Perception and reality: the Arrington Incident

Gillmor Gang Live: courtesy of villevesterinen on Flickr

This is probably completely off topic but what the heck. Reality is a strange construct. My reality is probably different to yours and depends on so many variables. A good part of it is based on my ‘world view’ but also my biases and expectations. So for example I LOVED the Gillmor Gang live at LeWeb. The anarchy, super sized egos at play, the school yard yelling – it all appeals to my sense of humour while giving me something to think about. I guess it helps that I know all the personalities involved and have at various times given all of them my own brand of hell. For many it was a turn off. As I understand it, (though I didn’t see it) IRC the back channel got pretty worked up about the antics on stage.

A particular source of offence was the ‘Arrington Incident.’ It made for interesting fodder among the blogerati on Techmeme. Heck, it even made it to the front page of 20 minutes (if you read French.) and inspired a cartoon. I have commented elsewhere. Since then I’ve been sent a ton of questions about it, had a couple of calls yet my baseline view hasn’t changed:

I’d personally be happy to see Mike back again. We all know what he’s like (as plenty of people know what I’m like, Steve, Hugh, Loren etc – all strong voices.)

…but my view has been refined. I also watched the GG on the recorded Ustream. Twice. It seems different. Mike Arrington’s remarks about the European joie de vivre that got up so many people’s noses don’t seem quite as intense as they did in the live setting. My perception of events has changed. A little.

What hasn’t changed is my view that Mike doesn’t ‘get’ Europe and never has. His views represent the myopia I perceive among many Americans who until 9/11 didn’t realize that Iraq existed let alone could place it on a map. And therein lies the problem. The moment you make across the board sweeping statements it is as though they are a form of truth (or ridicule) when of course they rarely are.

And so it is with professionals. We hang back from so many things and wait, often perceiving them to be of little or ephemeral value. While it is true that much of what we see in technology is little more than amplifying a current fashion statement, it is important to take positions. Which brings me neatly back to a snippet of a conversation I had with JP Rangaswami.

I am known for taking strong positions on a variety of topics but I do so lightly. Strong opinions loosely held. In other words I’ve given myself permission to change my mind and be persuaded by others who almost always know more than I do. It means I can allow my reality to shift depending on how my perceptions are changing. I don’t have to be dogmatic. Unlike Mike.

As an aside, someone said to me that Mike is incredibly good at getting attention. Maybe so. The Incident has certainly stirred up plenty of discussion. But whether it takes us forward is another matter.

Check out the Zemanta links below. They add flavour and colour to an interesting debate.

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