We here at Network World get called many a name by those who think we’re in a vendor’s pocket, or we don’t know our ASP from our elbow or what have you. It goes with the territory, but rarely do we get accused of endangering people’s lives.
Yet, WeatherBug CTO and founder Christopher Sloop suggests just that in his blog entry, “Dear NetworkWorld, What is an employee’s life worth?” Sloop took exception to a ‘Net Buzz column by our own loveable curmudgeon Paul McNamara, who in May wondered what WB was doing at Interop, outlining “efforts by WeatherBug to shake its image as a network nuisance and sell corporate America on the idea that this popular weather-monitoring and emergency-alert software is also a valuable business tool.”
Sloop didn’t take kindly to Paul’s recounting of our IT guy’s opinion that WB is a waste of network space. Instead Sloop asserts WB can save the lives of employees if a tornado, microburst or terrorist rolls into town:
“Clearly Mr. McNamara’s IT person is not aware of WeatherBug’s ability to alert employees of severe weather, civil emergencies and Homeland Security emergencies. If the technology exists that could save an employee’s life and contribute to their safety, why is it not being used on ALL computer desktops?”
Amusing reading for all here.
