Last evening I shared a link from Wired magazine about the passing of Dennis Ritchie, an influential and iconic figure in the world of software and computing. The link got retweeted and re-shares many times including by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The only problem with me sharing that link was was that Ritchie, whose contributions to the software cannot be underscored, passed away five years ago. At the same time when Steve Jobs passed.
I didn’t notice the date on the piece – an error on my part – and in the end adding to social media noise. This isn’t the first time I have inadvertently tweeted old articles as new. And perhaps it won’t be last. I hope to do better. I regret having wasted time and attention of so many of my followers.
On the upside – though my error isn’t excusable – is that more people are paying their respect to Ritchie, who does deserve our respects and thanks for all he did to help build the world we live in.