Looks like we all went trigger happy this week – in the blogging sense of course.
Earlier this past week, there was word that nearly 60% of the Microsoft Vista was going to be rewritten, a move that caused a big furor. Now, if you stopped to think for even a few seconds, it seemed improbable, but the meme spread so fast, that it drove Scoble to a drink.
I am disappointed that Robert didn’t do a good job of writing about this issue, which is not the case when he has good news he shares with us!) He should really send Phil Sim a bottle of scotch, for doing his work.
And now this outrageous story about Steve Jobs selling 45% of his Apple holdings. Published in The Register, it is quickly becoming the “talk of the town.” Actually just like the Microsoft Vista Meme, headline doesn’t tell the story. Michael Parekh does a good job of explaining what’s what. And so does Apple Insider.
In order to meet his tax obligations on the 10M restricted shares, which vested this month, Jobs elected to net-share settle — essentially allowing Apple to withhold and pay to authorities the portion of the 10M shares that would meet his tax payment requirements.
And while on the topic, talk about not digging deep enough, did I blow it or what – and for that my apologies to the readers! Apparently, Michael Robertson’s Ajax Write online word processor is cashing in on the AJAX hype, even though it is a XUL application, as Alex Russell explains on his blog
This thing is appropriating the necessarily amorphous terminology of “Ajax” for an implementation that is directly at odds with why Ajax is an important technology. A XUL app being billed as “Ajax” is just as laughable as a Flex or XAML app suddenly growing the same moniker…… So I’m calling on Michael Robertson to do the right thing and rename this product. A quick check shows “xulwrite.com” as still being available.
Om, I think you’re spot-on here. The blogosphere is quickly becoming a contest of how quickly one can pronounce an item good or bad, and saying it the loudest. I’d argue that your piece on Google Finance was of exactly the same variety – after all you did say you had been “playing around with it for 15 minutes” before saying “Google Finance Disappoints”. Was that enough time to make an investigative interpretation and parlay that into an appearance on CNBC?
I wrote that in this “Age of Instant Analysis”, companies need to harness the energy in the blogosphere and direct it positively before knee-jerk, trigger-happy posters muddle their PR message.
Louis, interestingly enough, in the Jobs case it was the “mainstream media” that jumped the gun, and a blogger who published the real facts 🙂
louis, and zoli, i think what we are seeing is a little trigger happiness. i don’t think it is the MSM or Blogger issue. I messed up equally, on the ajax write thing.
i think time to reassess on what we really want to write/read. i am thinking about that a lot these days.
OM, agree, it’s not really the MSM vs Blogger issue, both “sides” can be trigger happy. Then again, The Register is not representative of the mainstream media, it, and especially Andrew Orlowski has a reputation for this, plus for not publishing corrections.
If I sounded too much like I’m picking on the blogosphere (vs. MSM, etc.) that’s not the goal. But I do feel that we are seeing analysis trump the dissemination of information in a lot of cases. After all, we’ve seen recent product announcements by Apple, Microsoft, TiVo, Google and many others lambasted across the Web – well before the products themselves hit the shelves. Given the negative reactions, should the companies opt to not ship at all? Of course not – they should push ahead, and continue to listen to feedback to make improvements over time. It just seems that many are relishing their opportunity to pontificate, and know that to have an absolute response – positive or negative – will draw the most attention, even if they haven’t had a chance to digest the news.
So you know, GigaOM is a great source for real news. It hits my RSS immediately – so you’ve got a proven track record. It’s often those with no track record who are trigger happy.
does anyone else feel that we are moving away from the roots of blogging, where we spent sometime, paused, and wanted meaningful discussions. smaller affinity groups, and all that stuff… i wonder if i am the only one who feels that way.
louis, i didn’t think you were picking on the MSM, just saying that its something which happens on both sides. and thank you for your kind words.
Om, I definitely feel that way. I’m trying (and failing) to get back into reading my RSS feeds. Whenever I do I start to find the blog love again cause I learn new things from smart people. Memeorandum just makes me think I’m in the middle of a street fight.
robert,
i think you are spot on – while meme trackers were supposed to be the way to refocus our attentions on major issues, i think they have become distraction, and many are responding to that by jumping into the war of words.
i hope we can find some fixes for this in the near future. adding credence and focus – that will perhaps be the best way to go?
This just proves why tabloids sell so well. People are will to read and repeat headlines, no matter how outrageous, without even reading the article.
It is just amazing how quickly these ideas spread, especially when the aren’t true, and how slowly the correct information spreads.
“companies need to harness the energy in the blogosphere and direct it positively before knee-jerk, trigger-happy posters muddle their PR message.”
aka manipulate?
Hi OM,
Have enjoyed reading your blog. It’s one of the better ones I’ve crawled while going through the blogosphere.
Anyways, I just wanted to invite you to “OM” on over to my webpage at
http://sentientorder.googlepages.com
Did you know your first name is related to the transcendental ‘PI’ ? Not sure what Malik is. Maybe something close to like ‘Ma-k(e) li’ or ‘Lik(e) Ma’.
Li means ‘flow’
which is way better than ‘Lik(e) Ma [Bell]’
Anyways, stop on by and keep up the good work.
JL ee
JL ee thanks for the invite to your site. sure will visit. thanks
dekks – well put. 😉
I think Scoble’s response to the whole scenario was rather pathetic. The way he just simply dismissed the journalist because of his source and where the source was located was ridiculous. More than anything, it reminded me of the old Microsoft – the 800 pound gorilla that rather than have a conversation with customers or the public simply dismisses everything and scoffs with disdain.
I agree the numbers sound ludicrous, but a simple chat with a few people from within Microsoft and Scoble would have been able to set the story straight. Instead we get offhanded vitriol calling into question the journalist’s credibility. Then when researched it turns out the journalist, while controversial, was breaking big stories before there was a Microsoft.
How about someone at Microsoft land actually fill in the blanks?
Ultimately readers will figure this out for bloggers. I have substantially reduced the number of feeds in my own reader and a lot of popular blogs have been thrown out with the bathwater. I did find it somewhat funny you chose to use the words “adding credence” as a future direction since I thought that’s what you were suggesting was the problem.