IP: Dvorak Commentary

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 08:12:59 -0500
>From: John Lyon <jelyon@jelyon.com>
>To: <farber@cis.upenn.edu>
>
>I thought Dvorak's thoughts on the possible political clout of the "Tech
>Elite" might be of interest to the IP list.
>
>He points out that the "Digerati" tend to be fiscally conservative, socially
>liberal. I think there is a tendency towards Libertarianism among this class
>as well.
>
>The article is online at (watch for a wrapped URL):
>
>www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2784848,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_mh_comm
>
>"Why members of the tech elite have clout"
>
>By John C. Dvorak
>PC Magazine
>UPDATED July 23, 2001 5:22 AM PT
>
>COMMENTARY--The group could be called the Internet Class, the Digital Age
>Workers, or even the Digerati--a term popularized by writer/agent John
>Brockman in his book of the same title, which profiles the elite of the
>technology world. In the newest sense of the term, if you are reading this
>column, you would quite likely be categorized as one of the digerati. And
>apparently, you are about to become important, as a group, to politicos.
>Maybe now is the time to organize into a massive pressure group.
>
><snip>
>
>This group holds common beliefs regarding technology and its importance.
>Thus, there is no reason that the digerati cannot become a force to be
>reckoned with. Right now, being one of the digerati is like being in a club
>and not knowing you're a member. According to Business Week, which prefers
>the cumbersome term Digital Age Worker, the members are described as
>"economically conservative, socially tolerant swing voters who live in
>suburbia." Not very specific, but it's the start of a real definition.
>
><snip>
>
>I used to be a union man when I was in school and always worked during the
>summer in various union jobs. They paid well, and I learned a few things
>about labor. One thing was certain: The unions once had a lot of clout. They
>don't have as much any more. The same is true of the Moral Majority. What
>happened to them? The point is that these moments of political clout are
>fleeting. This opportunity is just emerging. Now is the time to use it to
>get our way. We just have to figure out what "our way" is before the moment
>is lost.
>
>There is no reason that the digerati cannot become a force to be reckoned
>with. Right now being one of the digerati is like being in a club and not
>knowing you're a member.
>
><end of commentary>
>
>JEL
>________________________________________________
>It's the economy, stupid - Clinton Campaign, '92
>It's the New Economy, stupid - John Lyon, '01



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