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Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

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Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#171

Post by chalst »

amartya916 wrote: post #32
oldstrangers wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fanboys on either side of the aisle love to pat themselves on the back and reaffirm--almost daily--that yes, they did buy the best product imaginable. It's the same reason Gruber makes half a million a year writing snarky one liners. Some sort of subconscious need to find superiority in consumer purchases and brand loyalty. It's kind of disturbing.

While there is some truth to what you said, I don't think dragging John Gruber is appropriate. One can at least see that a post is well written (I actually think that in terms of plain English, Gruber does the best job within the tech. blogosphere) and that some care and thought has been put into framing a cogent argument. From there, it's up to you to agree or disagree. I am not referring to the links he posts, but…

Gruber wonders "Lyons has always been an ass, but when did he get so bitter? " and says "Siegler is one of the top writers on the Apple beat, period. Good sources, smart analysis, and he’s been right way way way more often than he’s been wrong."

http://daringfireball.net/2011/08/balls

Gruber and Siegler are symbiotes and it is entirely appropriate to drag Siegler in.

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#172

Post by cbs »

javajosh wrote: post #82

The key question that arises in my mind is simply this: why is perception so important in Silicon Valley? It seems clear that money influences tech reporting to a fairly high degree, but what is the economic incentive? In a universe of makers, shouldn't the things made speak for themselves?

but what is the economic incentive?

Getting users. Tech isn't the meritocracy everyone likes to pretend it is.

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#175

Post by AznHisoka »

orthecreedence wrote: post #111

This is why I feel like a lot of startups raising their hands in a "ohhh write about me!!! write about me!!" frenzy of desperation seems to get them the users and followers (edit: and investors) they deserve. Sure, if your market is the tech crowd, go for it. If you're market is not the tech world, then I believe it makes sense to avoid the shitty tech press altogether. Getting a Techcrunch piece about your app doesn…

I totally agree. There's also hidden dangers involved. If you're a company like AirBnB or Path, and something disastrous PR-wise happens, it'll appear all over TC if you're a Silicon Valley darling. If you're not known among SV, maybe 1-2 minor publications will pick up the story, but there won't be a huge commotion. If they're not your target audience, is it really worth a write-up in TC?

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#176

Post by roc »

jwwest wrote: post #39
rkalla wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately I think it is worse than just justifying your purchase; for a lot of people it is defining their identity. You say "iPhone's are stupid!" and all they hear is "I think YOU are stupid!". A lot of people define themselves by distilling the version of themselves they want to portray to the world as a collective of company logos and brands. I don't think it is healthy, but it sure makes sense why people do…

This is exactly what Apple set out to do, equate the brand with the self - much like fashion. Harley Davidson is another example where this occurs.

Even before Apple consciously set out to harness this, people were self-identifying as Unix people, Microsoft people and even CP/M people. So, yes, Apple consciously leverages this. But, no, the behavior is not solely a result of their effort.

Consider all the tribes that don't even have a coherent "brand" behind them: C people and Ruby people; truck people and sports car people; dog people and cat people; PC gamers and console gamers; new york- and chicago-style pizza people; goths and hipsters and rockabillies; nerds and jocks; white-collar and blue-collar people; etc.

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#177

Post by grellas »

Silicon Valley once was home to scientists and engineers — people who wanted to build things. Then it became a casino. Now it is being turned into a silicon cesspool, an upside-down world filled with spammers, liars, flippers, privacy invaders, information stealers — and their grubby cadre of paid apologists and pygmy hangers-on.

Silicon Valley has not fundamentally changed over the decades and I can say that from the perspective of someone who has lived here for over 40 years and who has been in the thick of the startup world since the early 1980s. Opportunism has always existed and always will. But great ventures are not fundamentally built upon opportunism. They are built upon incredible skills, daring forms of risk-taking, amazingly hard work, and like traits that are quite admirable. Those traits showed themselves strongly here in the Valley 30 years ago and they continue to do so today. Indeed, the heart of the Valley consists of anything but the "upside-down world filled with spammers, liars, flippers, privacy invaders, information stealers" that the author here attempts to depict. Sleazy elements exist as they do whenever money is at stake but to suggest that they are what most defines the Valley is to slander a lot of good people who are doing great things and who have nothing whatever to do with the world of which the author writes.

The author is an excellent writer but this piece is seriously flawed by an intemperate tone, extreme ad hominem attacks, and gross overstatement. In my view, such flaws seriously weaken it as a piece of advocacy. And the lurid headline does not help either, especially when one writes to criticize "click whores." It is not that the piece is bad on substance. It just could have been so much better had the author chosen to strike a more judicious tone.

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#178

Post by amartya916 »

chalst wrote: post #171
amartya916 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While there is some truth to what you said, I don't think dragging John Gruber is appropriate. One can at least see that a post is well written (I actually think that in terms of plain English, Gruber does the best job within the tech. blogosphere) and that some care and thought has been put into framing a cogent argument. From there, it's up to you to agree or disagree. I am not referring to the links he posts, but…

Gruber wonders "Lyons has always been an ass, but when did he get so bitter? " and says "Siegler is one of the top writers on the Apple beat, period. Good sources, smart analysis, and he’s been right way way way more often than he’s been wrong." http://daringfireball.net/2011/08/balls Gruber and Siegler are symbiotes and it is entirely appropriate to drag Siegler in.

You are right, and Gruber is wrong... in this case. Gruber usually does a good job of citing sources and for the rest of the article he makes some good points. Like I said before, one can agree or disagree. To reiterate though, his rushing to Siegler's defence is just silly. Gruber does himself and his readers a disservice by linking to Siegler's blog. Siegler sensationalizes the smallest of things -something Lyons brings up eloquently- and then is hypocritical enough to try and portray that he actually abhors the practice! The main reason I wanted to not drag Gruber into the discussion was:

a. Lyons' article makes no mention of him. b. Gruber and Siegler might write about Apple, but Gruber can actually write, and Siegler can't. Ankle biting chihuahua is just right.

Anyway, you make a good point, and I hope I clarified why I thought Gruber shouldn't be in this list.

Re: Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool

#179

Post by redcircle »

VonGuard wrote: post #118

Oh... My... God.... Lyons is a fucking god. As a journalist in the valley, I can just say that the first paragraph he's written here hits the nail right on the fucking head. ---"It’s tough being a journalist, especially if you’re covering technology and living in Silicon Valley, because it seems as if everyone around you is getting fabulously rich while you’re stuck in a job that will never, ever make you wealthy. Wh…

It is self limiting to look at it in terms of earning money. Clearly happiness is life's goal --- not money (nor prestige, nor power). If you are smarter, as Lyons says he is, then it should be possible to transcend the environment. I'm not talking Christian-like self abasement. If you try hard enough, you can figure out ascension points to higher planes of understanding and flourishing and self growth. In the process, you might get rich as a by-product, but by then the money should be irrelevant.
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