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Yeah, the big difference is that she doesn't make anything. All of those other people write software. Ms. Boyd produces treatises on social networks.

I'm not saying that she doesn't have value, but calling her a "key hire" at Microsoft is a pretty big stretch. "PR coup" is a lot closer to the truth....

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We are entering a different era of computing where being a company as large as Microsoft needs much more than engineers. There is a social aspect to computing in large part due to the internet. To dismiss danah boyd as a cheerleader for Microsoft would totally miss the point of what she actually has to offer in terms of intellectual abilities to Microsoft.

Please remember that Microsoft has been flailing from the beginning when it came to accepting the internet. They need all of the intelligence they can get in order to be ahead of the curve in relation to social impact.

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