My preceding post highlighted a perspective from Kenya. After writing it, I moved on to see what the blogosphere is sharing about the meetings at Davos. Robert Scoble offers two short video subjects that I hoped would be of interest. He says,
John Gage, chief researcher at Sun Microsystems. Talked with me about helping people in Africa.
Daniel Shapiro, talked with me about conflict resolution. He is a professor at the Havard Law School and works with governments around the world to try to decrease violence and increase democracy.
What an amazing opportunity Robert has been given: the opportunity to engage some of the top minds and most influential people on the planet in brief conversations to share with us, the people who can’t be there.
After watching those two Qik-ies, how would you grade him?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
madame l. 01.24.08 at 1:15
3:04 on john gage. i would like to hear more (anything, actually) of what he has to say. he managed to shut scoble up with some fascinating tidbits on what’s going on with sun in africa until scoble said “that sounds like a lot of fun”. what an asshat he is. he’s got michael spence right there and asks him NOTHING!
an astounding 1:23 on daniel shapiro with most of the time taken up by scoble asking if he did divorce law. chuckle chuckle boom.
and a mind boggling 13:07 minutes of the increasingly boring danah boyd, where scoble manages to slip in some sexist pyjama comment in between her heroine of the obvious crap act she’s been pimping for years and her chimp on crack over gesticulation.
scoble comes off as an attention pig who doesn’t actually listen or give a shit what the interviewee is saying and has 5,000 sheep (as he reminds us yet again) following him on FB. i highly doubt daniel shapiro is going to mediate his divorce.
fudgie the whale. comes in his own ocean.
Jon H. 01.24.08 at 1:38
Wow ! Hahahahahaaa. That sounds like fun. Go get lunch. You gonna be there tonight ? I will … hahahahahhaaa
Thank goodness Gage and Shapiro are gracious and intelligent men when faced with an astonishingly vapid interviewing “technique”.
Tree Shapiro 01.24.08 at 2:29
Big Mac Mini on my 60 inch.
Charles Follymacher 01.24.08 at 5:31
Ugh! I want my 4 mins back! Wot Jon Said. These two clips are an embarrassment. His subjects were indeed gracious. It’s like he’s at a Facebook developer’s unconference or something. With all that’s going on, he’s treating it like this isn’t serious business, like there’s this pressing need for comic relief (and he’s just the man to provide it). What exactly is he bringing to the table here?
Ole Phat Stu 01.24.08 at 1:32
Having done 3 or 4 years as a lecturer in Davos in the 80s, let me make some general observations.
1) The political big wigs are there to talk, not to listen, even less so to learn
2) Everyone there has an agenda, an axe to grind.
3) Reporters don’t really care what you say, just as long as you fill their columns/airtime.
4) TV-anchors are so full of their self-importance its embarassing. General arrogance level is v. high too.
5) The best people there, who DO listen, are the scientists. Anecdotally I got to talk with Edward Teller for a whole half hour, very interesting, just the 2 of us.
Doug Alder 01.24.08 at 2:07
Well thank Gawd I read the comments first now I won’t have utterly wasted my time. Normally I wouldn’t go a mere micron out of my way to listen to, read or view the utterly boring and pathetic Scoble but would have been tempted with those interviewees. Thanks for saving me
Stu - I’m so jealous
Mind you I wouldn’t have had the knowledge of physics etc. to really make use of that interview time with Teller - but still…..
Zo 01.29.08 at 5:41
Scoble is getting a divorce?
Frank Paynter 01.29.08 at 8:23
C’mon Zo, you as a student of rhetoric surely recognize the paraprosdokian irony in that comment.