[Web4lib] Mobenzi > Mobile-Phone-Based Empowerment

Mon Feb 1 02:55:53 EST 2010

Hi Gerry,

I re-read my message, thinking that I had let my temper produce some  
sort of ad hominem attack, and fully prepared to apologize if that  
were the case. However, re-reading my message, I can find no evidence  
that it was unprofessional, or meant as a personal affront. I simply  
meant to point out that:

1. Calling someone by a colloquial nickname, especially when they  
don't identify with that name, is unprofessional at best, rude at  
worst, and a practice I long-ago learned may be insulting. My name, to  
you, is Andrew. Not Andy, or Drew, or any variation thereof.

2. Your message was, at best, tenuously related to the discussion  
topic of this list.

I am sure you have received many nice compliments, because the people  
on this list are exceptionally nice people. I'm also sure that they  
would be very interested in subscribing to a dedicated notification  
service or mailing list to be alerted each and every time you update  
your blog(s) if they wish to stay on top of your interests.

However, the constant barrage of your own blog posts, each one  
containing links to drive traffic back to your sites, moves your posts  
from an acceptable "hey, isn't this an interesting diversion" practice  
into "I need to post something to keep my site in front of people's  
eyes" territory.

As Rich quite rightly points out, a discussion list is a place to  
discuss, not to republish your blog.

-ANDREW.

On 31-Jan-10, at 6:31 PM, gerrymck wrote:

> Andy/
>
> I don't believe that either you or Dick (or anyone else) needs to  
> justify your reasons for Junking my postinss/submissions.
>
> But Please ...
>
> Do you consider Dissing Me As Appropriate ; Is It Professional ? /  
> Is this the Kind Of Discussion that members should expect on this  
> list ?
>
> [Reminds MeOf The FlameWars Of The 90s ]
>
> I have stated my views ;please respect them.
>
> On a regular basis I receive Notes Of Appreication from our  
> colleagues thanking me for keeping them up-to-date on professional  
> developments and the traffic on my blogs is clearly indicates  
> substantial  interest.
>
> Can we agree to disagree?
>
> Regards,
> /Gerry
> c: Web4Lib
> On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Andrew Hankinson <andrew.hankinson at gmail.com 
> > wrote:
> I'm sorry, but I'm with Richard on this one.
>
> First: Although I know "Dick" is a popular nickname for "Richard,"  
> your use of it could be seen as insulting, especially since he did  
> not self-identify with this nickname.
>
> Second: I'm not one for a narrow view of the impact of technology on  
> libraries, but your e-mail below is tenuously related, if at all.  
> I'm sure there are other lists where it would be more appropriate.  
> (In fact, my e-mail client marked your post below as spam, something  
> it shouldn't do from Web4Lib!)
>
> This is the 21st century, and as such we're all very aware of the  
> difference between spam, self-promotion and valuable contributions.  
> I'm afraid I regard most of your posts as somewhere between the  
> first two, with a few exceptions.
>
> -Andrew
>
>
> On 31-Jan-10, at 2:02 PM, gerrymck wrote:
>
> Dick/
>
> We all thave he option of blocking any individual, but your  
> statements are
> not correct
>
> 1] I am an active contributor but >>> I do not post every hour nor  
> every day
>
> Check The Web4Lib Archives
>
> [ http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/search/index.cgi]
>
> 2] My postings are not self-promotion; On the contrary > My postings
> highlight the work of others ...
>
> 3] The root source of my postings (i.e., my blog entries) is as  
> valid source
> as any
>
> 4] While one might expect that a posting to an e-list might generate
> discussion, a majority of my psotings are informational > Use or  
> Delete Or
> ???
>
> 5] This Is The 21st Century
>
> Withh All Due Respect !
>
> /Gerry
>
> c: Web4Lib
>
> On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Richard Wiggins <richard.wiggins at gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> For the first time in decades of following mailing lists, I for one am
> filtering all posts from someone -- specifically gerrymck -- from  
> now on.
>
> This relentless, daily -- sometimes hourly -- self-promotion is not
> appropriate for Web4lib, or any public forum.  A discussion list is  
> a place
> to discuss, not to republish your blog.
>
> /rich
>
>  On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 1:22 PM, gerrymck  
> <gerry.mckiernan at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> Mobenzi is a software service that empowers people to earn money by
> completing simple tasks on their mobile phones.
>
> The Concept
>
> Mobenzi is a software service that empowers people to be rewarded for
> completing simple tasks on their mobile phones. These tasks involve
> certain
> types of problems that are difficult for a computer to solve without
> assistance from a real person – even someone without expert  
> knowledge of
> the
> problem.
>
> We are seeking to uncover new applications for these ‘human  
> intelligence
> tasks’ and build the systems to process them, so that we can create  
> novel
> technology solutions and help thousands of poor people earn additional
> income.
>
> History
>
> Clyral is a software development company based just outside of  
> Durban in
> South Africa. In 2006 we created Mobile Researcher to allow  
> organisations
> to
> capture data in remote locations using standard mobile phones. We  
> designed
> the software as a platform because we had many other application ideas
> that
> involved the completion of mobile forms.
>
> Pilot Project
>
> In 2009 we partnered with the Business Trust, through their Shared  
> Growth
> Challenge Fund to extend the Mobile Researcher platform to cater for  
> the
> completion of human intelligence tasks and to pilot the service with  
> low
> income people in South Africa’s urban poverty nodes.
>
> Links To Source / How Mobenzi Works / News Coverage / Etc. Available  
> At
>
> [ http://tinyurl.com/yeogj25 ]
>
> And/Or
>
> [
>
> http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com/2010/01/mobenzi-mobile-phone-based-empowerment.html
> ]
>
> /Gerry
>
> Gerry McKiernan
> Associate Professor
> Science and Technology Librarian
> Iowa State University Library
> Ames IA 50011
>
> Follow Me On Twitter > http://twitter.com/GMcKBlogs
>
> "The Future Is Mobile" >>>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>