AI Summary
5 min readData centers have a serious PR problem. Seventy percent of Americans don't want one in their backyard, and the industry is only now waking up to the fact that it can't just build in secret anymore. Nicole Thomas, a data center PR executive, explains how she is trying to change that, while a reporter examines whether the industry's efforts are genuine or just greenwashing.
The Secretive Industry That Forgot to Introduce Itself
For decades, data centers were built like warehouses. A company would request a zoning permit, the board would approve it, and construction would begin with little public notice. Secrecy was standard—data has security implications, and companies didn't want to advertise where their servers lived. Nicole Thomas, SVP at JSA, a marketing firm specializing in data centers, says that when she joined the industry four and a half years ago, she asked about community engagement and was told, "We don't even have any community engagement in this industry."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Data Centers' PR Problem** - Introduction to the growing public opposition to data centers and the industry's fight for a better image.
- 2 (02:17) **Nicole Thomas: The PR Insider's Perspective** - A data center PR professional explains how the industry is adapting to sudden public scrutiny.
- 3 (05:50) **The Phone Test: Making the Invisible Visible** - Thomas uses a simple example to reframe data centers as essential infrastructure.
- 4 (07:01) **AI as the Lightning Rod** - The conversation pivots to why AI-related data centers face unique hostility.
- 5 (08:24) **Which Side Are You On?** - Thomas clarifies her allegiance is to "responsible development," not blind industry defense.
- 6 (11:07) **When Communities Say No** - Thomas describes the real-world outcomes of local opposition.
- 7 (16:23) **Big Data's Direct Response: Greening the Beast** - The episode shifts to what tech companies are doing themselves to soften the blow.
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Show Notes
Data centers have maybe the worst image in America right now. Enter the public relations professionals.
This episode was produced by Dustin DeSoto, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
The sun rises on Microsoft's Project Ginger West and a nearby farmhouse in West Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch via Getty Images.
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