USA Today has an article about how blogging can get an employee fired. It’s old news of course but it amazes me how people lack common sense and forethought, hence it needs repeating.
They mention Peter Whitney who was fired for his blog:
Like a growing number of employees, Peter Whitney decided to launch a blog on the Internet to chronicle his life, his friends and his job at a division of Wells Fargo.
Then he began taking jabs at a few people he worked with.
Lesson : I never write about anyone or say anything I wouldn’t say to the person’s face. I always let people know when I write about them, even if I mask their identity. This simply lesson keeps me out of trouble.
Peter is quoted in the article:
“Right now, it’s too gray. There needs to be clearer guidelines,” says Whitney, who has found another job. “Some people go to a bar and complain about workers, I decided to do it online. Some people say I deserve what happened, but it was really harsh. It was unfair.”
Lesson: Never compare what is said privately to a group of people to what is published online for all to read. That’s like comparing apples to oranges.
One point mentioned in the article is IBM’s blogging policy:
The guidelines state that employees should identify themselves (and, when relevant, their roles at IBM) when blogging about IBM.
“You must make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of IBM,” the guidelines state. They also say bloggers should not use “ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, etc.” and that they should “show proper consideration” for “topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion.”
I think that’s fair if a blogger must blog about work. The part that interests me is the point where the blogger should idenify themselves. Will IBM fire an employee who writes about IBM anonymously? See, I’d change that to must identify themselves and their position if the blogger must talk about their job. If an employee was anonymously writing about work once found, they’d be fired.
That sounds harsh doesn’t it? Perhaps it is but is easier to do something stupid when your name isn’t attached to it. When a blogger’s name is attached to every word written it makes a blogger think twice, perhaps three times before pressing the submit button. This isn’t a bad thing. Once a blogger publishes something it’s out there. Someone has a copy of it, guaranteed. Most bloggers don’t realize this. A large number of bloggers honestly believe their words will not be read…and that is what gets them into trouble.
Lesson: Before publishing anything to a blog read it over with the forethought that anyone (and I mean anyone) can read it. The boss, the wife, the kids, the next door neighbors, the potential future boss – anyone. If it passes that test, usually it won’t get a blogger into trouble. All the people who I know of that have been fired (and there are unfortunately hundreds now) failed that one lesson. If they thought “what if my boss or my co-workers read this?” they may have still published it but it wouldn’t have been a shock they were fired.
The real reason is the last sentence. I read the article on chartreuse beta and I agree if bloggers are going to make that choice, they should protect themselves. Idea, instead of another network what about a link to their own site?
That’s the singular difference right there Tyme, the fact that 9rules champions the independent web and a passionate person’s goal of running their own show and attracting an audience, whereas other weblog networks are just trying to rack up as many blogs as they can, with as many writers as they can, and somehow turn 100 blogs with 100 pageviews per day into some sort of profitable business. Unfortunately, quantity and quality rarely mix, and they especially don’t mix when a network is paying a writer 80% of the $0 advertising revenue it pulls in.
The goal of 9rules is to build enough value on our own website that it draws traffic in and then pushes it right back out to our members. The more valuable and interactive the 9rules website is, the more traffic flows to our members, and the happier they are, and the more people want to join us, and around it goes. With other blog networks, once the writers figure out that they’re better off leaving and blogging for themselves, what’s keeping them writing for the network anymore? It’s almost like the Skype dilemma: the more people know about Skype, the more people download it and talk for free, but if everybody in the world had Skype and talked for free then Skype wouldn’t have much revenue coming in from SkypeIn or SkypeOut.
The more 9rules members put into the network, the more they get out and the more they feel compelled to continually improve their own weblogs. Writers for other blog networks reach a certain point and have an epiphany, and then they quit, start their own blog and make more money than they ever did writing for someone else. It seems like a backwards situation, but that’s what happens.
Being in 9rules, there is everything to gain and almost nothing to lose. In other networks, it’s the exact opposite unless the blog is a hit.
Gabriel, name me a blogger outside of Rojas on Engadget? Don’t peek.
Hmm…I can’t think of one. How many do they have?
I have no idea how many writers they have. By most standards, the blog would be considered a success and the ability to get the exposure desire is there. With all that exposure, why isn’t their name recognition?
Would have been wiser for the blogger to link back to their own site than another network’s. Even better to put their eggs in one basket and do it in one stop.
I don’t understand. If they are getting paid to write wouldn’t it make more sense to write in one spot? Wouldn’t the revenue be more?
Obviously this is all disingenious. It isn’t:
- 50 blogs at 0$ vs 1 blog at 10,000$
- 100 blogs at 100 pageviews per month vs 1 blog at 1,000,000
- 50 posts per day at 1$/post vs 2 posts per day at 100$/post
My thoughts here: http://www.b5media.com/benefits-of-blog-networks/
I agree with Tyme. If a blogger is going to go the other root, protect themselves. The models are very different with different end goals.
Jeremy you’re looking at it from a monetary stand point. Step in the reader’s shoes for one minute. Most blog network content sucks. It’s “I found this, check it out!” Or in the example Tyme gave about soccer. Why should I have to go to another network to get the information? Why isn’t it on your network?
Jeremy I don’t see Tyme’s entry as a diss against your network. I think she’s saying if a blogger is going to be with your network (or whatever) stick with YOUR network. Don’t spread all over the place. If the blogger is going to link to another site it should be their own. Tyme am I wrong?
Angela: I thought we were in the blogger’s shoes? I mean we’re talking about ownership vs renting, right?
From a reader’s perspective, again, the model doesn’t define success. The example cited isn’t a common one. A writer writesr for another network, then links back. We see no problem there.
It’s better than they do that than that they:
1. Repost the content
2. Be forced to reword the content
3. Not include the content
Besides, enough *new* and fresh content has been written at Soccerati to make that one example be a needle in a haystack one.
Pointing out exception to prove rules isn’t the best way to go about building an argument.
Denise, I didn’t read this as a slam against b5. But between this post (“why rent when you can own”) and the comments from folk like Mike (“100 blogs with 100 pageviews”), combined with specific examples (Soccerati in this post, Colbert in a previous one) – there is certainly a concerted attack on the model being made, even if it isn’t b5 (even though b5 is cited in just about every post).
Which would be fine. If only we weren’t, in fact, executing really, really well. We’ve made our bloggers nearly 100K. We’ve helped them earn almost double what we’ve paid them. We’re building traffic (several blogs are nearing 1M page/month). These are all things that would be difficult to do solo.
As far as readers are concerned, I don’t see how the model matters. Quality will always win.
I agree with Gabriel on the point that there is everything to gain in 9rules. Just getting in has compelled me to push myself and focus on developing what I am doing on my blog.
Thank you Jeremy for taking the time to respond. Since you’re here, I have some questions.
I don’t think Tyme’s example is not an exception. It would be great if they linked back but what if they don’t? As a reader I have to ping pong back and forth. Are you saying it wouldn’t be more beneficial to have all the content on one site? If you had a preference.
Some of the bloggers in 9rules post links but a lot of the content is original. People link to it. With your bloggers are not creating original content. They link to outside content. Nothing wrong with that but would you agree linking to other people’s work makes it much easier to be in multiple networks?
Jeremy they wouldn’t have to reword or reform the content if they wrote it for your site. I don’t understand the need to spread themselves over multiple networks when they are making good money and traffic with yours. That is what I got out of Tyme’s entry. People rent all the time because there are benefits to it. Make the most of it.
Um, our bloggers don’t create original content? I’m sure that would be news to quite a few of them. I’d think that every blog would have a mix of:
1. original content
2. link content
3. “Riff”-d content (ie: link stirs a thought that they blog about)
If you can find me a network that only does original content I’d love to see it. Some blogs, such as Entertainment or Celeb will be much more prone to link-style content. Some, such as Technology, will be more prone to riff’d content. Some such as Science/Tech and Family/Relationships, will be more prone to original content.
In terms of the original question: Yes, if I could find a single blog that didn’t link anywhere else, sourced every story directly from the person themselves, always had original content, was always right, was always balanced…
Yeah, I’d read it. Who wouldn’t?
But I haven’t found it yet. If, somehow, 9rules has managed to assemble hundreds of those, I think that feat is worth of an Oscar (or Webby, or something).
The reality, though, is that we don’t look at blogs as silos. We look at blogs as members of a community. And it’s hard to be a member of a community without linking – especially since most “thoughts” are stirred by someone else’s blog.
This debate is interesting. As to the idea of owning the house and not the land under it: as a condo owner that’s exactly what I do.
I can still sell the house when I’m ready to move on, even though the land doesn’t belong to me. If equity is being built by the posts in the blog, the blogger will receive a payback in the long run, the same way a condo owner does. The equity could come in a number of ways.
I was doing some work for Best Blog on WordPress and I had to investigate the blog network Ten Foot Square. It wasn’t only after digging through their blog archives that I could finally get an idea of who was associated with the network.
So while it’s a bit unfair to pick on such a new blog network I can identify with the readers who has to deal with different networks. Aghh it was so frustrating! Were they associated with Blogmedia or were they just friends? It was a nightmare.
Gwen: In the example above, the writer *was* writing for another network. We can’t just group all of these together like they’re one issue. There’s:
1. Spreading yourself too thin
2. Re-blogging stuff you’ve blogged elsewhere
3. Ownership vs “renting”
4. Income levels that various networks bring in (since this was about *professional* bloggers and everything)
5. Why each model works
In the example above, they *did* blog it for another network. So, to also get it on b5 they had a number of choices. They chose to quote and link. And, to me, that’s the best choice in this unique situation.
Anyways, I’ve got to bring my boys out for soccer. End of the day, these are just models. I’m not going to sit around all night and argue about b5. I’ll host a chat if folk want to ask questions, and I’m always on Skype (jeremy_wright) for those who want to just bounce ideas around.
My point was boiling this down to black and white metaphors doesn’t work – both because the metaphors are false and because it isn’t black and white.
Arguing about bloggers spreading themselves thin, or what bloggers should do when they *are* writing for multiple networks is something else entirely
Michael it’s ridiculous trying to keep track of bloggers. I don’t think they realize how difficult it can be and how much it bloats an RSS reader. Multiple sites on the same topic!
Jeremy: if he put his eggs in your basket he wouldn’t have to be in another network. The question is “why” are they writing for multiple networks?
“In the example above, they *did* blog it for another network. So, to also get it on b5 they had a number of choices. They chose to quote and link. And, to me, that’s the best choice in this unique situation.”
Why not just pick a blogger that will put it all on b5? As a reader it would make me happier and wouldn’t it gain you and the blogger additional revenue and traffic?
Gwen it isn’t so much that multiple bloggers are blogging on the same topic. It’s the fact that so many bloggers / blog networks are slapping themselves on the back in an attempt to gain power. (Think WWI and how shady alliances lead to war.)
It’s like Tyme says. Some of the weaker ones are banding together in an attempt to outrank their competition. I guess it’s like the old days where blogger used to exchange links-no questions asked.
Darren your theory only makes sense if the blog is a success. Most are not.
I didn’t get from Tyme’s article that bloggers shouldn’t blog for “a” blog network. Maybe two. There are many blogging for three, four and five networks. And their content stinks. The strain shows.
That’s why I put this on my site instead of the 9rules site. These are my thoughts. I’m not knocking networks. They have a symbiotic relationship with each other. It’s unavoidable. They all serve a purpose. I don’t think any network is purposely screwing over their bloggers. We all have different methods of trying to achieve the same goal – providing quality content. How to get that quality content? That’s where we differ.
What I find interesting is readers saying the multiple network thing disturbs them for various reasons. These aren’t bloggers saying it. Readers. That means there is a problem that traditional networks will have to address. 9rules addressed it in our own way – one content network please.
Jeremy, I wasn’t slamming your network. In fairness, I’ve written about 9rules, Fine Fools, Blog Media, erati…the list goes on. Heck, before I was “in” 9rules I wrote something that pissed Scrivs off and we got into a fight in the comments. Now I’m going to talk about Weblogs, Inc. Specifically the Microsoft blog. All kinds of Microsoft news but the last entry was 6/7. Imagine the traffic lost. That blog is a commercial blog and commercial blogs should be run like a business. 5 days of missing posts during a “hyped” time is bad business. Keeping on top of that is an huge undertaking, one I wouldn’t want to do. FlashInsider, last entry 6/8. Javascript has a entry 6/12 but the prior one was 5/30. I could go on.
9rules doesn’t have to deal with that. We don’t want to deal with that. Bloggers own their blogs and do what they want. They have the freedom to write about what they want. We’ve had members criticize 9rules. Traditional networks usually don’t allow that.
Each network has their own rules. Understanding those rules and optimizing them to the bloggers advantage is the only smart thing to do. 9rules is not a good fit for some bloggers.
Another thing to think about is exactly what percentage of the dozens of millions of blogs out there are actually owned by someone who’s not writing for it. We happen to make a big deal out of blogs owned by Person X and written by Persons Y and Z, but in reality I think these make up a tiny fraction of all the blogs in the world. I guess that was one of the things that attracted us to starting 9rules: the idea that there are millions and millions of people out there who own their own blogs and need help with recognition or exposure.
Gwen, ooohh, I HATE that! There is a travel blogger that have about 4 different blogs. All about travel. To get the full scoop I have to subscribe to four blogs. All about travel. Countless examples like that.
When bloggers are in multiple networks it’s harder to follow than picking one site that does it right.
Ian, I won’t do it. I like to keep my RSS reader under 50 blogs. I can’t waste the space following several blogs on the same topic written by the same person. Come on now!
Oh God, I hate that. Scoble writes one place. Om 2 places. Most 9rules have one primary site and make it easy to find others but they usually aren’t on the same topic.
That guy Aaron has lost his mind on B5. I love Jeremy and Tyme’s little discussions because something good ALWAYS comes out of it. Their blogger said Scrivs started a pissing match.
Yes I read. Leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Especially since the common theme here Tyme wasn’t bashing B5.
Did he just tell Tyme to mind her own business? Naw, I’m unsubscribing to every b5 site on my blogroll. Right now.
Jeremy, nothing personal but Tyme said right above his comment this was a discussion between the networks.
Yes he did. I’m pissed. Completely pissed.
Denise: To be honest, I’m not sure why Tyme gets to define the scope of the network. I never got an email from anyone inviting me to the discussion. And there weren’t any ground rules.
Our bloggers are individuals and are totally allowed to voice their opinions. Even if they’re bluntly honest. If that makes you unsubscribe, then I’m sorry to see you go.
In the interest of letting people know what blog networks are like, let me share just a few details about Know More Media (for which I work full-time as an associate editor). All of our bloggers are experienced business people who like to share what they know about their chosen topic. When they sign up with us, they can choose one of two options:
Option 1: We pay them a flat rate per post in exchange for ownership of the content and the right to republish the content however we see fit in the future. If they choose this option, we expect them to post one to five times each weekday on average. If they want to, say, publish and sell a book someday containing content they’ve written for us udner this agreement, they would need to ask permission from us since we bought the content from them before. Of course we’d be willing to grant their requests in most cases.
Option 2: We don’t pay them per post, and we don’t expect them to blog as frequently. They retain ownership of the content, and we simply retain the right to republish it in perpetuity in whatever form we see fit. And so they can too, of course. If they go this route, we’ll also do some extra things to drive traffic their way, including special press releases or advertising to drive traffic through their Know More Media blog on to whatever other business thery may have. This option tends to appeal more to people who already have their own business and are looking for a way to share their expertise and drive more business their way at the same time.
We help all of our authors learn how to blog effectively, how to build traffic to their blogs, and how to use different blogging tools to their advantage. We also have training, tracking and community tools in palce for them to not only feel welcome as part of a group of smart business-minded folks, but also able to see how their blogs are performing individually and in relation to the others.
The types of contracts I’ve described here are very similar to ones you’d find in, for example, magazines today, where the magazine typically is either buying content outright from the article author or simply buying a sort of co-ownership where both parties can republish that content without the consent of the other.
I’m not the world’s expert on the legalese of all this, so if I’ve made any mistakes in my explanation I apologize. But I would welcome any questions about our network. I am always interested to learn more about how other networks work.
No he didn’t. I read it but I couldn’t believe what I was reading. How tackly
Correction: “Scope of the discussion” not scope of the network.
I was out of line. “Mind your own business” was not meant to mean “shut up, I’m an arrogant SOB” as much as it was meant to mean “we all have our own business models and should respect them”.
I’ve emailed Mike, Scrivs and Tyme with my apologies, apologized publically on the b5 blog and am removing myself from the conversation. As I said, I was out of line.
Jeremy – not a role I was trying to fill. We get questions about why we don’t accept multiple network bloggers. Especially with Round 4 – why didn’t we get in? My entries were explaining a 9rules business decision. That’s why we have the one content rule – so we don’t have to deal with it. We prefer to interact with networks in a different manner. The problem: for readers and bloggers to understand they need examples. One of the reasons I picked b5 was because I considered it safe because Jeremy would know I wasn’t bashing b5. That worked real well.
For example when Jeremy and I do our podcast, it’s two networks coming together doing something jointly. Perhaps I’ll reach out to other networks and do something similar. It’s not that 9rules is anti-network. It’s not that I only talk about b5 – I’ve talked about many networks but the truth is there are so many now I could write about one every day.
These types of discussions bring prompt readers to express things they normally would not have the opportunity to say. Instead of taking it personal, listen.
Hmm, maybe I’m just getting my panties in a twist because it’s been 4 months since our last podcast and we’re no longer on the same shelf, nevermind the same page.
Jeremy I think so because if you listen the readers are giving suggestions in hopes to make the reading experience better, not worse. I know I complain on Tyme’s blog because it’s the only place I CAN complain about it.
Jeremy I think you’re taking it a bit personal too. In fairness I bet Tyme gets all the time “Well, b5 lets me do…”. I bet she gets it more than she’s written about it.
as usual, such drama in the blog network world.
it’s a wonder anyone gets any work done.
Nathan, maybe we should open our internal forums for public debate as well. I’m hearing the reader feedback. It’s the mischaracterization that set me off.
Maybe unfairly. Either way, the point of my post wasn’t to bash 9rules, it was to reframe the discussion. After all, Tyme asked why bloggesr would blog for multiple networks (and, really, also asked why they’d blog for any network). So I answered
Brian: This is our first time jumping into one of these in quite some time, for good reason.
Interesting discussion. Thank you Easton for sharing your model. That wouldn’t have come out without this discussion. A lot of things wouldn’t have come out.
Brian, I didn’t see it as drama until Aaron said what he said, but he apologized and I think it was handled well.
If networks are to mingle I’d prefer it on a higher level like Jeremy and Tyme are doing it than on a blogger level where it’s mismashed. I think the content would be more meaningful, the exposure for the networks greater, and the benefit for all greater.
For the record, there’s a lot (a huge amount of things) that we think 9rules, KMM and Wurk do really, really well. We see these 3 as the 3 best networks in the space (obviously we refuse to put ourselves on any lists as that’s not kosher).
So, Tyme, in the spirit of listening to our readers, think you can clear 30-45 minutes tonight for a podcast?
Jeremy it’s not just your network it’s the majority of them because they follow similar models. The issues discussed don’t apply to 9rules but I know Tyme hears about it if only from me because her niche was empowering bloggers. Always has been.
I too prefer a more organized blending of the networks. I don’t think bloggers realize how they can be hurting themselves. Company branding gets confused.
Great stuff here, thanks for all the input. I know there are hundreds of uncommenting eyes that are following or will follow this thread, so I’m glad everyone’s sharing their thoughts.
Nathan, fair enough. In many ways I guess I was expecting some of the “blog network” sites to become this, however that hasn’t happened.
In my mind, open and honest communication amongst network owners is key. The more we talk, the more we share, the more we “coopetate” the better it is for readers.
Ditto I’d hope for lots of 2-way communication with readers. We get that a lot with our readers, but maybe opening the forum up again would allow that even more. We’ve been considering it for a bit, but right now it’s totally for staff communication (and, yeah, that would still stay private).
Do you think that’d have value Nathan?
Yeah Jeremy, I’ll be on Skype in a minute.
k, podcast done. We’re all luvvy dubby again
Yeah, I’ll be posting it tomorrow. I’ve been in front of a computer too long today.
Thanks again Jeremy!
I’m not going into all of this, but I’ll make this point to people who say “blog network content sucks”. You could make this point about all blogs really, because it’s based on the subjective view of your own personal likes. You might not like our Soccer content for example, however many do, I’m not into a lot of the subjects written about over many blogs, but I appreciate that the specific writers and audiences are, and I can say quite clearly that many b5media blogs have huge audiences, whilst many others are getting there, on a wide range of topics that might not be my particular cup of tea, nor might they be for some of the commenters here, but it’s important to remember that they are of interest to those who are interested in these topics…if this makes sense.
As one who has bombarded Tyme with questions about blog networks I want to thank you Tyme for being patient and answering those questions. Due to your patience and kindness, I’ve loaded up my RSS reader with 9rules blogs.
I am waiting to hear the podcast to make judgement on b5media. Looking at their site today, I find it extremely disrespectful that an owner would come back and make a comment, re-fueling a fight that two people tried very hard to patch up. In my eyes, is disrespectful. Disagreements happen, it’s a fact of life. How they are repaired makes all the difference. It isn’t helping that Duncan came here, read the issues people had reader HIS network’s blogs, and basically said “screw you”.
The HART guy I thoroughly detest and have blocked access to his website from the our network, in which we have thousands of employees globablly. Don’t bother asking, I’m not telling and I’m going to strongly suggest to others they blog his sites as well. His comments are totally inaccurate. If he can’t make an accurate comment, it’s doubtful his writing is accurate.
Timothy: I’m reinserting for a single comment here and in Hart and Duncan’s defense.
Blocking access to a network is a really bad ploy. For one, it’s censorship and we all hate censorship. If you wish, unsubscribing or not visiting Hart’s sites for yourself is your prerogative. But making that decision based on your network users is really bad form. Might as well take up residence in Communist China.
As for Duncan’s comments… Duncan is blunt. HE always has been as far back as the early Blog Herald days. Think cultural differences here and you’ll understand Duncan’s position better. Duncan and I both felt like:
1) Our blogger was specifically attacked
2) Our bread and butter, our network, was specifically attacked.
We get defensive and we’ll go to the mat to defend our blogger and our network.
Timothy, good comments. While impressions count, I’d hope that what matters is what happens after the conflict is done, vs what happens in the middle of it. Anyone can yell, fight and scream, but it takes a strong team to step back and find a solution – something that both 9rules and b5media have done time and time again.
Yeah, we’ve occasionally bumped up, but we generally find value through that process.
Not to sweep your comments under the rug, but it’s also really hard when just 2 people out of like 300 are talking
Tyme emailed me and others following this that she knew wasn’t using RSS saying she and Jeremy completed the podcast, it was informative and to watch out for it today. She’d talk to Paul (Scrivs), everything was peaceful. That was last night.
If I was Paul. Tyme and Jeremy, I’d be pissed.
I am very impressed with Easton’s responses. If Easton is willing, would you do an interview with him?
Ian, I to ask Tyme questions about other networks and she’s been very helpful. Most writers can’t work for multiple blog networks and produce quality content on all of them. As a reader I can tell which networks have priority. I shouldn’t be able to tell.
Aaron, I can block whatever I want. I make the decisions on what can be accessed in our network, and I’ve blogged Hart’s site. It’s not what he said, it’s the innaccuracy of what he said. This is a place of employment, we allow employees to use the internet as a for entertainment but to also use for work purposes. Thank to Tyme I encouraged employees to blogs as a resource. The inaccuracy did him in. I publicly stated what network admins do daily – silently.
Duncan made a career out of criticizing people. No one more than him should be able to take criticism. Aaron, I shouldn’t have to understand cultural differences on the b5media corporate blog.
Jeremy, thank you for your response. I said I would wait for the podcast and I shall, because of Tyme. I was looking for specific information that 9rules didn’t have. I asked her about one of your blogs, she checked it out and recommended it along with a couple of others.
I meant I blocked Hart’s site. I apologize.
Seriously, I’m getting overwhelmed by the response to Paul’s comments about me. Wonder if I should be handling out autographed photos in the local shopping mart soon. I’m tired. I need rest
OOoooh. I thought since I went away that the blog network drama would die off. So when I’m gone for a few days.
ScrivsTyme in their free time decide instead of developing 9rules into a great network instead decide to:
a) trash b5′s model
b) pick on colbert low
c) justify their bs actions by saying their philosophy is better
d) remain arrogant nutjobs
e) continue drinking koolaid
f) all of the above
No further comment.
Yes, I’m still nuts.
Seems split. The people Scrivs & Tyme spoke of took it personal. Readers support what was said.
Which one is more important? I would say the readers because bloggers want readers, right? I refuse to click here, then click there, then click some place else. I took the time to read Colbert’s sites and guess what? Content degration is definitely present.
Why don’t bloggers get it? Most blogs fail. They fail because the content isn’t as good as competing blogs.
Like B5 owns the model David. I second the request for an interview with Easton or someone from his network. Very nicely done.
I didn’t say they owned the model. Just noticing all the personal b5 attack tone by Tyme’s readers and even tyme herself.
I got it as using B5 as an example, not B5 specifically. Really, there are people saying she RECOMMENDED B5 to them.
Multiple network blogging has issues. Most bloggers cannot pull it off in a manner that NONE of the blogs suffer. I don’t see the problem in being honest about that.
I don’t see the problem in stating that blogger should look at their options carefully before making a decision.
I don’t see it as 9rules vs. B5 because most blogs couldn’t get into 9rules if they wanted to. 9rules and B5 have completely different models making them non-competitors.
To prove the point what should Tyme have done, used every network as an example so no one got their panties in a bunch? Sorry when people started agreeing with what Tyme and Scrivs said it’s constructive criticism based. I honestly believe the discussion stopped because blog network owners so sensitive to the issue caused people to get on the defensive but you know what? They screwed themselves over because the opportunity to learn what readers want and make it better was lost. Dumb move in my opinion.
Update: I’m editing the podcast now. I’m not doing a lot of editing (as in filtering). There are some microphone blips, we crashed a couple of times…technology is wonderful. There is one part I’m removing because Jeremy and I have to further discuss it before going public with it. Other than that – the conversation as you’ll hear it is the way it went.
Denise/Ian, I’d love to do an interview or even just chat. easton a t knowmoremedia d o t com (or first name underscore last name in Skype).
A quick comment to say the podcast is up.
Hot Damn. Good podcast.
Timothy
grow up son. I didn’t make a career out of attacking people, I made a career out of breaking news and providing opinion. Sometimes this opinion was negative, sure, but other times is was also gushing and positive. The traffic never came from the criticism (unless a lot of people agreed with it), it came from breaking stories..it’s also one of the reasons I sold The Blog Herald, I didn’t have the time any more to trawl the blogosphere and be the leader in blog news that I once was.
As for your attack on Jeremy, how would you like it if I wrote an attack post on you, particularly since I don’t know you from a bar of soap (and I’d note that since you wont even link to your site I’m likely to never know who you are either!), because this is what Scrivs did with Colbert. We all bit our tounges…totally when this was published, and then it seemed that the 9rules gang wanted to keep the flames burning…and Jeremy responded, as he was entitled to do. Now I accept what Tyme has to say on the podcast, indeed listening to her I actually regret a comment I made on one of the threads about her (sorry Tyme) because she really, really sounds and acts like a decent person….who perhaps made a mistake in what she wrote, but I believe her when I hear her say it wasn’t intentional.
But last Timothy again, mate, I can take criticism, and I’m also grown up enough to admit when I’m wrong (do a search for “sorry” on my own blog or even the Blog Herald, sometimes I have gotten it wrong, we all do), but the attack on Colbert was beyond the pale, and I think Scrivs silence on the issue speaks volumes for the person he is. I can only say that 9rules is particularly lucky to have someone like Tyme involved in it, because as I mentioned, I’ve got a new found respect for her, but then again Tyme, I wan’t podcast part 2, where we get to ask you lots of questions about 9rules
lol.
Although all of my comments are being taken as silence I feel I must say at least one more thing.
I love sushi.
The way I see it…If I’m not hurting anyone or breaking any ethical issues, I will continue to do what I do and its up to my bosses to judge on that. In the end, its still a free world and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
In the end, I might even go at it with my own site once I’m famous enough like some of the bloggers on this page.. Doesn’t everyone want to be their OWN BOSS down the road ? Nuff said.
Good comment Colbert, and we’re glad you’re not up in arms about this like many others.
“In the end, I might even go at it with my own site once I’m famous enough like some of the bloggers on this page.. Doesn’t everyone want to be their OWN BOSS down the road ? Nuff said”
Exactly. And when a blog you own starts up, don’t forget to let us 9rules guys know about it… we do run the best *independent* weblog network around
Very best,
Mike
hey mike. no worries. I’ll try to add you to my email contacts and sync it to my PDA wirelessly…shucks. I hate Windows Mobile 2005 as it keeps on hanging on me.
“All we ask is 9rules members not be in another blog network.”
well, i dont think anyone should downplay just how big of a thing that is to ask!