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Interesting article (found it on Slashdot) about the rise and decline of internet companies and how that has changed things. I think his comments on the Internet as a form of communication are right on:
quote:The specific argument, or one of them, is the Internet gives us more choices. In the "old" economy, the high cost of presenting information to people meant they had only a narrow range of options to choose from. The tiny, expensive pipeline to consumers was tellingly named "the channel." Control the channel and you could feed them what you wanted, on your terms. And it was not just big corporations that depended on this principle. So, in their way, did labor unions, the traditional news media, and the art and literary establishments. Winning depended not on doing good work, but on gaining control of some bottleneck.
With the advent of blogging and the fact that I can access nearly any newspaper in the country, as well as many magazine and journal articles, it seems that this is absolutely correct. The only problem with the internet right now is separating the wheat from the chaff.
I also find his comments on nerds and informality amusing. Now I have complete justification for wearing whatever I want, within the standards of public decency. I think the author might have put a finger on why I react so negatively to being asked to dress up, though I think he underestimates how much importance people place on feeling comfortable. And I never did like the idea of office politics or hierarchical authority.
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I totally agree about dressing up, Shigosei. Now I want to know where the women who are asking to meet nerds are.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I think it's sad that no one dresses up anymore. I think it reflects the respect we have for our societal institutions.
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Does it indicate more respect for social institutions to dress up than to offer them good ideas and to follow where they lead when they're right?
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I'm with Annie on the being sad part. Most people really don't dress up, or either don't know how. My husband and I got married in a church, and there were actually people who attended in polo shirts and shorts! I've also gone to funeral showings where people attend wearing blue jeans.
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I admit that I'm bothered by the fact that what I wear is connected to respect. I can see people being upset if I came to a wedding or a funeral in grungy clothes, and out of respect for them I would not, but I don't quite understand why wearing a dress is more respectful than wearing a t-shirt and shorts. I realize that this is the societal convention. I just don't understand why. Also, the article was primarily talking about a work environment, and I see no need for a lot of institutional respect there. People, yes, but actions are far more important than clothes in that regard.
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