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Facebook’s uphill P2P battle

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by: Ron Shevlin

Indulge me, if you will, and let me give you some advice on how to pick a fight. Not a physical, rock-em-sock-em robot kind of fight, but, you know, an argument:

  1. Pick on somebody bigger than you. Not physically bigger, but you know, someone higher in the ranks, someone better well known, someone like that. A couple of years ago I was having an online argument with someone on my blog, and someone else saidto me, privately, “I don’t know why you waste your time arguing with that person. It’s below you.” Ouch. But lesson learned.
  2. Pick a fight on a topic that’s in your realm of expertise. I’m confident that my political views are 100% correct, but I gain nothing professionally by proving itto the world. Unless I become a political commentator for Fox News, that is. Whoa, there’s a thought.
  3. Use data to structure your argument. Opinion versus opinion gets you nowhere. Have data or facts that no one else has–or, at least, that the person you’re fighting doesn’t have.

Why am I giving you advice on picking fights? Because I’m going to pick one.

John Pettit