> My goal in starting this chain of essays is to expose and highlight the propaganda tactics and strategies at work in Bay Area politics in 2024. We are witnessing a big shift as tech billionaires make a push to buy local power, create polarization and moral panic, and push the traditionally liberal/progressive Bay Area toward Republican-style policies.
> As a journalist and writer, I analyze the underlying tactics and strategies of political messages and campaigns. I spent most of my career in politics, working as a top communications strategist for people like Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Antonio Villaraigosa. When I write about politics, I do it as someone with "an insider's knowledge but an outsider's mind." (To steal a phrase from Brown.)
So I guess the name is calling out the tactics used by certain tech billionaires?
I too was/am concerned by the name. Tacked onto the end of the article is an announcement, which suggests the blog is intended to be commentary on what they're terming that:
> Effective immediately, this newsletter is now called The Nerd Reich. It will still focus on the weird tech authoritarian politics emanating from California these days. [...] I did not come up with this wonderful name. After my recent stories, someone on Twitter informed me that some people had been referring to the tech authoritarians as “the Nerd Reich” for several years. And, of course, it’s just too perfect to pass up… [...] There was a podcast called the Nerd Reich, but it’s been dormant for many years.
I'm not comfortable with referencing such evil historic events in a way that seems a bit edgy-cavalier, and possibly someday hearing wordplay on it tossed around routinely and casually. Some related terms have already been diluted.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 19.7 ms ] threadEdit: per https://www.thenerdreich.com/into-the-parallel-mirror/
> My goal in starting this chain of essays is to expose and highlight the propaganda tactics and strategies at work in Bay Area politics in 2024. We are witnessing a big shift as tech billionaires make a push to buy local power, create polarization and moral panic, and push the traditionally liberal/progressive Bay Area toward Republican-style policies.
> As a journalist and writer, I analyze the underlying tactics and strategies of political messages and campaigns. I spent most of my career in politics, working as a top communications strategist for people like Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Antonio Villaraigosa. When I write about politics, I do it as someone with "an insider's knowledge but an outsider's mind." (To steal a phrase from Brown.)
So I guess the name is calling out the tactics used by certain tech billionaires?
> Effective immediately, this newsletter is now called The Nerd Reich. It will still focus on the weird tech authoritarian politics emanating from California these days. [...] I did not come up with this wonderful name. After my recent stories, someone on Twitter informed me that some people had been referring to the tech authoritarians as “the Nerd Reich” for several years. And, of course, it’s just too perfect to pass up… [...] There was a podcast called the Nerd Reich, but it’s been dormant for many years.
I'm not comfortable with referencing such evil historic events in a way that seems a bit edgy-cavalier, and possibly someday hearing wordplay on it tossed around routinely and casually. Some related terms have already been diluted.