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.
RELATED:
Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
Buying their voices — Federated Media stepped in it with their latest campaign, getting some of its bloggers to issue not so bon mots on behalf of a not so bon advertiser, Microsoft. — I tried to warn Federated when I adamantly turned down two prior similar campaigns …
Discussion:
Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Valleywag, blackrimglasses.com, Webomatica and Insider Chatter
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.
Discussion:
Dembot
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.
Dan Blank:
Are Bloggers and Marketers Really Evil? — The blog world is trying to reinvent journalism, and finding that in many ways, they have to start back at the very beginning. Accusations have been flying this week over online advertorials with bloggers. It all seems to have started with this Valleywag post …
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.
Discussion:
Windows-Now.com
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 …
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
If you are going to sell your soul... There's another blogstorm about a new style of conversational advertising. — Let's back up a second. First, I wasn't approached for this advertising campaign. I've done similar ones, though, for Intel. Why didn't I get called out?
Discussion:
FM Blog
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.
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 …
Discussion:
How To Split An Atom
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.
Discussion:
TechCrunch
RELATED:
Randall Stross / New York Times:
The Human Touch That May Loosen Google's Grip — ONCE upon a time, the most valuable secret formula in American business was Coca-Cola's. Today, it's Google's master algorithm. — In the search business, however, there's no rival to play the role of Pepsi.
Paul Buchheit:
Three types of ideas - bad ones are often the best — 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.
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.
