You are here: Home / Archives for Bloggers and Blogs / Blogs and Politics

Arrington and Sethi are Hatfield and McCoy

August 3, 2009 By 1 Comment

Dennis Howlett writes today about the lawsuit involving Sam Sethi and Mike Arrington and Interserve, Inc., als known in our wrold as TechCrunch.  As a disclosure I remember this riff vividly as my friend and partner Tris Hussey was involved in this problem and other friends, Marc Orchant and Oliver Starr were also part of the BlogNation.com which is peripherally part of the overall story.  I am not a huge fan of what took place in that business deal and I see what happened as unfortunate to my friends.

I won’t get into the merits of the case, nor will I try to discuss the legal issues as I had plenty of the legal world after working there for 22 years.  I do want to comment on the somewhat short sightedness I see on behalf of Mike Arrington and TechCrunch as it relates to the lawsuit.  I know that Mike Arrington is giving this lawsuit less than a nuisance value and sees no merit to the claims and perhaps wants it to carry it on for more page views (which of course I am adding to albeit a small amount). I’m afraid that this is just the beginning of something that will give Mr. Sethi more fuel for his feud and make this debacle continue.

Mike has stated that he will not participate in the litigation and that they will ignore it, not planning to subject himself to the litigation process in the UK.  I think that is not a bad strategy from a legal standpoint as it carries with it somewhat of a "no harm, no foul" consequence.  California Law does not really give much weight to the UK and its judgment, be it a default judgment or otherwise. I should note that a default judgment might have  less weight than a judgment on the merits, but I digress.  From a business standpoint, I think this might be a bad move.

According to Mike his legal costs could exceed £500,000, to win the case which the experts indicated should not have been a problem.  The court would then have awarded Mike his legal costs, but that is like squeezing blood from a turnip as I assume Sethi is not in a position to pay that type of money, given what I know of the Blog Nation debacle.  The part here that is troublesome is giving life or a breath or two of life to Sam Sethi and his continued efforts to gain the upper hand and make him appear to be in a better position in his case against Mike Arrington and TechCrunch.

In addition, now Arrington must watch how he works around having this judgment against him in the UK.  I am assuming at some point it may be necessary for him to do business there or to collect from advertisers there or to get money from the UK.  I am assuming that any funds due to him or his company from that jurisdiction can be attached or to some effect, garnished to satisfy the judgment.  He has already canceled to speak at an event he told the organizers he would be a part of and who knows how many other ventures he must cancel or at least not appear for in the UK.  I am not sure the limitation on satisfying judgments in the UK, but I can assure you that Sethi will be waiting at the opportunity to get his shot in to collect if only a dollar of the judgment.  The time to put this to bed is now.  The time to finish it is here.  If not, this could drag on for some time.  As I stated above, that could be what we are looking for from someone that wants to sensationalize it.

If you are a person that is owed money as a result of the Blog Nation debacle, it might provide fruitful to see if you can attach your own judgment to funds related to the Sethi’s judgment.  Who knows it might work.  It is by far more than you will get if you are waiting for an old paycheck to clear.

Photo above via CrunchNotes*

*I wanted to point out the labeled photo on CrunchNotes is "sethiissuchadick.jpg" :)   Classic.

Tags: , , Sam Sethi, Tris Hussey, Oliver Starr, Marc Orchant,

Filed Under: Blogs and Law, Blogs and Politics, BTW, Media, Miscellaneous, Professional Blogging

Bloggers Unite! Bloggers Beginning Grassroots Movement to Unionize

August 6, 2007 By 1 Comment

I read via my friend David Krug at Telegraphik that bloggers in the political arena are wanting to start their own Blogger’s Union.  Ashley M Heher of Fox News is reporting that:

In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.

This could only be coming from the left of course.  Oh sorry Tris, I said I wouldn’t do that!

I’m having a difficult time seeing Susie Blogger breaking kneecaps on a virtual picket line, or how this union would gather enough strength to actually be viable.  The article goes on to state:

Few bloggers are paid for their posts, and even fewer are able to make a living doing the work. But many say they often devote as much energy and time to their online musings as they do to their salaried careers.

While bloggers work to organize their own labor movement, their growing numbers are already being courted by some unions.

I’m wondering what companies like ours would do if a union system would be formed.  I’m certainly not a fan of unions, and I would not be adopting their charter or bylaws into my own organization.  Yes, I can see where it might make it better for private companies to get better paying blogging jobs, but I don’t think we are at that point yet with the adoption of blogging as a viable career in most companies.  Companies contact me everyday for wanting to hire a blogger, and when I give them a price, they usually get sticker shock.  They are not yet ready to pay full salaries and in most cases are not even ready to adopt what would even be close to minimum wages for the amount of time put into a blog post.

It seems that the Writer’s Unions is courting bloggers to join their ranks.  I’m not sure if this is in response to the latest debate of credentials for bloggers like journalists, but it seems that blogging is getting to be more of a mainstream idea in that arena.

The idea of a union may appeal to the ones looking for benefits, and other things unions bring, but I can see no way that they would compete with the free lancer, and the outsourcing taking place in corporations today.  I will definitely be watching the talk on this issue.  I will let you know now I would pay any of my bloggers the going union rate, but first we have to find companies willing to pay that amount.  Good luck to them.

Filed Under: Announcements, Bloggers For Hire, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Business Blogging, Corporate Blogs, Professional Blogging, Services

The New Digg Effect – What This Means For Social Media

May 2, 2007 By 3 Comments

After watching the story unfold about the blog post that appeared on Digg that was dugg over 15,000 times and appeared on page one of Digg.  The Digg Effect as it has become known is a phrase given when this phenomena occurs.  Many times if a story becomes popular enough it will appear on page 1 of Digg and the result is traffic soaring to the point of bringing most servers to their knees and crashing many sites.  This Digg Effect has taken on new meaning for me since seeing the resulting revolution that unfolded.

For me, the "New Digg Effect" is the power of social networks and communities.  This can be used for good or for bad actually.  In my opinion, posting something on a site that breaks the law or goes against a terms of service rules can be a very bad thing.  Mob rule takes over in this new action.  This is not necessarily unique in the instance of Digg, but its popularity was shown and the number of people that can influence an outcome was apparent here.  As I read a comment by Paul Montgomery at Tech Crunch it came clear to me that this could be a New Digg Effect:

I agree with the users on this one. They win. I just wish they could turn their power on some issue that actually mattered. (emphasis added)

That made me think of the power that social networks and communities could wield in other areas. The viral effect of this new medium.  It made me think of things like the Amber Alert System, and then I began to think of the power a mob could have on a Presidential election in online communities.  I’m not sure if the New Digg Effect has me running scared at this point or in awe how quickly something can travel from shore to shore and continent to continent when a group wants something accomplished.   Social Media and the online communities carry a new torch at this point.  Like Paul Montgomery said, let’s use this New Digg Effect for something that really matters.

Filed Under: Advertising, Blog Consulting, Blog Mining, Blog Platforms, Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Law, Blogs and Politics, Blogs and PR, Business Blogging, Findability, Marketing, Media

Good discussion of journalists vs bloggers

April 30, 2007 By 5 Comments

No, I’m not talking about a UFC cage match, comparison people.  I found this post from a small, but extremely well written, blog from Arkansas focused on local city government issues from Springdale, Arkansas–springdalevotes.com.  I gather from the article there is a bit of a tempest in a tea cup over blogging and journalism.  This debate never seems to go away and really this is one of the best comparisons I’ve read in a long time:

Journalists are professionals at gathering facts and providing reliable, accurate reporting of important information. They have many professional obligations with respect to their accuracy. The articles they write are not influenced by their personal opinions (unless it is an editorial). We have many fine journalists writing for our local papers, but they are not bloggers, and I doubt they would want to be referred to as such.

The author of the Democrat Gazette Article seems to blur the lines between a newspaper’s web site and a blog. These lines should not be blurred. The two mediums serve very different purposes. Newspapers have far too many professional and legal obligations to be able to create a truly successful blog (possible exception being the “opinion” columnists — but even that is a stretch. Most seem unable to break the “weekly” writing mold). Newspaper sites are structured to provide certainty and reliability, often forcing them to move too slowly to create effective blogs. Yet, this is a good thing. No one wants their newspaper to be blogging. It would be irresponsible — we rely on them for their accuracy.

Blogging is a medium for opinion, debate, and discussion. It features well-reasoned arguments for a specific point of view and lets visitors comment with or against the author. Bloggers move quickly and post information, even if its not fully verified, for the sake of discussion. Responsible bloggers keep checking what they’ve posted and correct it when they make mistakes. People should rely on blogs for opinion and discussion, and should realize that they don’t have the same standard of accuracy that a newspaper has. The mediums serve two very different purposes.

Okay, dicker about if a blogger could be considered a journalist if you wish, but really, this explanation is as good as I can fathom.

Filed Under: Bloggers and Blogs, Blogs and Politics

The Brogan “Extended Conversation” Manifesto – Web 2.0 Delivers Our Message

April 26, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Chris Brogan has written a great blog post today about extending the conversation.  He says that he believes that all of these web 2.0 tools that are available are for helping to extend the conversation.  I have to agree with Chris.  He touches on something that I think is the gist of Shel Israel’s new book about Global Neighborhoods.  Web 2.0 has allowed us to reach out and communicate like never before.  I have experienced it on a personal and business level myself. 

He makes a great point about how we are merely just a somewhat big cocktail party all talking to each other without reaching out to a broader audience.  We reside in a bowl or a bubble and we can only hear ourselves.

We’re all just talking to each other, which is swell, but if we want to be relevant, we’ve gotta climb the slippery, shiny, invisible sides of this big bowl we’re all standing in, and we’ve gotta get out there into the crowd. If I had this graphic, I’d post it. The graphic would be a guy throwing a bowl of shiny goldfish into a busy crowd. Think about that a moment. We’re all just goldfish in a bowl until we get there, into the people’s world.

I love this analogy because some days I feel like I myself am trying to climb the sides of the bowl to get to the outside to get the message to those that I can see through the bowl but they can’t seem to hear me.  I shout and shout and they walk on by like that zoo exhibit of the penguins underwater in Happy Feet (yes, my life is all about animated movies).  If I could only get through the protective glass and grab them and shake them.  Make them hear me.

I have begun to leave the virtual life and the echo chamber to get out into the real world and speak to people about Web 2.0 and the social media.  They have heard about blogs now which is different from this time last year.  The MSM has helped deliver the term and the message.  Of course, they have done this kicking and screaming, as is still shown by Jeff Jarvis as Chris mentions with NBC not allowing the Presidential debates online.  What happened to equal access? The funny thing is, NBC will broadcast it and it will be reported and written about by bloggers long before the MSM can possible publish their thoughts.

Controlling how you reach people is an illusion.  With the new Web 2.0 applications and uses being employed, they will find you whether you intend them to or not.  As Jeremiah Owyang was presenting at his panel at the ad:Tech conference in San Francisco, it became apparent that we as web 2.0 experts cannot agree on this issue.  I agreed with some on the panel and others not.  My style and message was even different than the people involved in Jeremiah’s chat.  It became clear then that we are not all singing from the same song sheet.  This in my opinion is a great thing.  It brings variety and diversity to the message. 

Finally, Chris Brogan asks the questions, "Should we even try to reach out?"  My response is a resounding YES.  Our problem is we are not sure ourselves what message we are reaching out with to be able to sing the chorus as Chris so aptly put it.  I think as we increase the integrity of the Web 2.0 foundation, we will begin to see our message take shape and it will allow us to break free of our "Bubble".  The chorus will get louder and the harmony will be great music.

[Photo taken from Chris Brogan]

Tags: , , Global Neighbourhoods, , ,: , , ,

Filed Under: Advertising, Blog Consulting, Blog Platforms, Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Blogs and PR, Business Blogging, Conferences/Trade Shows, Corporate Blogs, Findability, Marketing, Media, Search Engine Optimization, Services

Why Blogging is the next “News Channel”

April 20, 2007 By 2 Comments

While reading Brad Linder’s blog post about What Local News is Missing, and his review of Rio Pesino of Podtech.net’s interview of local people on the street, it became apparent to me that my news source is Blogging.  Blogging provides me with as much coverage of local, national and even global news that I need.  Blogs even provide me with information about local weather, sports, and business news.  I can find all of what I need to get me the information to satisfy my query.

On the other hand, I paused to think about the woman that could not afford a computer and did not have access to the Internet.  This is a big problem.  She is not a small fraction of the cross section of people out there.  They still rely on the free news they get.  She gets her news from a newspaper, or the local news station.  The problem with that scenario is she only gets one point of view.  She reads the same columnist each day, gets the same view from the news anchor on her local television station.  Where is the diversity in that?  How is she able to interact with them by comments, and chat and IM and other forms of communication.  Roosevelt promised a chicken in every pot, perhaps now is the time to have someone step up and promise a computer in every home and free Internet service to whoever wants it. 

Tags: Brad Linder, Rio Pesino, Podtech, , , ,

Filed Under: Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Findability, Marketing, Media, Services

Blogging: So Easy A Caveman Can Do It

March 2, 2007 By 9 Comments

Well it looks like the caveman has signed a deal with ABC making my attempt to copy and plagiarize GIECO’s advertising campaign moot.  I wanted so badly to have the caveman tapping away at his keyboard, making fun of Robert Scoble, linkbaiting, Digging, and perhaps even signing up to work for clamshells at PayPerPost!  How cool would it have been if he would have been like Loren Feldman on 1938 media talking about the latest in tech gadgets and testing blog platforms, all while rubbing elbows with the likes of Om Malik, and Dave Winer.  He would have been perfect making a behind the scenes deal with Jason Calacanis starting the Caveman Blogging Network!  His videodcast would be picked up by John Furrier and he would be interviewing 40 second spots (rather than a Scoble 40 minute taping) of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and the latest in celebrity gossip like Perez Hilton.  He could write a great book like Jeremy Wright or Shel Israel or Debbie Weil.  He would be a sought after keynote at all the cool conferences like Gnomedex, Blog Business Summit, and of course Blog World Expo.  He would be sought after for his political opinions, like Instapundit, Little Green Footballs and Daily Kos.

Then I thought I might just get a variation of it and have it be "Blogging:  So easy a lawyer can do it."  Of course then I would probably be sued by litigious Mike Arrington, or I might offend for the second time people like Brian Clark.  I was soon talked out of that as a result of not wanting to offend Cavemen everywhere.

Since it seems that I am losing out here on the real wave of  "The Caveman", I have decided to do it myself and start my own campaign. Since I kind of took a beating yesterday after taking on Adobe, and since Dave Taylor believes my Bloggers For Hire operation to be similar to second class, I’m beginning the new campaign here:

"Blogging, so easy  Jim Turner can do it." 

Of course, you have my permission to actually let everyone know just how easy blogging is since nobody would possibly believe that I could actually do it successfully.  TGIF!!

Tags: , , GIECO, , Linkbait, , PayPerPost, , 1938 Media, , , , , , Brian Clark, , , , , Bloggers For Hire, Jeremy Wright, , , Gnomedex, Blog Business Summit, , , ,

Filed Under: Advertising, Blog Consulting, Blog Mining, Blog Platforms, Blog Revenue, Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Bloggers For Hire, Blogging Books, Blogging News, Blogonomics Conference, Blogs and Law, Blogs and Politics, Blogs and PR, Business Blogging, Conferences/Trade Shows, Corporate Blogs, Findability, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Partnerships, Professional Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Services, The Site

WordPress Founder, Matt Mullenweg, To Take Over The Blogosphere

February 6, 2007 By 2 Comments

Marc Freedman points us today to a story about domain host GoDaddy and his thoughts about boycotting the service.  This story reminded me of my own anecdotal story about having dinner with WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg.  First, Freedman tells about a site that is purported to have violated some privacy issues and GoDaddy’s quick response to the problem without much due process:

In a news.com investigation, Seclists.org owner Fyodor Vaskovich provided evidence that GoDaddy’s notification consisted of a voice mail that the domain was suspended with no explanation. The domain was turned off 52 seconds later. It took several hours for the domain to be restored after he spent hours on the phone with GoDaddy.

A web site with 250,000 pages vanished from the Internet because of one questionable page. With essentially no notice, no chance for the customer to explain or act, no request to remove the offending page, no subpoena, no court order, and no legal risk to GoDaddy.

If true, this seems to be a very scary thought indeed.  The power wielded by GoDaddy in this scenario is mind numbing.  This led me to my thought about Matt Mullenweg taking over the world…er…blogosphere.

I was recently having dinner with Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, in Seattle while attending a blogging conference.  We sat and chatted about a few things, but the conversation turned to the power of WordPress and its popularity in the blogosphere.  On being the most downloaded blog application, I jokingly threw out, "and one of these days you are going to throw a switch and you’ll control the world?"  His sly grin meant he knew I was joking, but then I realized, he has control of all of this data, and he truly does have tremendous power.  Matt is far too great a guy to take over the blogosphere or the world for that matter.  In fact, it wasn’t until recently that he even became old enough to legally drink.  Now that is a scary thought.

[Disclosure:  WordPress did not pay me for this article.  We recommend WordPress to all of our clients as the blogging platform of choice.]

Tags: Marc Freedman, , , , BBS 06, Seclists.org, Fyodor Vaskovich

Filed Under: Advertising, Blog Platforms, Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Corporate Blogs, Marketing, Media

Not a lonely bunch typing–Michael Keren doesn’t get the full scope of blogging

January 30, 2007 By 3 Comments

Not often that I see Calgary mentioned in Yahoo News, especially when the headline refers to blogging.  I just had to click.  I did.  Read.  And just shook my head.  According to Yahoo News/and the Canadian Press, Michael Keren doesn’t think much of blogs and bloggers:

But Michael Keren, who has written "Blogosphere: The New Political Arena," suggests individuals who bare their souls in blogs are isolated and lonely, living in a virtual reality instead of forming real relationships or helping to change the world.

"Bloggers think of themselves as rebels against mainstream society, but that rebellion is mostly confined to cyberspace, which makes blogging as melancholic and illusionary as Don Quixote tilting at windmills," the author says.

"In this world of blogging, which the whole world can read, you have a personal expectation about a readership that’s just not there for the millions of bloggers who are writing their personal feelings."

Wow, Michael, I think you’ve been reading only the nine blogs your covered in your book.  World is a whole lot richer than that.  There are bloggers who are changing public policy, reaching big companies, even guiding CEOs (like GM’s Fast Lane blog).  Remember, a blog is a tool.  A printing press is a tool.  There is a lot of drivel printed on paper and a lot of drivel typed on keyboards, neither defines the whole medium.

I use this tool to show my expertise, to share insight, to share a story, to influence.  I’m thinking I’m not going to get a review copy of his book.

Tags: , , Michael Keren, Blogosphere: The New Political Arena

Filed Under: Blog Consulting, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Business Blogging

A Blog Lesson Learned? A Failing Grade Given To These PR and Advertising Agencies

January 28, 2007 By 6 Comments

Shel Israel reminded me of a story that occurred last spring involving a blogger, Lance Dutson, and the Maine Office of Tourism.  My partner Tris blogged about this unfortunate event on his own blog and it was also spread throughout the blogosphere.  As Shel reports, the blogger seems to be the last man standing.  I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon here and kick a man while he is down, but I do want to figure our what lesson was learned here by the people involved.

I for one have always talked about the power of blogging and the impact it can have on businesses, politics, and even down to the personal level.  It has had its own impact on me and my business as well.  I for one try to learn from my mistakes and go forward with the newly found information.  I wondered if the businesses involved here took away anything from the blogging lesson associated with this unfortunate event?  It has been nearly a year since this incident was first discussed, which is ample opportunity for everyone to plan a new strategy and to implement change.

I first took a look at the advertising agency, Warren Kremer Paino Advertising, LLC, and after thorough review of their flashy website, I see nothing that even remotely looks like a blog.  I see your standard pages and corporate speak copy, but nothing that would resemble a press release/news or any other social medium that would address the Lance Dutson story.  Communication does not seem to be a strong point of this ad agency.  They have a very impressive list of clientele, including of course the Maine Office of Tourism.  I would love to have seen the numbers generated by blogosphere mentioned in their results of the Problem, Solution and Results section here.  The people at WKP don’t get a passing grade for this lesson.

Then I went over to check out Nancy Marshall of Nancy Marshall Communications.  This is the PR agency initially involved in the reporting of the Maine Office of Tourism incident. Again, an exhaustive search of the site produces nothing along the social medium resembling anything near a blog.  I am pointed to a press release that is distributed by them nonetheless which of course causes my irony indicator to fly off the charts.  This from the release:

"To win Best of Show for the third straight year is an honor," said Nancy Marshall, principal of NMC. "It’s been an exciting and productive year and everyone here at NMC appreciates the recognition and accolades for our work."

An exciting year I have no doubt what with lawsuits and such being filed and the entire blogosphere pointing to your firm as a way not to handle a public relations problem.  You would think with a name like theirs with the word communications in the title, there would be some type of communications involved on the site.  Ms. Marshall, I would be happy to provide you with a blog, I can have it up and ready by Wednesday next week, just say the word.  I’m sure you might stumble upon this post through the use of tools to track what is being said about you and your clients.  Until then, you also get an F for the effort.

Now on to the client, The Main Office of Tourism.  I did notice right away that the site had a media room.  I was truly excited, until I clicked the link and found that it was a letter addressed as "Dear Friend in the Media:", and of course signed by the MOT’s best communication firm and president, Nancy Marshall.  Let’s rephrase that on a blog post called Dear Friend in the Blogosphere and other Media.

I’m not sure that we could say that Mr. Lewis, who was fired after all of this, was necessarily "Dooced", as he was not fired for writing a blog, but he may have been "Dutsoned" for what a blog wrote about him.  I could find no Dann Lewis: My Point of View Blog.

This is a good lesson in the power of blogs, but apparently the companies involved did not complete their homework, have failed miserably, and will have to go back to summer school to be taught that the social media is always going to be right behind them watching.  Turn around and join the conversation.  Show us what you have learned.

Tags: , Lance Dutson, , Maine Office of Tourism, Warren Kremer Paino, , Nancy Marshall, ,

Filed Under: Advertising, Blog Consulting, Blog Mining, Blog Tools, Bloggers and Blogs, Blogging News, Blogs and Politics, Blogs and PR, Business Blogging, Companies Needing Blogs, Marketing, Media, Services
« Older Posts