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Andrew Leonard on LinuxWorld, Slashdot, and More 47

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-that-pisses-me-off dept.
Alan J. Wylie sent us Andrew Leonard's article running on Linux.com on "The Three Stages of Free Software Cluefulness". The most clueless part of conferences is (as always) the PR firms. Mine has apparently made up some story about me herding media tycoons about LinuxWorld (I'm not sure if they mean physically or through Slashdot). Anyway, for me personally its a case study in why PR firms don't work in the era of the Internet.I mean, PR companies always screw up (you should see the comically erred press releases I get every day). The difference is that the Internet already has people (relatively) in touch with each other without the help of a PR firm. Their primary function is obsolete. As always, my email address is malda@slashdot.org, and while I don't reply to everything, I do read it. What a sucky way to start of the day.
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Andrew Leonard on LinuxWorld, Slashdot, and More More

Andrew Leonard on LinuxWorld, Slashdot, and More

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  • Baaaah
    Die sheep

  • Hire Noah Wyle (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Rob, maybe you should pull a Steve Jobs and hire Noah Wyle(?) to play you and lead the blood-suckers around.
  • Please send the cheese cart around when we're done.
  • You think that CONTROL of information will thrive on the Internet? em, I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion (other than that TV happens to be a prime medium for bullshit).

    I suppose the Internet will make other kinds of information control like cencorship, ip, and alike easier as well?

  • If you need any proof of Malda's celebrity, look no further than the hordes of Slashdotters rushing to defend a perceived slight against his honor.

    I read the piece as a mild elbow-to-the-ribs of the PR firm that wrote the release, not Malda. You shouldn't have to apologize ... it's not like you did something truly evil, like keeping a nine-year-old from seeing Eyes Wide Shut without his mom present.

  • "But what sent me for a loop was the idea of Malda as part of a staged public relations event. I've met him at previous conferences, and he strikes me as the last person on Earth who would want to spend his time shepherding clueless members of the press around an exhibition floor. Indeed, one of the whole points of Slashdot is to provide a place where people can cut through the hype and find out what is really going on. Slashdot, when it works best, works as a debunker of marketing lies and as a call to arms against FUD and hypocrisy."

    i don't know of a more exhaustive way to say to the world: "I AM A BIG FAT PRICK!"

    whatta dick!

  • I never meant to dis Rob (Score:4)

    by Andrew Leonard ( 4372 ) on Thursday July 29, 1999 @05:41AM (#1777633) Homepage
    Well, I really apologize for starting off Rob's day badly. I have nothing but the greatest respect for Slashdot and what Rob has accomplished here. I mainly thought it was funny that I was being approached by a public relations firm that was pushing Rob Malda as some kind of Linux celebrity. I most certainly didn't mean to criticize another open source site or Rob himself.

    I should have e-mailed Rob and asked for his take on how the PR company was representing him. Mea culpa. I didn't because I was just doing a take on my LinuxWorld related mail, and didn't stop to think about how readers might react. I never imagined that they might think that Rob was personally responsible for the way he was being packaged.

    Damn.
  • Get some perspective dude. Sure the web today is mostly a bunch of TV/magazine reporters turned equally uninformed feeders of spin dried info, and the masses are as passive as ever.

    But look to the future. What is it: CNN or Slashdot?

    I know what I think...
  • It doesn't seem like most people are beating on you here ( at least those of us who actually took the time to read the article ). This probably wasn't the best way for Rob to find out about how stupid his PR firm was making him sound, but your article seems to be making fun of the hype and the PR.
    Did I miss something?

  • So Leonard praises Slashdot in a manner which is not only effusive but accurate, and you call him a BIG FAT PRICK. Clever. Today's thought for the day, children: does this kind of logic discourage "anti-Linux FUD" by the press, or does it encourage it, particularly of the sort criticizing the Linux userbase for being hypersensitive, highly unsocialized and apparently illiterate?
  • Who else immediately thought "disrobe" when seeing "dis Rob"?

  • Well -- Rob's note introducing this topic makes it sound like he didn't enjoy reading his mail this morning.
  • Check out Episode 3.1 -- Rob takes a script kiddie to where "all the cool linux people hang out."

    God help me, I listened and understood all the jokes. There is no hope.
  • Hey, this is a great idea! Is there anyone out there who not only looks just like Rob, but can act like him as well? Can we get the tour on tape? Can we post the footage on the net and laugh? Please?
  • could you post that or somthing (I mean online, with a URL to /.) I'd really be intrested in reading it. email me, if you'd like :)
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"
  • the PR wasn't sent from andover, it was from someone else, totaly unrelated, I bet.
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"
  • "Your post is very enlightening.... I just got to read this when I'm not stoned."

    I'm going to have to copy and paste THAT. Where's my .sig file?

    Hopefully the post still retains its "insight" when viewed with a less... enchanced... mind. :)

  • I really hope you find a way to make life miserable for the PR firm involved. I'm also quite sure it's illegal to use your name to promote themselves, but that would get into the wonderful world of lawyers. And _that_, unlike free software, is something PR firms are very comfortable with...
  • This article was just... strange. It's like he's trying to kiss up to Rob while bashing him at the same time. I think that Leonard has spent too much time at Salon. Maybe he should find a more reputable company to work for.

    I also don't see what is so bad about PR firms. PR is a part of business. Leonard should know that by now. I wonder how many times similar things have gone out about him.
  • Hey Rob, you don't have to do anything you don't want to...you especially shouldn't have to answer to a Marketing/PR person. Tell the annoying, vapid, traditional-media-type-struggling-with-their-own-i mpending-irrelevance to go away and find a dumpster to dive in--they'll need to perfect those skills for survival purposes in a few years anyway.
  • What's with this article. Is he slandering or making a joke or both?? Not a clearly written article, either way.

    By the way Rob, where do I sign up for the tour?

    :P

  • Hmmm... (Score:2)

    by irix ( 22687 )
    Rob and dozens of bikini-clad women give me a VIP tour of LinuxWorld. Sounds like a dream I once had.

    Where can I sign up :)
    • But no one can escape the maw of this industry, I guess. Malda has become one of the celebrities of open source, and if there's one thing we know for sure about contemporary culture, it is that one of its favorite things to do is to eat its own celebrities alive.
    I prefer my Malda medium-rare, please.
    -russ
  • ... now that clueless marketdroids are dropping your name.
  • Plus some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

  • ...Uh, I'll believe that when they ban me from posting here! ;)

    Don't let them ruin your good name, Rob.

  • Re:I never meant to dis Rob (Score:4)

    by llywrch ( 9023 ) on Thursday July 29, 1999 @06:30AM (#1777656) Homepage Journal
    Well, Rob is prolly pissed, but I doubt at you. I bet that the following exchange at Andover.com occured:

    PHB (nattily attired in that trendy kewl hacker look): We know how much work Slashdot requires from you, Rob, & we want to take some of that burden off of your shoulders. Let you set your priorities.

    Rob (thinks about a bug that has been hounding him for the last few weeks, but he hasn't had the time to make it a priority): That would be good.

    PHB: So we're going to devote some resources to you & Mr Taco.

    Rob (``Mr Taco"? Oh boy!): Sure, there's some guys I don't like to deal with. Marketroids. I've got better things to do than hand out clues to the clue-resistant.

    PHB: Good. We've got a PR firm on retainer, & I'll talk to them.

    Rob (thinking about that bug, & seeing what he needs to do to fix it): Whatever. I need to do some stuff.

    Fast forward to this morning. Not only does Rob realize what the PR firm is actually doing for him, but he now realizes that to keep them from doing it again, he'll have to spend more time away from the stuff he'd rather be doing.

    Not a pretty picture to have first thing in the morning.



    Geoff

  • Seems like being bought by Andover has some... less then pleasant side effects. Well maybe you should just post a small general reply to Andrew's letter here.

    Hmmmm.. should I sign up for the tour by Rob?

  • Density (Score:3)

    by JJ ( 29711 ) on Thursday July 29, 1999 @03:52AM (#1777658) Homepage Journal
    A friend of mine in the military sent me a fax about judging world militaries by "how many trigger-pullers" they have per 10K enrolled members. Perhaps software companies should be judged in the same way, number of tech staff per 100 employees. This way hiring a PR company would count against you or more specifically, hiring too many PR companies would work against you. I'd start investing my 401K in this way if it could be published.
  • yeesh. They really put you on the spot. Now if you back out (not that you ever were in...) it might look bad. Think about how the media who got this will feel - "the high and mighty ones won't pay attention to us? Well then we'll just have to say bad things about them..."
    Not good journalism, but a somewhat standard response. Rob if you don't do this (not that I'm saying you should) you will need to tell your PR firm to send out a message that THEY (the PR) firm screwed up. Actually you should have them do that anyway.
    -cpd
  • That article is very wrong in what it says. First of all, speaking on open source subjects, it's very dumb to do critizing other open-source sites. It's like killing your own kind. Besides all that stuff being false, does this guy actually want to hurt Rob? How lame.

    --
    Scott Miga
  • Nonetheless, PR will regroup. Controlling information is an art that simply needs to catch up with the digital age.

    Indeed.

    The Internet is going to change the PR industry. Those who can't adapt will eventually fade. But don't expect this to happen to the industry as a whole. These are creative, intelligent folks who specialize in manipulation. They're going to figure it out and how to make the best of it.

    I believe those who deal in hype are just beginning to really appreciate the power of the Internet. while "grass roots" efforts increase the danger of bad press, it also allows for an amazingly swift channel to spread propaganda. FUD anyone?

    What about DIVX? There is a strong belief that not only did corporate interests use the Internet to advertise their offering, they manipulated it by creating false "fan generated" web sites in support of DIVX. If this is true... it was a blatent attempt to generate "grass roots" hype and support for their offering (one that was already experiencing a good deal of critisism on the net). Of course, DIVX failed to gain enough of a market to survive. Was the Internet boon or bane to their effort?

    Hollywood lives on hype. Spinmeisters can make or break a movie. Enter the Internet. Once again, there are charges of false "fan generated" sites actually created by corporate interests to hype movies. Likewise, some wonder how many "fan" messages on public forumns are really the work of online spin doctors. American Pie and Blair Witch comes were mentioned in recent accusations (though, Blair Witch has also used the Internet to legitimately extend the "reality" of the movie experience).

    Of course, nobody is probably more aware of Internet PR than George Lucas himself. Star Wars hype has naturally manifested on the net. I doupt Lucas Films has had to artificially generate any of it. However, not all the hype has been positive. Interviews with George Lucas indicates that he is troubled by some of what he sees said about Star Wars on the net. In turn, his comments are picked appart post-by-post (on Slashdot, even). Its an environment custom made for PR handlers and spin doctors.

    OK. So sure... let the PR flakies push their spin. We'll catch it and tear it to shreds. That's what Web Journals like Slashdot is all about. Right?

    That works for our community. But the mainstream is being funneled in to "portals" like The Go Network. Its broadcast business as usual on the Net. Sure... once in awhile somone in the mass market culture will get clued in to an alternative site. But most of them will stay in comfy waters. The PR business has circled those waters for years and are quite familiar with it.

    One last comment. Before we feel too superior with our hype-resistant selves... lets look back to April 1st (or, more specifically, the couple of weeks leading up to it). Sure, there are a few mitigating circumstances. But there was also some hints pointing to the fact that something wasn't quite right. How many picked up on it? Judging from the angry responses... too many were caught unawares by hype.

    The Internet won't end the PR business, just how the game is played.

  • Yes, PR will catch up.

    Recently the CBC (Canadian TV station) show Undercurrents came to the conclusion that PR firms lead reporters of all media types around feeding them tidbits of information. The reporters generally play along as Real Reporting (TM) is too hard, and the reporters don't want to be cut out of the loop. This is a growing trend and only getting worst.

    Currently PR is having a hard time on the Internet because company insiders are freely giving out inside information and rumours. Additionaly most Internet reporters are currently out of the PR loop as they aren't recognized as being reporters worth feeding information to. This will change. Companys (PR deparments) will start cracking down on their employees feeding the Internet rumour mill just like they do for TV. PR will also start to suck Internet reporters into the PR loop. Most reporters find it very hard not to resist the PR loop. (despite their best intentions)

    Not all information will be controlled by PR, just most of the coperate stuff. It will never get as bad as TV. TV air time is expensive. An Internet web page is cheap. Alternative media will continue to florish. Most Western cities of any decent size should have atleast one alternative paper. This type of alternative reporting works well on the Internet. The only difference being the larger, TV sized, potential audiences.

    People should also realise that the Internet population is still largely an alternative culture. Hence they tend to read alternative media. This is changeing every day as the Internet is reaching more and more sheep. This people are reading the PR fed CNN and Yahoo News not Slashdot or Salon.

  • I've got two images in mind once I read this.

    The first is a bunch of slack-jawed, and suitably awed, Suits mulling around a sparkling sign reading "Rob's Open Source Mystery Tour". Suddenly, Rob appears in a Willy Wonka style; decked in a tophat and particularly bright, strangely cut suite. With a wave of his cane, and perhapse a few sparkles for effect, the tour into the wild and magical world of Open Source begins. No chemical augmentation is required, as most Suits are "on drugs" already.

    Second image...

    Rob pulling a rickshaw cart with the words "Open Source Tour" on the sides. The cart is filled with Suits ooooh-ing and aaawwww-ing at the exotic, wonderous sites of the LinuxWolrd Expo floor as they pass by. Occasionally, Rob calls back to point out some point of interest.

    "On the right, you see the Linux Care booth. You'll notice in the advertisement, the girl is covering her butt with a Debian box.."

    "Ohhhh!"

    "Ahhhh!"

    It might not be as fun as a tophat and cane, but there's a possiblity of better tips.

    In short, I wouldn't take the article seriously. Its a wry view of the PR game, if anything. Heck... the author even mentioned that he couldn't see Rob actually doing tours (though, he was apparently all too willing to take advantage of the possibility).

    After the aggrivation of his article, I hope Andrew Leonard tips well.

  • "Claimer": I'm a marketroid, not a geek.

    In marketing and other endeavours, there are several stages corresponding (usually) to industry shakeouts.

    First there's a stage of doing something because it works. The first ads were written because they sold product.

    Next, there's a stage of formalising these rules, trying to become respectable. This is where ads were in the 1970s, when big agencies ruled the ad world.

    Then there's a stage of following the rules while forgetting the reasons those rules were written - the "because that's how we've always done them" model.

    Finally, the rules collapse under their own weight and real human creativity comes to the fore again. This is what my ad agency's going through now... but PR companies are slower still.

    A press release today is not written to disseminate useful information; it is written to get the client's name into the papers. And, following the rulebook, they use selling techniques to write them... dehumanising the speaker and twisting his words into something he never said.

    The nearest thing I've got to a boss, Mike Windsor of Ogilvy Interactive, is a smart guy with a real grip on how the web works. But Ogilvy's press releases paint him as the most autocued, teleprompted, on-the-record, overadvised and underopinionated man alive. I don't recognise Mike in our releases, and I doubt he ever recognises himself.

    So if anyone feels like Slashdot-effecting the Ogilvy NY PR division... email me and I'll give out some names. Might shake up the industry a little to have form rather than content critiqued.

    Chris Worth
    Read the Microsoft Matrix at http://chrisworth.com/oddments/the_microsoft_matri x.html
  • "So excuse me for being skeptical when I see things like a pitch for an open source model for game development. My first reaction to e-mail from Time City was suspicious. How does an open source software development model track to game development? Games, it has always seemed to me, require really tight editorial control and direction. Can the free-for-all of distributed open source development produce a really good game?"

    Hasn't this guy ever heard of nethack? I, and many friends, wasted long hours and days of our lives in the late 80s playing this game and hacking it up. Afaik, nethack is one of the earliest examples of the success of an open-source model. Before it got killed by the new graphics-based games, nethack had been ported to every machine/OS imaginable and I believe it even had a multi-player version, all open-source.

  • WTF! I want the tour Rob! (Score:3)

    by Kurt Gray ( 935 ) on Thursday July 29, 1999 @05:09AM (#1777668) Homepage Journal
    Disclaimer: I work at Andover.Net.

    How come I wasn't invited on the tour?! Damnit, I
    only work here! I want Linus himself to teach me
    all the hand signals and secret handshakes I need
    to know to use Linux properly. Ooohhhh, it'so
    "cryptic and exclusive" -- I imagine it would be
    something like what Tom Cruise found at the
    mansion in "Eyes Wide Shut", no? I mean, that's
    what goes on at these "secert" Linux gatherings,
    right?

    Oooh Linux is so "cryptic and sectretive", that's why
    you can only download the full friggin' source code for
    it on at least 500 FTP sites and countless CDROMs
    with full documentation mirrored world wide with
    an army of IRC channels open and Usenet newgroups
    that have been there since day one openly exchanging
    information about it all day and night for the
    apst 8 years.
    Yeah, big friggin' secret don't know how anyone could've found about it.

    Oh, I gotto go, my clue phone is ringing.
  • It will never get as bad as TV. TV air time is expensive. An Internet web page is cheap.

    However, we are already starting to see that Search Engine placement ranking is becoming expensive (the big sites are starting to charge for top listings.) It doesn't matter if you have a very informative website out in the middle of Podunk if 'the public at large' can't find it. You can, of course, spam the URL around to get visitors. Why do I suspect that would backfire?

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