Top Items:
Mike / CrunchNotes:
I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! — The title, which is a quote from the movie casablanca, is what came to mind tonight when I read the complete train wreck occuring on TechMeme over advertisements that contain a written message from the publisher.
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Om Malik / GigaOM:
On the Microsoft Ad Campaign — Earlier today Valleywag published a post suggesting that Microsoft paid me (and a number of other bloggers) off to recite their corporate slogan. It is a serious charge, one I take very seriously. — I have been upfront about my ethics and propriety in my reporting …
Fred / A VC:
Why Is Nick Denton So "Old School"? — I have a lot of respect for Nick. He's built a great media business in Gawker Media using blogs as the platform. Valleywag is one of my "must reads" every day. My girls tell me that Jezebel, Gawker's new women's gossip blog, is fantastic.
Discussion:
Newsome.Org
Dave Winer / Scripting News:
Did Microsoft pay star writers? — Valleywag has a story that Federated Media is paying "star writers" to recite a Microsoft marketing slogan. — I sent emails to several of the writers and Microsoft PR. I also asked John Battelle, the founder of Federated Media, if this is true.
Dave Winer / Scripting News:
Comments on people-ready — Re the "people-ready" discussion. — There are a couple of reasons why the writers shouldn't have done what they did, and in all the comments already posted, no one has gotten to this. — First, Mike Arrington implies, in the title of his post, that everyone knows about this practice.
Richard MacManus / Read/WriteWeb:
People Ready — I'm bemused by the latest blogging 'controversy' to dominate Techmeme. Normally I don't blog about these things, but this one has me as a central character - although I wasn't mentioned in the Valleywag piece that started it all. The Silicon Valley gossip blog …
Mathew / mathewingram.com/work:
No, it's not really a "conversation" — I haven't posted anything about the current "blog storm" over Microsoft's ad campaign involving FM Publishing (which started with this post at Valleywag) because I wanted to take some time and think about it a bit — and in the blogosphere …
Neil Chase / FM Blog:
Conversational Marketing Gets a Close Look — (Updates below: Responses from several FM authors) — ValleyWag today suggests that one of FM's conversational marketing campaigns is hurting the editorial integrity of our authors. It says that Microsoft paid them to write, which is simply not true.
Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed:
Brief Editorial Comment — In response to a few emails, etc: — While no sane person would ever confuse me with a paid Microsoft shill — I think the last time I said something nice about the struggling software company was in ... okay, never — a somewhat clunky ad campaign that ran …
Scott Rosenberg / Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard:
Are advertorials "blog-ready"? — In the murky annals of "advertorial" — the blurring of clear lines between independent editorial matter and advertising — the dustup over Federated Media's campaign on behalf of Microsoft's "People Ready" slogan will rank as a minor affair.
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Google Threatens to Close German Gmail Due to Local Law — According to information from Heise, Google warned that they might disable Gmail in Germany as last fallback should the German government maintain its position in regards to a newly passed law on record-keeping and supervision of internet traffic.
Paul Buchheit:
Three types of ideas — Product ideas can be divided into three categories: — Obviously good ideas that are very difficult to implement. Efficient cold-fusion, flying cars, and a lot of other sci-fi ideas fall into this group. — Obviously "good" ideas that seem possible but haven't happened yet.
Ahmed / Tech Soapbox:
Hot off the Presses: Wowhead sold for over $1 million — Posted by Ahmed as Making the Monies, Sweet 2.0, I Don't Get it Department at 12:06 AM EDT — For those that have read my about page, I used to be involved in the MMO (massively multiplayer online) space.
Joey Seiler / Virtual Worlds News:
Liveblogging the Virtual Goods Summit: Virtual Goods Success Stories — The first ever Virtual Goods Summit kicked off this morning at Stanford University with a panel on success stories in virtual goods. While many outside of this room may be concerned with whether or not virtual goods …
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Dylan Tweney / Epicenter:
Dismantling the Media With the BBC's News Director, Richard Sambrook — Richard Sambrook is surprisingly bloggy for the person who runs the BBC World Service. (His official title is "Director of the BBC's Global News division.") He blogged for years internally at the BBC, and then finally took it public at SacredFacts.
