On the BroadbandReport.com blog, for example, IDI was recently referred to as a “Bell PR firm” with “a long history of trying to trick the public.” I chose to respond to the post with the following comment:
Response from Issue Dynamics
I want to respond to the unsigned story that attacks Issue Dynamics Inc., as a “Bell PR Firm” and then suggests we lie by saying “take their claims with a grain of salt.”
In fact, our on-line business is primarily not for Telco clients, and has included, or still does, among others: The Human Rights Campaign, the Holocaust Museum, and the Center for Community Change, the National Environmental Trust, Amnesty International, NAACP, The National Council of La Raza, the US Chamber of Commerce, The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Mark Warner for Governor, the National Association of Realtors, Harris Miller for Senate, United Church of Christ, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
IDI has a long and positive history of LEADING in the use of the Net for advocacy by both non-profit and corporate clients. The portrait of IDI by some who don’t know us and who have their own axe to grind in fact paints a completely false picture.
IDI was the first to put the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee on-line. We have hosted early web sites for the Democrats in New York; we sold early technology to the Bradley for President Campaign; we did the first on-line petition to the FCC for a company called Metricom that provided an alternative wireless internet service. We are and have been a leader in developing Internet tools for advocacy for both corporate and non-profit clients.
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And yes, we do work for Telcos, Verizon, USTA, BellSouth, and we have worked for Comcast, and other corporate Telecom and many non-Telecom clients. The services we offer are diverse but for this discussion the point is we connect our clients with organizations and groups that they might not otherwise work with and help build positive on-going relationships. (We do this for Telcos and for non-profit clients as well.) We offer to build and strengthen connections between business interests and non-profit interests. Or non-profit interests and other interest groups. (e.g. environmental groups with minority groups)
We do not believe the world is “either or.” We sponsor and support a number of pro-labor and pro-consumer organizations as well. It is my view that in civil society constructive relationships that promote dialogue and common values is good.
I suggest that in the last few years some folks whose interests run counter to those of some of IDI’s clients have decided it is a good idea to smear and slander us. A number of folks, including Fred Goldstein, whose post is linked to in the original article, have taken up with others and made this effort a vendetta against both me and IDI. The argument is: if we work with Telco’s we are bad guys.
In fact, I believe our work and our innovation have been responsible for helping to create the best of internet and off-line advocacy and standards. We have been responsible for some great win-win solutions, including provisions in the law that help education and people with disabilities.
We do not engage in spamming, screeds or personal attacks. We do not hire people to post comments and do not encourage anonymity.
Finally, if anyone wants to really get to know us or me, there are places to go: One is professional and one is personal. People can also Google me under either Sam Simon or Samuel A. Simon – I have never posted under an alias and you will find posts from the early 1990’s forward. (We also ran a bulletin board from 1986 to 1990, called the IDI Board. It was RBBS and much of the then “on line” discussion about the “modem tax” took place on the IDI Board.)
Sam
In this instance, we have decided to add our voice and perspective to this discussion. Our contribution will help readers decide what to make of it all. We think this is a good thing. Ignoring the attack won’t make the discussion go away. So instead, we choose to be a part of it.