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Dear but obviously deluded MJ

November 25, 2002 by Michael Boyle

suggests that all dogs descended from three original Eve dogs, but then the poor fellow refers to the Pug as the most noble and perfect breed. While it is true that his Jack is a handsome beast, it is certainly a stretch to consider the Pug the noblest of them all when there are Basenjis in the world. Specifically, the Basenji to the right, named Jordie.

I have to follow the threads,

November 25, 2002 by Michael Boyle

but one of the things that has started to come out has been this supposedly fundamental divide between “consumers” and “customers”. The idea – I think it’s from Cluetrain, but I’ll check later – is that being a customer is far superior than being a consumer and that the distinction is fundamental. Maybe, but remember that a “citizen” has a far richer bundle of rights and responsibilities than either. If people are really trying to suggest that we fight for rights as customers, I’d suggest that the battle has already been lost – the real fight should be for rights as citizens. Being a customer implies that your rights flow from a transaction. Weak weak weak. Being a citizen implies that your rights flow from having been born (or naturalized). That’s where the stakes are really high, not in the world of consumerism OR customerism.

Jonathan Peterson

November 25, 2002 by Michael Boyle

deconstructs Peter Chernin’s Comdex Keynote at Way.Nu. Peter Chernin is the CEO of Fox. Declan McCullagh has made an un-annotated trasncript available on PoliTech.

Posted without comment:

November 18, 2002 by Michael Boyle

stevenberlinjohnson.com. OK, one comment: Yay!

Doc Searls covers radio very well,

November 18, 2002 by Michael Boyle

and today he points to a San Antonio Current article about Clear Channel that demonstrates a point I’ve been making for years. The CDA was NOT the worst part of the Telecom Reform Act. It was a smoke screen to divert attention from the negative effects of the concentration of media ownership, which is much more efficient by any measure than overt censorship at ensuring that diverse views go unheard, unpublished.