4 ms·

It’s really jarring that the orgs are called ACRONYM and Shadow. I thought those were just ironic filler names to mock the real, undisclosed orgs. But from the

by SilasX 7y ago

It’s really jarring that the orgs are called ACRONYM and Shadow. I thought those were just ironic filler names to mock the real, undisclosed orgs. But from the article and tweets, it seems real. Still feels like a parody of some sort. Let me know if I’m not getting it.

logosmonkey 7y ago
No, I had the same exact thought. They are basically Bond villain org names. I don't think there was some grand conspiracy here, far more likely a grand failure of tech as a fix for perceived organizational problems as seen in any number of corporations.
aakilfernandes 7y ago
In politics, there's a huge incentive for insiders to appear to be a kingmaker. Names like Shadow and ACRONYM play into that stereotype of a behind the scenes puppet master, that politicians will pay big dollars to get them / keep them in power. At a larger level, it makes understanding whats happening really difficult. Its hard to tell who is actually corrupt and who is "peacocking" corruption.
- thfuran 7y ago
  I'm not a politician but I'd have thought that if I were, I'd rather pay to avoid publicly being associated with Shadow Inc.
- SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
  So you think it’s coincidence these orgs are made of former high level Clinton campaign staffers?
  - dariusj18 7y ago
    Not a coincidence, an inevitability. Bill and Hillary Clinton have been in politics for many years, Bill Clinton was President for 8 years and Hillary ran for President twice. Anyone who is anyone in the Democratic party would want to work for them at some point.
    - SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
      That’s a fair point. Although... when you think about the idea of peacocking that you are a kingmaker, it just flat out reminds me of the hubris that lost Clinton 2016 and that her staffers had to bear some of the blame. Now here we are years later and there are “app voting irregularities” from the people that swore up and down Russia was hacking our elections, you think those people would be more cautious if they actually believed those claims themselves. Thinking about it some more, I guess this is probably a “attribute to incompetence, not malice” situation, but as amusing as I found it, really was just made for the conspiracy theorist!
      - dariusj18 7y ago
        Go to any political environment, everyone tries to swagger like they are the best connected in the room. Hell, go to any convention anywhere and see the same thing. State Democratic parties are cheap and obstinate. Most of the money is siphoned off by salaries and contractors. They don't work together nor work with the national party. When the deign to do so it is because their offered a lot of funding or favors.
vilhelm_s 7y ago
https://paxamericana.tumblr.com/post/190648864953 https://paxamericana.tumblr.com/post/190648864953
rdtsc 7y ago
> It’s really jarring that the orgs are called ACRONYM and Shadow... Still feels like a parody of some sort. I thought it was satire the first time I heard as well. Voting software from a company called Shadow inc. is just such bad optics. Nobody there thought to at least spin off a company called "Open Digital Democracy Services Inc.", open source the thing and maybe get some external entity to take a look at it? This reminds me a bit about putting funny messages in logs which are emitted during catastrophic events. It might seem cute at the moment, but when shit hits the fan and the customer calls and quotes those lines back at you over the phone it is just so embarrassing.
- SilasX 7y ago
  Amen! It would be like if North Korea chose an official name of “Tyrants’ Oppressive Nation of Korea” (instead of democratic people’s republic).
- salawat 7y ago
  >Open Digital Democracy Services Inc. Fails the acronym test. ODDS or ODDSInc (pronounced like odd-sink). Still much better than Shadow though. I'd probably have just gone with something like "Crier", "Political Systems Awareness", or even "Total Internal Communications and iNfrastructure Services. Crier is harmless because all you're doing is shouting the results from the rooftops to anyone who'll listen. Everybody can respect a metrics communication implemented by that PSA company. A little contrived and maybe a bit dated imagery-wise, but an IT company that's whose name degenerates to TIN-CANS (with a string in the middle of course) is refreshingly on the nose, and most importantly, way more appropriate than Shadow. Naming is an art best approached with at least some level of care. Not trying to legitimize most marketing-wank, but you do prime the discourse through your decision with regards to what you call yourself.
ceres 7y ago
Maybe the founders are fans of fictional depictions of evil megacorporations such as Evil Corp, Massive Dynamic Inc, Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, etc.

by SilasX 7y ago

logosmonkey 7y ago

No, I had the same exact thought. They are basically Bond villain org names. I don't think there was some grand conspiracy here, far more likely a grand failure of tech as a fix for perceived organizational problems as seen in any number of corporations.

aakilfernandes 7y ago

In politics, there's a huge incentive for insiders to appear to be a kingmaker. Names like Shadow and ACRONYM play into that stereotype of a behind the scenes puppet master, that politicians will pay big dollars to get them / keep them in power. At a larger level, it makes understanding whats happening really difficult. Its hard to tell who is actually corrupt and who is "peacocking" corruption.

thfuran 7y ago
I'm not a politician but I'd have thought that if I were, I'd rather pay to avoid publicly being associated with Shadow Inc.
SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
So you think it’s coincidence these orgs are made of former high level Clinton campaign staffers?
- dariusj18 7y ago
  Not a coincidence, an inevitability. Bill and Hillary Clinton have been in politics for many years, Bill Clinton was President for 8 years and Hillary ran for President twice. Anyone who is anyone in the Democratic party would want to work for them at some point.
  - SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
    That’s a fair point. Although... when you think about the idea of peacocking that you are a kingmaker, it just flat out reminds me of the hubris that lost Clinton 2016 and that her staffers had to bear some of the blame. Now here we are years later and there are “app voting irregularities” from the people that swore up and down Russia was hacking our elections, you think those people would be more cautious if they actually believed those claims themselves. Thinking about it some more, I guess this is probably a “attribute to incompetence, not malice” situation, but as amusing as I found it, really was just made for the conspiracy theorist!
    - dariusj18 7y ago
      Go to any political environment, everyone tries to swagger like they are the best connected in the room. Hell, go to any convention anywhere and see the same thing. State Democratic parties are cheap and obstinate. Most of the money is siphoned off by salaries and contractors. They don't work together nor work with the national party. When the deign to do so it is because their offered a lot of funding or favors.

vilhelm_s 7y ago

https://paxamericana.tumblr.com/post/190648864953 https://paxamericana.tumblr.com/post/190648864953

rdtsc 7y ago

> It’s really jarring that the orgs are called ACRONYM and Shadow... Still feels like a parody of some sort. I thought it was satire the first time I heard as well. Voting software from a company called Shadow inc. is just such bad optics. Nobody there thought to at least spin off a company called "Open Digital Democracy Services Inc.", open source the thing and maybe get some external entity to take a look at it? This reminds me a bit about putting funny messages in logs which are emitted during catastrophic events. It might seem cute at the moment, but when shit hits the fan and the customer calls and quotes those lines back at you over the phone it is just so embarrassing.

SilasX 7y ago
Amen! It would be like if North Korea chose an official name of “Tyrants’ Oppressive Nation of Korea” (instead of democratic people’s republic).
salawat 7y ago
>Open Digital Democracy Services Inc. Fails the acronym test. ODDS or ODDSInc (pronounced like odd-sink). Still much better than Shadow though. I'd probably have just gone with something like "Crier", "Political Systems Awareness", or even "Total Internal Communications and iNfrastructure Services. Crier is harmless because all you're doing is shouting the results from the rooftops to anyone who'll listen. Everybody can respect a metrics communication implemented by that PSA company. A little contrived and maybe a bit dated imagery-wise, but an IT company that's whose name degenerates to TIN-CANS (with a string in the middle of course) is refreshingly on the nose, and most importantly, way more appropriate than Shadow. Naming is an art best approached with at least some level of care. Not trying to legitimize most marketing-wank, but you do prime the discourse through your decision with regards to what you call yourself.

ceres 7y ago

Maybe the founders are fans of fictional depictions of evil megacorporations such as Evil Corp, Massive Dynamic Inc, Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, etc.