This really shouldn't have 80+ votes. Someone please tell me why this is interesting.
Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
31–40 of 122 posts
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#32I once had a friend who never forgot a birthday or holiday. I always got a card from him. The problem was that it was always a card that someone else had sent him . He scribbled over their message and wrote his own, then added a lame message, "I'm doing my part by recycling." This went on for years and I hated it. It wasn't funny anymore and I didn't want to read what others had written to him. Then it hit me... Who…
They threatened legal action. Posting emails doesn't seem like an unethical move after the other side has initiated hostilities.
Exactly. They've said the alternatives are lawsuit or go with their "altered" deal. He picked lawsuit.
Since we're now going to a lawsuit, these emails are going to be exhibits in court => public knowledge.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#33[deleted]
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#34I once had a friend who never forgot a birthday or holiday. I always got a card from him. The problem was that it was always a card that someone else had sent him . He scribbled over their message and wrote his own, then added a lame message, "I'm doing my part by recycling." This went on for years and I hated it. It wasn't funny anymore and I didn't want to read what others had written to him. Then it hit me... Who…
Michael Arrington is not like that friend, because he not your friend. Michael Arrington is a reporter, only tell him stuff you want made public.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#35Arrington has a law degree, millions of dollars, and a massively popular platform. He don't scare easy.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#36It really does appear that no good deed goes unpunished.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#37I'm going to side on Arrington on this one, even though sometimes, he likes to make a big deal out of something small like removing a few words from his post.
Why? All he had to do was select a few sentences from the excerpts and edit his post. There's greater reward in the long run from acting like an adult, working well with others, and not being a complete douche.
No. He was giving them amazing PR. Anyone who's against getting a giant piece of positive PR on one of the world's biggest blogs is a total idiot.
Added: There was a documentary recently about an old-time woman's magazine in the UK. They'd brought in a new, modern editor to bring the magazine into the modern era and to increase sales. One thing she landed was a mostly positive write up in the Sunday Times (the UK's biggest Sunday paper). One of the owners was not particularly impressed because a few negatives were portrayed in the piece and she went nuts because it was, clearly, one of the biggest PR coups the magazine had ever had.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#38I've always felt that Arrington is a pragmatist and rationalist working in a field made up of antiquated policies, back-stabbing PR people, and bizarre ethics that it would take a lifetime to learn. As a pro-blogger, of sorts, I can certainly sympathize.
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#39Whatever you say, Arrignton has a point in this one. Web publishing is NOT the same as Paper publishing. No wonder News papers are dying; they refuse to merge and be innovative. Last cry always is 'copyright, copyright'!
Re: Arrington : "You’re Welcome, You Bastards"
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? All he had to do was select a few sentences from the excerpts and edit his post. There's greater reward in the long run from acting like an adult, working well with others, and not being a complete douche.
Actually, I think you're wrong on both accounts. Fortune is jerking him around. Calling them on it is not a bad thing, because a working relationship on those terms will likely cost more than it will benefit. Additionally, bloggers (and others in Attention Media) often make more from douchebaggery than from evenhandedness. (And I honestly don't think Arrington is being a douche here.
Fortune is jerking him around.
I don't see how: at least in the emails posted, Fortune never authorizes Arrington to post the full excerpt: they talk about writing a post "on the book excerpts".
In any case, I think it is more likely to be a simple miscommunication. It would be more mature for Arrington to simply concede that -- the excerpts are their copyrighted material, and they have the right to control its distribution. Getting all peeved about being woken up at 6:30 AM is silly.