FWD: My encounter with Bill Gates

[Bill Crosbie]

Forwarded with permission of the author:


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 12:34:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andy Carvin <acarvin at kudzu.cnidr.org>
To: wwwedu (wwwedu discussion), civtalk (civtalk list),
        LM_NET at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (LM-NET List), EDTECH at MSU.EDU (edtech list)
Subject: My encounter with Bill Gates
Message-ID: <199706051634.MAA15005 at kudzu.cnidr.org>

An Encounter with The Man:
Bill Gates, Libraries, and a Momentary Redressing of Grievances

Yesterday I had the unexpected opportunity to see Microsoft chairman Bill 
Gates speak at the MLK Memorial Library in Washington DC. I received word 
earlier in the day from a friend who volunteered at the library that 
Gates would be there to donate a dozen Pentium machines and a million 
dollars for the implementation and upkeep of DC Public Library's public 
access network. Just to be sure that I'd be able to attend, I contacted 
Microsoft. I was informed that, sad to say, this was to be A Closed 
Event. 

A Closed Event. Music to my ears. I'd just get there a little early and 
find a way to open it up. 

30 minutes before the official event, I arrived at the library, 
accompanied by Pete Neal of the Annenberg/CPB Project. The foyer to the 
library was blocked by two tables, one labeled Guest and one labeled 
Press. Normally, my instincts would be to push my luck and pretend I was 
Press, but since it didn't occur to me to prepare some personal 
credentials beforehand, I decided that I'd have to be a settle with being 
a Guest. 

Pete and I were greeted by two young library reps who smiled and said, 
"Are you a guest?" I thought to myself that this was an odd question, 
considering we were standing at the Guest Table. Then again, we weren't 
really Guests, but I did not see an Intruders table or a check-in station 
for Not-So-Important-Gatecrashers. So I put on my best Guest face and 
replied, "We're with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," and began 
to look around as if everything were in order. One of the library 
representatives began to skim what was clearly a list of registered 
guests; a list that barring any miracles would have neither my nor Pete's 
name on it. To avoid the embarrassment of having to admit we weren't 
supposed to be there, I said in all honesty, "We were only notified of 
the event rather late," to which they responded, "Well, you're probably 
on the updated list coming later. Wait here." 

So there we waited, watching as a dozen or so middle school students were 
led through security, probably to engage Gates over the computers in some 
kind of warm and fuzzy Photo Op. Darrell Green of the Washington Redskins 
then walked in - why on earth was he here?, I thought. But after a while, 
Pete and I started to wonder if this plan of ours was going to work. I 
then saw Phil Shapiro of CTCNet DC at the back of the main lobby, 
standing in rows of seats behind the cameras and flood lights. He 
motioned to us that we should go back there - apparently, these were the 
nosebleed seats, open to the public. Worse case scenario, we'd sit back 
here, obstructed by the cameras, the lights, the reporters, observing the 
event through a wide screen TV. If I knew the seats were going to be this 
bad, I would have stayed at worked and watched the event over the Internet.

I was also somewhat disappointed because I had brought along a cheap 
little digital camera to get a few shots of Gates. From back here, at 
best I could get a picture of the wide screen TV. How appropriate.  So I 
approached one of the event organizers, told him I was "Andy Carvin, 
CPB," and asked if there was a better place for me to sit or stand in 
order to get some pictures for the Internet. At first, he wasn't very 
helpful, but eventually, he pointed up front, right by the podium and 
said, "sit wherever there isn't a Reserved sign on a chair." Bingo. I 
thought of Bob Eucker as we shimmied our way up to the front row...

 
Well, the forth row, to be exact, since those middle school kids were 
occupying much of the closest seats. Time passed, and the real Guests 
began to arrive - the library's board of trustees, the DC City Council 
and Control Board, and finally Mayor Marion Barry. I guess it was time or 
the show to get under way. 

After brief remarks from an executive of the library, she introduced 
Darrell Green, who spoke about how computers had opened up a new world 
for his son, and how he "looked forward to working with Microsoft in the 
future." Hmm. Then a young man from the middle school had his moment in 
the spotlight as he explained to us how the Internet made homework and 
research for school so much easier. He also liked all of the websites 
that gave him tips for video games - that got a big laugh from the crowd. 

Then, Gates got up and spoke. He noted how when he was growing up, there 
was no technological resource that would allow him to learn and read 
about the subjects that interested him. All he had was books, and the 
only place he could go to immerse himself in knowledge was the local 
library. Today, our collective body of knowledge goes beyond what could 
be contained physically in any given library - the Internet, therefore, 
opens up a seemingly infinite cache of information that was previously 
unreachable. And with only six percent of households making less than 
$25,000 a year owning a computer (compared to over fifty percent of 
households making over $50,000 a year), the library remains the one place 
where any person no matter his or her economic status may come and get 
the knowledge they seek. Therefore, Internet access in all libraries was 
a must.

Though I was a bit skeptical about how well one million dollars could be 
spread out over an entire urban library district, the gesture in itself 
seemed to get a lot of people excited. I mean, this was Bill Gates, 
coming to DC and getting our kids online. Who could argue with that? So I 
clapped when others clapped, and felt satisfied that the District was 
finally catching up, especially as a community that so desperately needed 
it. 

After Gates' comments, the library exec returned to the podium and said, 
"We have a few minutes for a couple of questions." Questions from the 
audience? Oh yes, this was a press conference. Surely people would have 
questions. But surprisingly, the opportunity for questions was directed 
at the general audience, since the press had had their chance to talk 
with Gates in private interviews before the public session. So I thought 
to myself, here is an opportunity to confront Bill Gates. To quiz Bill 
Gates. To challenge Bill Gates. But what on earth would I ask him? It 
felt like I was playing a game:

Q: If you could ask Bill Gates a question - only one question - what 
would it be?
A: Uh........Umm......

I was dumbstruck. There had to be something I could ask him without 
sounding like a complete idiot. So I motioned to the woman with the 
roaming microphone as if to say, "My turn next, I have a whopper of a 
question." She had already handed off the mic to a student, so that gave 
me a minute or two to stall. "One more question," a voice near the podium 
announced - his handlers probably wanted him to get on to the next event. 
It appeared I was going to miss my chance for that question, but 
suddenly, I felt a cold metal tube shoved in my chest. The last question 
was to be mine. 


Q: Mr. Gates, there's been a lot of hype over the last couple of years 
about the Internet, especially in terms of using the medium as a tool for 
reaching out a great distances, to meet and interact with people. But I'm 
curious to know what your thoughts are on using the Net to reach people 
_right in front of you_, right in your own communities and neighborhoods. 
What is the role of the Internet as a tool for community enhancement?

Gates paused and thought for a moment. Marion Barry looked up as soon as 
he heard the word Community, to see who was asking the question. After 
what felt like an eternity to me (perhaps two or three seconds), Gates 
responded to my question.

At first, Gates' words disappointed me, because he began to focus on how 
the Net is indeed a marvelous medium for reaching out across the country 
and the world, to interact with folks you might otherwise never meet. But 
then, as it seemed he was going to ignore the thrust of my question, he 
continued. He remarked on how college campuses have reacted to the 
Internet: As some of the first public institutions to take advantage of 
the Net, universities were often wired to the hilt, with access in 
classrooms, libraries and dorms. In turn, the proliferation of 
infrastructure made it easier for students and faculty to have access to 
the Internet, and to thus use it as a tool for instruction, for 
organizing local events, for hosting activist meetings. The campus 
infrastructure had achieved the critical mass needed for an engaged and 
technologically literate online community. This, he said, should be a 
model for our other communities, such as towns and neighborhoods. The 
greater the participation, the greater the community, and the public 
library as a hub for that participation was a great start.

He continued by describing how the Internet can be used to eliminate 
local bureaucracies and increase communication efficiencies between the 
government and its citizenry. For example, if a person needed a permit 
for adding an extension to their house, instead of having to run around 
town from office to office, trying to find the right forms and 
signatures, he or she could log on, search the zoning and permits 
database and register their permit in the comfort of home. 

At this point, another voice droned in over the PA system and said, 
"That's all the time we have today - thank you all for coming. And thank 
you, Bill Gates and Darrell Green..." If she hadn't spoken up, I think 
Gates would have continued on the subject for a bit longer. But either 
way, Bill Gates had answered my question, as extemporaneous as it was, in 
what appeared to be a thoughtful and unrehearsed manner. I was pleased by 
that. 

At the end of June, I'll be heading off to Seattle for the National 
Educational Computing Conference. As luck would have it, Bill Gates is 
speaking as the keynote. I'm sure there will be another Few Minutes for 
Questions at that gathering as well. That gives me three weeks to prepare 
for my follow-up. 

Until then,

ac

ps - to see a few pics of the event, check out
http://edweb.cnidr.org/gates.jpg
http://edweb.cnidr.org/gates2.jpg

Andy Carvin
WWWEDU Coordinator and Moderator
acarvin at kudzu.cnidr.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Always dream and shoot higher         |      Bill Crosbie
 than you know you can do.             |      Microcomputer Analyst
 Don't bother just to be better than   |      Chang Science Library
 your contemporaries or predecessors.  |      Rutgers University
 Try to be better than yourself.       |      New Brunswick, NJ USA
                                       |      crosbie at aesop.rutgers.edu
      ~~William Faulkner~~             |      732-932-0305 x114