rik
June 28th, 2004, 17:21 PM
From the Lockergnome: http://channels.lockergnome.com/windows/backissues/20040625.phtml#20040625_1
GNOMEREPORT: Supporting The Troops
Lately I have been receiving request after request for Gmail account invites. Heck, I even held a few contests in which the first responder would win an account from my invite list. Well, this is all well and good, but what good does this really do for anyone? Sure, it is nice to make someone's day, I suppose, but it just does not feel like a life changing event to me. So I began to explore some different ways that offering Gmail invites could improve circumstances for those folks that are away from their families for long periods of time. And with the current climate in the middle east, I did not have to look very far.
Our soldiers in Iraq. Regardless of what you or I think of them being over there, you can not escape these small components of a very harsh and quite frankly, undeniable reality:
These men and women are away from their families for months and months at a time with limited contact.
For many of these soldiers, their primary contact with family and loved ones takes place mostly through Web based e-mail.
Most of these folks are receiving tons of e-mailed pictures and are finding their accounts filling up way too quickly. They should not be expected to simply delete photos of loved ones when their inboxes fill up!
You know what, folks? This is not acceptable to me. These people need to be as close to their families as possible. Up 'til recently, I had felt quite limited in what I could do to help our troops. Thanks to the new Gmail invites that are spreading like wildfire, I can help them with their data storage crisis. Sure, it does even not compare with a letter stating that they can finally come back home to their loved ones, but it is still a darned nice gesture. Up until recently, getting something like this to work would have been a real pain to get off the ground. But thanks to folks like Wil Wheaton for his influence and support for this cause, there are sites like Gmail4Troops that will match up G.I. Families and G.I.s with badly needed Gmail accounts.
Some of you may be thinking that this is not really making that big of a difference. After all, it is just a free e-mail account, right? Well, let's try thinking of it this way. Offering hard to come by Gmail invites is a warm, generous gesture that shows our soldiers that the tech community honors them in a non-political, non-special interest sort of way. Think of it as saying, "Hey, we have not forgotten what you are going through over there. We miss each and every one of you. Most important, all of us are anxiously awaiting your safe return."
Wondering what the G.I.s and their families think about all of this? Just read some of the responses from our soldiers loved ones and those that support our G.I.s. As you read letters like the ones listed at this link, you quickly begin to understand why this is so important and why each of us needs to act. It is important to remember that war is an ugly, unfortunate reality in this crazy world of ours. But instead of spending exaustive amounts of energy fighting over who is right or who is wrong about this conflict, we should be looking for opportunities to create a positive situation for those soldiers who are stuck in the middle of this argument. Who knows, we may even bring all political parties to the table by doing something that will make life for our troops just a little more pleasant. I honestly believe everybody wants to see that regardless of our political beliefs.
So next time you find yourself with extra Gmail invites that have appeared in your account, consider giving them to those who have been away from their families for so very long. After all, they are asked to sacrifice so much - I think it is the least we can do to support our nation's young people serving overseas regardless of our own petty political beliefs. Think about it.
Links to support our troops:
Gmail for our soldiers: Gmail4Troops.com
Send a care package to soldiers in harm's way: Anysoldier.us
Let's get digital,
Matt Hartley
GNOMEREPORT: Supporting The Troops
Lately I have been receiving request after request for Gmail account invites. Heck, I even held a few contests in which the first responder would win an account from my invite list. Well, this is all well and good, but what good does this really do for anyone? Sure, it is nice to make someone's day, I suppose, but it just does not feel like a life changing event to me. So I began to explore some different ways that offering Gmail invites could improve circumstances for those folks that are away from their families for long periods of time. And with the current climate in the middle east, I did not have to look very far.
Our soldiers in Iraq. Regardless of what you or I think of them being over there, you can not escape these small components of a very harsh and quite frankly, undeniable reality:
These men and women are away from their families for months and months at a time with limited contact.
For many of these soldiers, their primary contact with family and loved ones takes place mostly through Web based e-mail.
Most of these folks are receiving tons of e-mailed pictures and are finding their accounts filling up way too quickly. They should not be expected to simply delete photos of loved ones when their inboxes fill up!
You know what, folks? This is not acceptable to me. These people need to be as close to their families as possible. Up 'til recently, I had felt quite limited in what I could do to help our troops. Thanks to the new Gmail invites that are spreading like wildfire, I can help them with their data storage crisis. Sure, it does even not compare with a letter stating that they can finally come back home to their loved ones, but it is still a darned nice gesture. Up until recently, getting something like this to work would have been a real pain to get off the ground. But thanks to folks like Wil Wheaton for his influence and support for this cause, there are sites like Gmail4Troops that will match up G.I. Families and G.I.s with badly needed Gmail accounts.
Some of you may be thinking that this is not really making that big of a difference. After all, it is just a free e-mail account, right? Well, let's try thinking of it this way. Offering hard to come by Gmail invites is a warm, generous gesture that shows our soldiers that the tech community honors them in a non-political, non-special interest sort of way. Think of it as saying, "Hey, we have not forgotten what you are going through over there. We miss each and every one of you. Most important, all of us are anxiously awaiting your safe return."
Wondering what the G.I.s and their families think about all of this? Just read some of the responses from our soldiers loved ones and those that support our G.I.s. As you read letters like the ones listed at this link, you quickly begin to understand why this is so important and why each of us needs to act. It is important to remember that war is an ugly, unfortunate reality in this crazy world of ours. But instead of spending exaustive amounts of energy fighting over who is right or who is wrong about this conflict, we should be looking for opportunities to create a positive situation for those soldiers who are stuck in the middle of this argument. Who knows, we may even bring all political parties to the table by doing something that will make life for our troops just a little more pleasant. I honestly believe everybody wants to see that regardless of our political beliefs.
So next time you find yourself with extra Gmail invites that have appeared in your account, consider giving them to those who have been away from their families for so very long. After all, they are asked to sacrifice so much - I think it is the least we can do to support our nation's young people serving overseas regardless of our own petty political beliefs. Think about it.
Links to support our troops:
Gmail for our soldiers: Gmail4Troops.com
Send a care package to soldiers in harm's way: Anysoldier.us
Let's get digital,
Matt Hartley