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More on Blog Buzz on High-Tech Start-Ups Causes Some Static]
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 09:57:53 -0500
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 - -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [IP] More on Blog Buzz on High-Tech Start-Ups Causes Some Static Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 09:55:21 -0500 From: frumioj () mac com To: dave () farber net References: <43EF40D8.5070209 () farber net> Dave, [For IP if you wish] With all due respect to Mr. Isenberg, I read the WSJ article and (although of course, I know nothing of FON or the buzz around that company) I did not find it so damning of Mr. Isenberg or anyone else advising FON. The article did in fact note that all but one of the advisory board members *had* noted their potentially-paid involvement in the company, and the one who hadn't stated that she "should" do so. That seems to be about the best one could do. It seems (to me) though that the general thrust of the article is not particularly to criticize this one incident, but rather to raise the issue that blogging represents a challenge to the traditional media tenet of "balanced reporting" in such cases. Which is a fair point. Isn't it a case of "you can't believe everything you see and hear", regardless of whether someone actually discloses their influences? Of course, given that Rebecca Buckman works for a traditional media company, perhaps she should have disclosed that she is in fact paid by the WSJ, which might give her a certain bias in this matter (will the proliferation of blogs make her redundant, at which point, she will be "merely" a blogger?). I'm mostly joking of course, but even "factual" reporting has biases unconsciously added by the writer (and the reader!) As always, caveat emptor. Regards, - - JohnK On Feb 12, 2006, at 9:06 AM, Dave Farber wrote:
From: David S. Isenberg <isen () isen com> Date: February 10, 2006 11:39:13 AM EST To: dave () farber net Subject: More on Re: [IP] Blog Buzz on High-Tech Start-Ups Causes Some Static Dave, For IP per judgement of Editor: I am on FON's USA Advisory Board and I think WSJ Reporter Rebecca Buckman, the WSJ reporter who wrote the story took mainstream reporting to new lows. I was interviewed by Buckman and a subject of her FON story. I have never felt more abused in an interview with a reporter in my eight years talking to the press than I did with her. She asked me the same questions over and over like she was badgering a hostile witness, even after I answered her in a complete, frank, transparent and detailed way. It felt to me like she had an agenda. It did not feel like she had honest curiosity to learn the facts. And I am really pi^H^H angry that Ms. Buckman's story compared the FON advisory board to Armstrong Williams and other paid political propaganda flacks. Read the WSJ story carefully, ignoring the innuendo, and you will see Buckman turned up ZERO evidence of anything but frank disclosure among us foneros. Fact: Every FON advisor who blogged the FON announcement disclosed their advisory relationship. Reporter Buckman took us to task for not saying explicitly that we were compensated as advisors. In fact, technically, we are NOT compensated, as no written agreement is in place, just a nonspecific verbal intent. We don't know if we're getting warrants or options or stock. We don't know how much. We don't know the terms. We trust FON founder Varsavsky to figure out something fair because he is our friend. Plus, if you say, "I work for (consult for, advise) foobar, inc.", doesn't that imply you've got some kind of quid pro quo going? More importantly, just about every FON advisor who blogged the announcement expressed some kind of heartfelt skepticism or doubt about the FON launch. It was very fast, very untested, and a pretty risky thing to do so early. We told Varsavsky our concerns in confidence before the USA launch, and we told the world after the launch. If that's paid publicity, he should hire more compliant lackeys. I blogged it here: http://isen.com/blog/2006/02/blogging-conflict-of-interest-and.html FON advisor David Weinberger blogged it here http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/ wsj_on_fon_disclosure_and_my_f.html Here's Varsavsky's blog posting: http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/fon/a-dream-come-true.html Here's the made-up-news WSJ Buckman story http://tinyurl.com/9pam5 Here's FON advisor Ethan Zuckerman's very different take http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=368 Here's FON advisor Rebecca MacKinnon's take http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/02/ the_revolution_.html 'nuf said. In my mind, this thread is closed. FON has more important things to think about. David I ------- On Feb 9, 2006, at 2:30 PM, Dave Farber wrote:-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Blog Buzz on High-Tech Start-Ups Causes Some Static Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2006 14:18:42 -0500 From: Seth Finkelstein <sethf () sethf com> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Ip Ip <ip () v2 listbox com> Blog Buzz on High-Tech Start-Ups Causes Some Static http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113945389770169170.html "But the tiny company [FON] also got publicity from another source: influential commentators on the Internet who write blogs -- including some who may be compensated in the future for advising FON about its business. ... The avalanche of blogging about FON, much of it from people now tied to the four-month-old company, highlights the rising influence of blogs in shaping opinions about tech start-ups, particularly in Silicon Valley. It also reveals the possible conflicts of interest such complicated relationships can dredge up." -- Seth Finkelstein Consulting Programmer http://sethf.com Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/ Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as isen () isen com. To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/ interesting-people/
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