Comments on: Blog Marketing Rule #42: He Who Is The Most Controversial Wins (Bigger Bloggers Are Best)

By: Allen Stern

Allen Stern — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:24:22 +0000

thanks, i know – asshat, assclown those are good terms to use in public :)

nite all!

By: Tony Hung

Tony Hung — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:21:20 +0000

@Allen — not sure what it is. Could be caching, or my spam-catching plugins working over time.

I’ll be happy to say “ass-hat” to you whenever we run into each other btw … not directed *at* you, of course.

By: Allen Stern

Allen Stern — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:14:39 +0000

tony – what’s the deal with getting comments via email before they show up here? is it a caching thing?

when we meet, i want to hear you say “asshat” in public :)

By: Tony Hung

Tony Hung — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:08:17 +0000

@Andy — I have to admit that in my own mind, I have made that very mistake more than once. :)

Luckily there are very few “Tony’s” in any part of the blogosphere that I might inhabit, very much “Hung’s”, or anything that sounds like “Hung”.

By: Tony Hung

Tony Hung — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:06:40 +0000

@Patricia — that sounds so polite, you almost sound Canadian. ;)

Like Allen, I agree with you in principle; unfortunately, the promise to be polite and circumspect goes out the window when a) people can be asshats without any specific consequences — particularly when they can do so anonymously (not the case in this circumstance) and b) there is something to gain from asshat-ery.

Now, neither Mr. Wilson nor Mr. Arrington were asshats per-se, but I use the term as an extreme example, insofar that changing the tone of your posts to something less-than-pleasant can be, in many circumstances, a totally rational thing to do.

Thanks for stopping by!
Tony.

By: Allen Stern

Allen Stern — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:55:18 +0000

Patricia – the issue with your suggestion (which I like) is that unless everyone agrees, it won’t work. Same as with my feed for a buck. You know that one blogger won’t do it and it will force others back in.

In this particular case, Arrington could have responded with a comment on Wilson’s blog. But we know what that gets and we know what it gets with the way both gentlemen handled it. :)

By: Patricia

Patricia — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:35:33 +0000

Being controversial is fine. Having a point of view if fine, but I am very uncomfortable with the fact that people online seem to think it’s OK to tear someone to pieces at the drop of a hat. It’s also important to develop a set of personal standards and stick to them: being pleasant should be a golden rule for all of us on the Web.