The Brogden Saga, Katrina, and the world’s most incredible datacentre staff

04 Sep 2005

I haven’t posted much lately, so I thought I’d mention something on here. I was going to post a rant about how John Brogden is apparently a miserable coward because he wasn’t so blatantly a drunkard and womaniser as Hawke was, according to the media, and how they’re all a backwards-thinking bunch of twits. But I haven’t got time for outlining exactly how flawed that thinking is in any great detail: suffice to say, I think Brogden has done the right thing in that he’s at least capable of demonstrating some remorse. Hawke, on the other hand, was supported by the media, even before his own collapse in 1979, and his own indiscretions were only occasionally mentioned and without any of the venom to which Brogden has been exposed. Further, Hawke apparently showed little remorse when compared to Brogden: not to advocate his suicide attempt, but at least that demonstrates the sincerity of his recognition of circumstance.

All that aside, I’m still a Liberal supporter even on an NSW level. And I unashamedly support the marginally-more-right-wing agenda of the new Liberal leadership (though obviously there isn’t a whole heap known about the character of Peter Debnam at the present time: hopefully a more complete picture will emerge in the coming weeks and months).

But enough about that. I’d love to write more about it, but I need to get to bed.

Via Soolie’s MSN name today, I’ve found a website/blog run out of New Orleans that’s apparently been hot news on the Internet over the past several days that I managed to completely miss. The Interdictor weblog, run by an employee of DirectNIC.com, a New-Orleans based company that runs a datacentre that has been up throughout this whole disaster.

Photo credit: DirectNIC.com

I can’t express enough how impressed I am with their dedication to their customers and their work. Not only are they maintaining their services under pretty amazing conditions, they’re also providing a service to the world via their Internet presence.

Alec said to me before on MSN that this really shows the difference between the Internet and mainstream media: it does. The Internet is inherently collaborative, a communal space for communication, rather than simple dissemination. Hyperlinks subvert heirarchy, to quote The Cluetrain Manifesto. These people are providing an on-the-ground account of the aftermath, not only in text form, but also in other dynamic media forms: they’re taking photos (one of which is featured above), streaming video out, and even participating in IRC rooms.

I’m astounded. And praying that they’re going to be alright (though the situation appears to be improving, but prayer won’t hurt!). The Internet is an amazing place…