone here who doubts the Internet would have not caught on without Al Gore's "support" is blind to the fact prevailing need for communication would have driven the Internet into the home at some point or another... even without the irrepressible "support" of the former Vice-president.
Information on Tim Berners-Lee
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
Obviously not, as was so kindly demonstrated by VDemosthenes. I think that once a misconception is so deeply entrenched in the opposition's minds, nothing will convince them otherwise.
Unfortunately, VDemosthenes is mistaken about the "inventor of the internet" being Mr. Berners-Lee. The invention of the internet (not the WWW) originated at UCLA in the late 60's, as ARPANet. (United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency)
Obviously not, as was so kindly demonstrated by VDemosthenes. I think that once a misconception is so deeply entrenched in the opposition's minds, nothing will convince them otherwise.
Unfortunately, VDemosthenes is mistaken about the "inventor of the internet" being Mr. Berners-Lee. The invention of the internet (not the WWW) originated at UCLA in the late 60's, as ARPANet. (United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency)
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
I'm with Daffy on this one. The truthfulness or context of Gore's statement is not what mattered in 1999 and doesn't matter today. Setting the record straight on a printed misstatement will grab the attention of Gore supporters and people who think the public soaks up, retains, and mulls over columns of information underneath titles.
That's part and parcel of political spin. Alter the message or messenger, forcing a more nuanced response to your attack and increasing the target's chances of loosing the attention/interest of his audience.
I'm with Daffy on this one. The truthfulness or context of Gore's statement is not what mattered in 1999 and doesn't matter today. Setting the record straight on a printed misstatement will grab the attention of Gore supporters and people who think the public soaks up, retains, and mulls over columns of information underneath titles.
That's part and parcel of political spin. Alter the message or messenger, forcing a more nuanced response to your attack and increasing the target's chances of loosing the attention/interest of his audience.
QUOTE(Lesly @ May 5 2005, 01:26 PM)
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
I'll flip the question for you - Imagine...
Today the Idaho Potato board gives Dan Quayle a lifetime achievement award for all of the work he has done in his legislative and executive careers to promote tubers as a part of a healthy diet. Err...
I'd much rather remember Gore for his dismissal of George HW Bush - "A zebra does not change its spots."
QUOTE
Question for Debate:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
Pretty doubtful. What is Dan Quayle better known for? Being hounded endlessly by Democrats for castigating Murphy Brown as a bad example for raising her kids in a single-parent home? Or for later being acknowledged as having the correct viewpoint by them when "family values" finally spread into the Democrat party too?
It's the former, of course. Lampoon and scorn get far greater attention than a quiet correction later. It wasn't until Al Gore made his unfortunate essay into describing his role in Internet development, that the Republicans finally started using the tactics that had been used against them for years. That's actually fortunate for Gore, since he had provided so many ripe opportunities for derision before and since, but most were ignored.
Democrats can "correct the record" all they want. They won't "correct" people's impressions, though. When you play with fire often enough, you will inevitably get burned.
QUOTE(carlitoswhey @ May 5 2005, 02:52 PM)
I'll flip the question for you - Imagine...
Today the Idaho Potato board gives Dan Quayle a lifetime achievement award for all of the work he has done in his legislative and executive careers to promote tubers as a part of a healthy diet. Err...
Today the Idaho Potato board gives Dan Quayle a lifetime achievement award for all of the work he has done in his legislative and executive careers to promote tubers as a part of a healthy diet. Err...
I can see you have no interest in getting beyond the noise that gets generated and abused by political campaigns. As I stated before, I am hardly a member of his fan club, but I'm willing to give credit where credit is due. Lets take a look at his contribution to the evolution of the Internet, shall we?
From Al Gore and the Creation of the Internet:
Lets set the wayback machine to 1986.
- He offers an amendment to the National Science Foundation Authorization act, adding funding to study and fund research in high-speed computer networking.
QUOTE
That Gore wrote about a national "data highway" as far back as 1986 is extremely significant. It is important to make clear the context of the state of computing at that time. The IBM PC was only four years old. The Apple II computer was still in widespread use. The number of hosts on the Internet numbered, as counted by Mark Lottor's Internet Domain Survey, was 5,089. Entire universities (such as Michigan State University) made their initial connection to the Internet in 1986. In order for Gore to make this kind of speech in 1986, he had to have been conversant with the thinking of computer scientists and Internet pioneers. Such pioneers included such as Vint Cerf, Steven Wolf, and Larry Smarr - then director of the National Center for Supercomputer Applications at the University of Illinois (NCSA), where Mosaic would be born some seven years later.
- In 1988-89 Gore advocated support for a high speed national network and research into high performance computing. (from a speech of his in floor debate in 1989)
QUOTE
Well, we could do more and we should be doing more. I'd take a slightly different view of this question. I agree totally with those who say, education is the key to it. But I genuinely believe that the creation of this nationwide network and the broader installation of lower capacity fiber optic cables to all parts of this country, will create an environment where work stations are common in homes and even small businesses with access to supercomputing capability being very, very widespread. It's sort of like, once the interstate highway system existed, then a college student in California who lived in North Carolina would be more likely to buy a car, drive back and forth instead of taking the bus. Once that network for supercomputing is in place, you're going to have a lot more people gaining access to the capability, developing an interest in it. That will lead to more people getting training and more purchases of machines.
- 1991 The High Performance Computing Act is passed (sponsored by Gore)
Within the same article (cited above), a letter written by Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf gives Gore significant credit for early support of the net:
QUOTE
Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.
As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science.
As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science.
Probably the best contribution Gore made was reducing the governments control of it (ironic for a liberal, eh?
) From further in the Kahn/Cerf letter...QUOTE
As Vice President Gore promoted building the Internet both up and out, as well as releasing the Internet from the control of the government agencies that spawned it. He served as the major administration proponent for continued investment in advanced computing and networking and private sector initiatives such as Net Day. He was and is a strong proponent of extending access to the network to schools and libraries. Today, approximately 95% of our nation's schools are on the Internet. Gore provided much-needed political support for the speedy privatization of the Internet when the time arrived for it to become a commercially-driven operation.
He was even an early advocate of government use of the web. As noted here:
QUOTE
"In the early days of the Web," says Hallam-Baker, who was there, "he was a believer, not after the fact when our success was already established -- he gave us help when it counted. He got us the funding to set up at MIT after we got kicked out of CERN for being too successful. He also personally saw to it that the entire federal government set up Web sites. Before the White House site went online, he would show the prototype to each agency director who came into his office. At the end he would click on the link to their agency site. If it returned 'Not Found' the said director got a powerful message that he better have a Web site before he next saw the veep."
Both articles are very educational if you would like to read them. Based on the responses already, I realize this will do nothing in popular culture to change the original impression that was so successfully distorted and abused by the GOP and pundits in the 2000 election.
I see a lot more "vision" from this man's accomplishments in this singular area than will ever be achieved by the person who was picked by the SCOTUS to be President in 2000.
But why let the truth get in the way of an amusing sound byte?
QUOTE(Doclotus @ May 5 2005, 04:39 PM)
QUOTE(carlitoswhey @ May 5 2005, 02:52 PM)
I'll flip the question for you - Imagine...
Today the Idaho Potato board gives Dan Quayle a lifetime achievement award for all of the work he has done in his legislative and executive careers to promote tubers as a part of a healthy diet. Err...
Today the Idaho Potato board gives Dan Quayle a lifetime achievement award for all of the work he has done in his legislative and executive careers to promote tubers as a part of a healthy diet. Err...
I can see you have no interest in getting beyond the noise that gets generated and abused by political campaigns. As I stated before, I am hardly a member of his fan club, but I'm willing to give credit where credit is due. Lets take a look at his contribution to the evolution of the Internet, shall we?
<snip>
I see a lot more "vision" from this man's accomplishments in this singular area than will ever be achieved by the person who was picked by the SCOTUS to be President in 2000.
But why let the truth get in the way of an amusing sound byte?
I'm in no way minimizing Gore's contribution to the internet. He's wrong about a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. Great job Al! Thanks much - love the internet.
However ... The debate question was:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
...and my answer is NO. He's a victim of one mis-statement, which will haunt him for all of his days. The quote below, coupled with (in Earth in the Balance) where he said that the internal combustion engine was the single greatest threat to mankind... Not helpful to his image, and as you note, excellent fodder for GOP and pundit talking points.
QUOTE
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet" Gore said when asked to cite accomplishments that separate him from another Democratic presidential hopeful, former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN on March 9, 1999.
QUOTE(carlitoswhey @ May 5 2005, 05:58 PM)
I'm in no way minimizing Gore's contribution to the internet. He's wrong about a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. Great job Al! Thanks much - love the internet.
However ... The debate question was:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
...and my answer is NO. He's a victim of one mis-statement, which will haunt him for all of his days. The quote below, coupled with (in Earth in the Balance) where he said that the internal combustion engine was the single greatest threat to mankind... Not helpful to his image, and as you note, excellent fodder for GOP and pundit talking points.
However ... The debate question was:
Will this award do anything to correct the public perception regarding his role in supporting and promoting the Internet that the now infamous sound byte created?
...and my answer is NO. He's a victim of one mis-statement, which will haunt him for all of his days. The quote below, coupled with (in Earth in the Balance) where he said that the internal combustion engine was the single greatest threat to mankind... Not helpful to his image, and as you note, excellent fodder for GOP and pundit talking points.
Fair enough
And the internal combustion thing...well let's just say you won't find me defending that position 
Sometimes I feel sorry for politicians who spend most of their time on live TV. So much opportunity to slip up vs. the pundits who get hours to write up their shtick. The book, on the other hand, I won't let him off that easy.Doc
Doc, thanks for righting the record on Gore. It's too bad that it's too late. Oh well, carry on folks -- just forget whatever happened before 1993. Computers really didn't exist before then, nor did networks.
AM, computer guy since 1979, voted with the majority for Gore, disgusted with what gets dished out these days.
AM, computer guy since 1979, voted with the majority for Gore, disgusted with what gets dished out these days.
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