Dear Microsoft

Uncategorized 1 Minute

I was deciding this morning whether or not to go to your Professional Developer Conference. It’s being hyped up as one of the most important in Microsoft’s recent history.

I’ve decided not to go for a variety of reasons. The economy. The numbers of bloggers and journalists who’ll be there (so many the stories will get out). My family, which has seen me on the road too much this year. The fact that I rarely get good videos at conferences (even when I worked at Microsoft I didn’t get any good videos at our own conferences).

But the stone that made the scale tip is that you have employees out there who are attacking bloggers without consequences. That makes me feel unwelcome, which I really don’t need given all my other concerns about attending. So, I’ll let someone else go in my place. Good luck with the PDC, I’ll read about it in my Google Reader.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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129 thoughts on “Dear Microsoft”

  7. C’on Robert… really out of all the crap that came out yesterday in twitter is this the best excuse not to go jump over this event or get a free pass to set u straight?

    Dude, u better than anyone else should know the reality behind this bits of words behind a corporation as big as MS and giving crap because someone says something that might not please all of u… c’on that’s the problem… u all get into ur bigger heads and think u r the only ones allow to give other companies crap… and I am not saying this for you but from all this born at.

    I’d had expect something more mature out of all this…

    my 2 cents.

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  8. C’on Robert… really out of all the crap that came out yesterday in twitter is this the best excuse not to go jump over this event or get a free pass to set u straight?

    Dude, u better than anyone else should know the reality behind this bits of words behind a corporation as big as MS and giving crap because someone says something that might not please all of u… c’on that’s the problem… u all get into ur bigger heads and think u r the only ones allow to give other companies crap… and I am not saying this for you but from all this born at.

    I’d had expect something more mature out of all this…

    my 2 cents.

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  9. Samiq: it’s a trend. Not just what happened last night. But mostly it’s cause I really don’t expect to get much great video. I’d rather spend my time somewhere else. For instance, I’m going to see turnhere.com right now. That will be more interesting. Plenty of others will cover the Microsoft stuff.

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  10. Samiq: it’s a trend. Not just what happened last night. But mostly it’s cause I really don’t expect to get much great video. I’d rather spend my time somewhere else. For instance, I’m going to see turnhere.com right now. That will be more interesting. Plenty of others will cover the Microsoft stuff.

    Like

  13. “you have employees out there”

    What are you talking about, Scoble? I follow a ton of feeds, including your Google shared feed, and I haven’t got a clue who or what you’re talking about here. If I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m pretty sure there’s a whole bunch of other people out there who don’t know what you’re talking about.

    What is it, exactly, that you’re reacting to?

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  14. “you have employees out there”

    What are you talking about, Scoble? I follow a ton of feeds, including your Google shared feed, and I haven’t got a clue who or what you’re talking about here. If I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m pretty sure there’s a whole bunch of other people out there who don’t know what you’re talking about.

    What is it, exactly, that you’re reacting to?

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  17. so you’re not going to PDC because Dare said something that Michael didn’t like?
    it’s a shame that you won’t be there because you do add a certain something to the crowd (but I get the family aspect) but to say it’s because Microsoft are targetting bloggers when it’s actually one employees comment on a personal blog that sparked this seems a little dramatic.
    the second half of the 2:18pm response seems to ring closer to the real reason, but this has just given you a great way to position it for some controversy 😉

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  18. dlambert: I’m not going to say in public. That gives them more attention. It’s also not one person, but a few. It’s also not my only reason for not coming. Microsoft has its own media team who will scoop all the bloggers and journalists anyway and get better inside info than I ever could by going to such an event. So I see cost after cost, no benefit, and now I see blogging that’s anti-other blogging. It all added up to me to “no attend.”

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  19. so you’re not going to PDC because Dare said something that Michael didn’t like?
    it’s a shame that you won’t be there because you do add a certain something to the crowd (but I get the family aspect) but to say it’s because Microsoft are targetting bloggers when it’s actually one employees comment on a personal blog that sparked this seems a little dramatic.
    the second half of the 2:18pm response seems to ring closer to the real reason, but this has just given you a great way to position it for some controversy 😉

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  20. dlambert: I’m not going to say in public. That gives them more attention. It’s also not one person, but a few. It’s also not my only reason for not coming. Microsoft has its own media team who will scoop all the bloggers and journalists anyway and get better inside info than I ever could by going to such an event. So I see cost after cost, no benefit, and now I see blogging that’s anti-other blogging. It all added up to me to “no attend.”

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  23. Really, that would make great video! Nothing like FastCompany.tv catching the attacks live .. if true that would generate awesome consequences. If not sticks and stones; perhaps a live panel discussion on blogging ethics?

    “Employees out there who are attacking bloggers without consequences”.
    Are these attacking bloggers Microsoft employees? Perhaps you could enlighten us with who the ‘bloggers’ are and their ‘method of attack’.

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  24. Really, that would make great video! Nothing like FastCompany.tv catching the attacks live .. if true that would generate awesome consequences. If not sticks and stones; perhaps a live panel discussion on blogging ethics?

    “Employees out there who are attacking bloggers without consequences”.
    Are these attacking bloggers Microsoft employees? Perhaps you could enlighten us with who the ‘bloggers’ are and their ‘method of attack’.

    Like

  25. Too bad Scoble – in PDC 2005, excluding meeting Bill Gates and getting his autograph, one of the highlights for me was walking down the LA convention center taking a big Channel 9 bean chair to my car and meeting you.

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  26. Too bad Scoble – in PDC 2005, excluding meeting Bill Gates and getting his autograph, one of the highlights for me was walking down the LA convention center taking a big Channel 9 bean chair to my car and meeting you.

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  27. Robert, can you please share us the details regarding a bloggers attack?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, can you please tell us your opinion?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, what consequences do you want to hear from Microsoft?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, what’s your opinion about the reaction from MA, the picture of the dog, the things about Dare’s dad.
    If this is about Michael and Dare, why are you insinuating it and why are you blogging about it? What has this to do with you personally?

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  28. Robert, can you please share us the details regarding a bloggers attack?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, can you please tell us your opinion?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, what consequences do you want to hear from Microsoft?
    If this is about Michael and Dare, what’s your opinion about the reaction from MA, the picture of the dog, the things about Dare’s dad.
    If this is about Michael and Dare, why are you insinuating it and why are you blogging about it? What has this to do with you personally?

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  29. PDC is a waste of time and money. They promised heaven in 2003 and we got nothing. Five years later we still got nothing with every boring PDC.

    So no, it has nothing to do with Obasanjo, it is just that PDC sucks donkey tails.

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  30. PDC is a waste of time and money. They promised heaven in 2003 and we got nothing. Five years later we still got nothing with every boring PDC.

    So no, it has nothing to do with Obasanjo, it is just that PDC sucks donkey tails.

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  31. Hi Robert, you the twitter thing is water under the bridge.
    Still I respect your decision.
    Btw, can I borrow your pass ?

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  32. Hi Robert, you the twitter thing is water under the bridge.
    Still I respect your decision.
    Btw, can I borrow your pass ?

    Like

  33. Doesn’t any MS employee have that disclaimer though that the thoughts expressed on their blogs don’t necessarily represent the companies. You above all should know this though.

    Anyway, I’m sure a lot of people will still go there and would be grateful to get that “free pass” opportunity. Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You…

    Ps. I really have no idea what happened and I agree with comments above, if you have more information concerning this, please share. Now you’re just being vague and leaving a lot to suggestion.

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  34. Doesn’t any MS employee have that disclaimer though that the thoughts expressed on their blogs don’t necessarily represent the companies. You above all should know this though.

    Anyway, I’m sure a lot of people will still go there and would be grateful to get that “free pass” opportunity. Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You…

    Ps. I really have no idea what happened and I agree with comments above, if you have more information concerning this, please share. Now you’re just being vague and leaving a lot to suggestion.

    Like

  36. Microsoft should not be held responsible over the actions of one Blogger on his own time and site.

    If Microsoft chose to silence him, you can just hear the global cries of Racism from all of his high level political connections in Africa.

    Techcrunch chose to run that story, thus giving him THOUSANDS of hits and attention that his relatively unknown blog would have EVER gotten any other way. ?-)

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  37. Microsoft should not be held responsible over the actions of one Blogger on his own time and site.

    If Microsoft chose to silence him, you can just hear the global cries of Racism from all of his high level political connections in Africa.

    Techcrunch chose to run that story, thus giving him THOUSANDS of hits and attention that his relatively unknown blog would have EVER gotten any other way. ?-)

    Like

  41. Robert, do you really believe every single thing written by every single MS employee on any random website on the web is controlled and sanctioned by Microsoft PR? Otherwise your comment to offbeatmammal does not make much sense.

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  42. Robert, do you really believe every single thing written by every single MS employee on any random website on the web is controlled and sanctioned by Microsoft PR? Otherwise your comment to offbeatmammal does not make much sense.

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  43. I think everyone’s overreacting a bit. Most people’s blogs have a Disclaimer
    saying something like “The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer’s view in any way.”

    Have you actually seen a Microsoft blogger (e.g. someone who blogs on blogs.msdn.com attacking anyone) or is just personal blogs of people who happen to work for MS?

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  44. I think everyone’s overreacting a bit. Most people’s blogs have a Disclaimer
    saying something like “The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer’s view in any way.”

    Have you actually seen a Microsoft blogger (e.g. someone who blogs on blogs.msdn.com attacking anyone) or is just personal blogs of people who happen to work for MS?

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  49. Pingback: The Blogosphere is High School? | sarahintampa

  50. I won’t be there, either — hopefully we’ll see you at MIX.

    I’m amazed that you now feel that “megabloggers” like Arrington are above criticism now, while arguing that line employees at an organization shouldn’t be allowed to express personal opinions. You’ve certainly turned “Naked Conversations” upside-down and joined the dark side, if you really believe that.

    You know what it was like having people call MSFT and try to get you fired, and you know as well as I do that you crossed the line plenty of times and kept your job only because people stuck up for your right to speak your opinions. If you think that you stayed employed at MSFT by never screwing up, you’ve truly lost touch with your roots. I would expect more empathy for a fellow blogger from you, of all people.

    And if you followed Dare’s tweets, you’d see that he called out Boomtown and Alley Insider for the same biased gloating — and defending Google and Yahoo! is hardly “MSFT attacking TechCrunch”.

    I suspect that Mike Arrington was so flattered than someone would believe him relevant enough to impact stock market indices, that he wanted to draw attention to it. “Bill Gates Accuses TechCrunch of Swaying World Markets! I AM SHOCKED! PLEASE READ!”

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  51. I won’t be there, either — hopefully we’ll see you at MIX.

    I’m amazed that you now feel that “megabloggers” like Arrington are above criticism now, while arguing that line employees at an organization shouldn’t be allowed to express personal opinions. You’ve certainly turned “Naked Conversations” upside-down and joined the dark side, if you really believe that.

    You know what it was like having people call MSFT and try to get you fired, and you know as well as I do that you crossed the line plenty of times and kept your job only because people stuck up for your right to speak your opinions. If you think that you stayed employed at MSFT by never screwing up, you’ve truly lost touch with your roots. I would expect more empathy for a fellow blogger from you, of all people.

    And if you followed Dare’s tweets, you’d see that he called out Boomtown and Alley Insider for the same biased gloating — and defending Google and Yahoo! is hardly “MSFT attacking TechCrunch”.

    I suspect that Mike Arrington was so flattered than someone would believe him relevant enough to impact stock market indices, that he wanted to draw attention to it. “Bill Gates Accuses TechCrunch of Swaying World Markets! I AM SHOCKED! PLEASE READ!”

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  52. Scobleizer, why are you injecting yourself into what should be a personal spat? I find it absurd that this whole thing is on the front page of TechCrunch when it is clearly something personal between Michael and Dare.

    Dare’s blog is not an official company blog, and that is made clear. They are his opinions, just as yours are on this blog… correct? Or was Fast Company behind your letter to fellow democrats? Was Fast Company behind the post where you “attacked”/ critiqued all of the startups sites a while back? How about when you were at Microsoft and posted about the company backing certain political things in the state of Washington? No – they were your thoughts, on your blog.

    Because Dare works for Microsoft, he is not allowed to have his own thoughts on his own blog without it being some company mandate or official line, or he should “face consequences”? I suppose his choice in music should also be considered, since it is posted at the bottom of his posts, and I doubt Microsoft would endorse it all. Point being, it is a personal blog with a personal opinion, just as you have had at your employers, where things are written that have opinions that may or may not go along with the company or those that are written about. Given you have written about how you would “die to protect free speech”, I find your involvment in this strange.

    It is also rather amusing that his post was a so called “attack”. Given that TechCrunch purchased F*ckedCompany it is rather funny that this is now what would be considered an attack. In fact, I saw nothing that should be considered an attack. Compare the post in question to what Arrington wrote on Twitter – i.e. name calling etc.

    Further, why is this even worthy of being on TechCrunch? TechCrunch is not some personal blog. It is supposedly a real business. For this to be on TechCrunch is like you posting this at Fast Company, or Microsoft issuing it as a press release or on something like Scott Guthrie’s blog which is deemed official communication. It is ridiculous and unprofessional. As an example, while I think the name calling on Twitter was absurd, Twitter is not a business site – it was personal posting, so totally fine, but to post it on a company site, why? Again, unprofessional. How does that fit with what people go to TechCrunch for? What’s next – Arrington posting about what he ate for dinner? Totally fine for a personal site, but it is supposed to be a business right? With other writers and with a set of topics it covers. The post almost makes it more F*ckedCompany like in some ways.

    The main thing is, so a guy writes about TechCrunch covering things in a way deemed like F*ckedCompany, fine. How is that an attack? How is that any different then any of the millions of people talking about how the New York Times has a slant? Would it not be absurd to see an article about that

    I also found it a bit low brow and suspect that Michael commented about Dare’s father. What did that have to do with anything? That is out of bounds.

    Finally, as I said, I do not understand why you are getting involved, but you know what – it is your personal blog, and as stated above – more power to you, that is your right. Why not post this as a Fast Company video too? See, that would be absurd. However, if you have evidence that Microsoft has some company mandate, telling people to “attack” others from their personal blogs – that is news and you should produce it, rather than intimating and throwing out in your comments.

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  53. Scobleizer, why are you injecting yourself into what should be a personal spat? I find it absurd that this whole thing is on the front page of TechCrunch when it is clearly something personal between Michael and Dare.

    Dare’s blog is not an official company blog, and that is made clear. They are his opinions, just as yours are on this blog… correct? Or was Fast Company behind your letter to fellow democrats? Was Fast Company behind the post where you “attacked”/ critiqued all of the startups sites a while back? How about when you were at Microsoft and posted about the company backing certain political things in the state of Washington? No – they were your thoughts, on your blog.

    Because Dare works for Microsoft, he is not allowed to have his own thoughts on his own blog without it being some company mandate or official line, or he should “face consequences”? I suppose his choice in music should also be considered, since it is posted at the bottom of his posts, and I doubt Microsoft would endorse it all. Point being, it is a personal blog with a personal opinion, just as you have had at your employers, where things are written that have opinions that may or may not go along with the company or those that are written about. Given you have written about how you would “die to protect free speech”, I find your involvment in this strange.

    It is also rather amusing that his post was a so called “attack”. Given that TechCrunch purchased F*ckedCompany it is rather funny that this is now what would be considered an attack. In fact, I saw nothing that should be considered an attack. Compare the post in question to what Arrington wrote on Twitter – i.e. name calling etc.

    Further, why is this even worthy of being on TechCrunch? TechCrunch is not some personal blog. It is supposedly a real business. For this to be on TechCrunch is like you posting this at Fast Company, or Microsoft issuing it as a press release or on something like Scott Guthrie’s blog which is deemed official communication. It is ridiculous and unprofessional. As an example, while I think the name calling on Twitter was absurd, Twitter is not a business site – it was personal posting, so totally fine, but to post it on a company site, why? Again, unprofessional. How does that fit with what people go to TechCrunch for? What’s next – Arrington posting about what he ate for dinner? Totally fine for a personal site, but it is supposed to be a business right? With other writers and with a set of topics it covers. The post almost makes it more F*ckedCompany like in some ways.

    The main thing is, so a guy writes about TechCrunch covering things in a way deemed like F*ckedCompany, fine. How is that an attack? How is that any different then any of the millions of people talking about how the New York Times has a slant? Would it not be absurd to see an article about that

    I also found it a bit low brow and suspect that Michael commented about Dare’s father. What did that have to do with anything? That is out of bounds.

    Finally, as I said, I do not understand why you are getting involved, but you know what – it is your personal blog, and as stated above – more power to you, that is your right. Why not post this as a Fast Company video too? See, that would be absurd. However, if you have evidence that Microsoft has some company mandate, telling people to “attack” others from their personal blogs – that is news and you should produce it, rather than intimating and throwing out in your comments.

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  54. If I read you correctly, you’re calling on Microsoft to censor an employee’s personal blog. Is that really what you’re calling for?

    Think of the chill over free expression that would cause over all bloggers at Microsoft – among other bloggers employed by others. Yes, blogging has its consequences, but is it up to an employer to be the police or the community as a whole to simply decide that a blogger is relevant, or irrelevant?

    Or should we all be blogging anonymously? I am rather surprised at your position here as I would imagine that while you were at Microsoft, an attempt to censor you by Microsoft would not have sit well with you.

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  55. If I read you correctly, you’re calling on Microsoft to censor an employee’s personal blog. Is that really what you’re calling for?

    Think of the chill over free expression that would cause over all bloggers at Microsoft – among other bloggers employed by others. Yes, blogging has its consequences, but is it up to an employer to be the police or the community as a whole to simply decide that a blogger is relevant, or irrelevant?

    Or should we all be blogging anonymously? I am rather surprised at your position here as I would imagine that while you were at Microsoft, an attempt to censor you by Microsoft would not have sit well with you.

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  56. Interesting that my comment was removed, just as people are complaining about on TechCrunch. I guess you no longer “would die to protect free speech” as you posted once.

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  57. Interesting that my comment was removed, just as people are complaining about on TechCrunch. I guess you no longer “would die to protect free speech” as you posted once.

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  58. So disappointed in this post. I’m afraid to leave my actual comments on this as it could be taken out of context and used as an attack. I do however think this is just Robert cashing in on the TechCrunch vs Dare @ Microsoft saga.

    Can we all maybe growup and move forward? Why is it there always needs to be conflict?

    –
    Scott Barnes
    Microsoft.

    Like

  59. So disappointed in this post. I’m afraid to leave my actual comments on this as it could be taken out of context and used as an attack. I do however think this is just Robert cashing in on the TechCrunch vs Dare @ Microsoft saga.

    Can we all maybe growup and move forward? Why is it there always needs to be conflict?

    –
    Scott Barnes
    Microsoft.

    Like

  60. I’d like to let everyone know that I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading a post whose only purpose was to make me to fee sorry for Scoble and his pals. Um, I’d like my 5 minutes back please!

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  61. I’d like to let everyone know that I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading a post whose only purpose was to make me to fee sorry for Scoble and his pals. Um, I’d like my 5 minutes back please!

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  66. Mike: no, that’s not what I’m saying. You also misrepresented EVERYTHING I said when I worked at Microsoft. When your staff on the front counter of your store starts yelling at the customers, and especially the press who are bringing in customers, you should get told off. I got told off when I worked at Microsoft a few times for stuff I wrote.

    Arguing with the press is stupid when you’re a corporate blogger and Dare is one of the top five bloggers representing Microsoft in the community. I would never have stood up for that kind of blogging at Microsoft and I would have been wrong to do that.

    I know lots of executives who don’t like the press at Microsoft. Have you ever see them lash out as someone like Walt Mossberg? No. Tell me, why is that? Because it would be stupid.

    Scott: why does there need to be a conflict? Well, you sure seem to be feeding conflict when you say I’m just doing this to take advantage of a situation. It seems to me that there could be grave consequences to me for giving my point of view.

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  67. Mike: no, that’s not what I’m saying. You also misrepresented EVERYTHING I said when I worked at Microsoft. When your staff on the front counter of your store starts yelling at the customers, and especially the press who are bringing in customers, you should get told off. I got told off when I worked at Microsoft a few times for stuff I wrote.

    Arguing with the press is stupid when you’re a corporate blogger and Dare is one of the top five bloggers representing Microsoft in the community. I would never have stood up for that kind of blogging at Microsoft and I would have been wrong to do that.

    I know lots of executives who don’t like the press at Microsoft. Have you ever see them lash out as someone like Walt Mossberg? No. Tell me, why is that? Because it would be stupid.

    Scott: why does there need to be a conflict? Well, you sure seem to be feeding conflict when you say I’m just doing this to take advantage of a situation. It seems to me that there could be grave consequences to me for giving my point of view.

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  68. TKH if it took you five minutes to read a few hundred words you must be a slow reader. Just hit “J” in Google Reader sometime. It’s a great keyboard command.

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  69. TKH if it took you five minutes to read a few hundred words you must be a slow reader. Just hit “J” in Google Reader sometime. It’s a great keyboard command.

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  70. So let me get this right. It is ok for every blogger out there to trash MS on a daily basis and make a living from it, but MS can never fire back? And if they do, you take your marbles and go home. This sounds so high school.

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  71. So let me get this right. It is ok for every blogger out there to trash MS on a daily basis and make a living from it, but MS can never fire back? And if they do, you take your marbles and go home. This sounds so high school.

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  73. Robert, can you share what you think the appropriate response should have been or be from Microsoft?

    Fire Dare?
    Publically call him out?
    Privately scold him?
    Ban blogging my Microsoft employees?
    Understand that bloggers may have personal opinions and ignore it?
    Other?

    What kind of response would make you conclude that MSFT gets it, whatever it is?

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  75. Robert, can you share what you think the appropriate response should have been or be from Microsoft?

    Fire Dare?
    Publically call him out?
    Privately scold him?
    Ban blogging my Microsoft employees?
    Understand that bloggers may have personal opinions and ignore it?
    Other?

    What kind of response would make you conclude that MSFT gets it, whatever it is?

    Like

  78. I do not agree with two reasons that you gave :
    Number of journalists and bloggers that will be there : Sure, there will be a lot, but you have your own opinion and we people like to read whats your perception. Always a first hand experience is good. It is fair to say, there wont be too much concrete and if that is the reason perfect.

    Second one would be, you dont get good videos. Might be true, but we people are more interested in opinion, people you interview rather than the quality of video.

    I completely agree with reasoning about feeling unwelcome and respect that.

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  79. I do not agree with two reasons that you gave :
    Number of journalists and bloggers that will be there : Sure, there will be a lot, but you have your own opinion and we people like to read whats your perception. Always a first hand experience is good. It is fair to say, there wont be too much concrete and if that is the reason perfect.

    Second one would be, you dont get good videos. Might be true, but we people are more interested in opinion, people you interview rather than the quality of video.

    I completely agree with reasoning about feeling unwelcome and respect that.

    Like

  80. Robert, I’ve read Walt Mossberg. I knew Walt Mossberg. (I wish) Walt Mossberg was my friend. Robert, you’re no Walt Mossberg. 🙂

    On a more serious note:

    Robert, if you are one of those very important bloggers that everyone should be careful not to offend, then you have taken yourself out of the conversation. As soon as you put yourself above the conversation, you are no longer in it.

    So, okay, you’ve earned your status a member of the press, but you are no longer worthy of the title “blogger”.

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  81. Robert, I’ve read Walt Mossberg. I knew Walt Mossberg. (I wish) Walt Mossberg was my friend. Robert, you’re no Walt Mossberg. 🙂

    On a more serious note:

    Robert, if you are one of those very important bloggers that everyone should be careful not to offend, then you have taken yourself out of the conversation. As soon as you put yourself above the conversation, you are no longer in it.

    So, okay, you’ve earned your status a member of the press, but you are no longer worthy of the title “blogger”.

    Like

  82. Robert,

    Feeding conflict or trying to stop conflict? as the way I see it you’re implications are reckless and given the tone of comments on this post, it appears your readers aren’t in agreement with your stance.

    Michael Arrington had a bad day yesterday, he’s retracted some of the tone within his post to reflect it’s actually between Dare@Microsoft and TechCrunch, not TechCrunch and Microsoft. To me, this shows a not only courage but the right thing to do to and that’s worth mentioning.

    Your post on the other hand, still stands and now you seem to be alone in your little quest here?

    My point still stands, that there is no need to be negative all the time. It just fuels ignorance and it’s a lesson I’ve learnt the hardway (making the point that we’re all human).

    Your move champ.

    –
    Scott Barnes
    Microsoft.

    Like

  83. Robert,

    Feeding conflict or trying to stop conflict? as the way I see it you’re implications are reckless and given the tone of comments on this post, it appears your readers aren’t in agreement with your stance.

    Michael Arrington had a bad day yesterday, he’s retracted some of the tone within his post to reflect it’s actually between Dare@Microsoft and TechCrunch, not TechCrunch and Microsoft. To me, this shows a not only courage but the right thing to do to and that’s worth mentioning.

    Your post on the other hand, still stands and now you seem to be alone in your little quest here?

    My point still stands, that there is no need to be negative all the time. It just fuels ignorance and it’s a lesson I’ve learnt the hardway (making the point that we’re all human).

    Your move champ.

    –
    Scott Barnes
    Microsoft.

    Like

  84. Translation: No one spoon-fed me. Even my not going is big news, as I am all important, if I am not there, it doesn’t matter, time to royally mess up their party. I will latch onto some insider-backroom spat, including the overall worldwide economy in general, adding them on as an excuse.

    Really, geeesh. Lower the ego. Go if want, don’t go if don’t, your reasons are your own. And shutupaboutit.

    Like

  85. Translation: No one spoon-fed me. Even my not going is big news, as I am all important, if I am not there, it doesn’t matter, time to royally mess up their party. I will latch onto some insider-backroom spat, including the overall worldwide economy in general, adding them on as an excuse.

    Really, geeesh. Lower the ego. Go if want, don’t go if don’t, your reasons are your own. And shutupaboutit.

    Like

  86. five minutes to read a few hundred words you must be a slow reader.

    Some people like to focus on that thing called comprehension, which eventually becomes retention. I am a slow reader every day, on Arts and Letters.

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  87. five minutes to read a few hundred words you must be a slow reader.

    Some people like to focus on that thing called comprehension, which eventually becomes retention. I am a slow reader every day, on Arts and Letters.

    Like

  88. Mike: I get attacked more than anyone in the business. Just read Valleywag. Most of what got me worked up is the defense that personal blogging doesn’t reflect at all on the company. It absolutely does for right or wrong.

    Scott: I’m not doing this cause Mike told me to. I just am noticing a trend that you should discuss with your PR team and decide for yourself if that’s “smart blogging.” If you think it is, keep it up!

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  89. Mike: I get attacked more than anyone in the business. Just read Valleywag. Most of what got me worked up is the defense that personal blogging doesn’t reflect at all on the company. It absolutely does for right or wrong.

    Scott: I’m not doing this cause Mike told me to. I just am noticing a trend that you should discuss with your PR team and decide for yourself if that’s “smart blogging.” If you think it is, keep it up!

    Like

  90. Robert,

    I don’t see how you have the right to criticize but other’s don’t. Are you guys trying to be internet’s elitist’s?

    – Praveen

    Like

  91. Robert,

    I don’t see how you have the right to criticize but other’s don’t. Are you guys trying to be internet’s elitist’s?

    – Praveen

    Like

  92. I am sorry to say, but you have token a partisan stance on the situation. You make it seem like a corporate blogger standing up for something he believes in is a attack on follow bloggers. But really this reminds me of a republican. No matter how wrong they are they will still lie in your face, while never point to any facts. ie no link to what your talking about. As the year go by your sinking lower and lower. I mean at least pirillo to the plunge into the b***sh**. Dear Microsoft, what is this a Dear John letter, as if your were breaking up with someone. Have some integrity

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  93. I am sorry to say, but you have token a partisan stance on the situation. You make it seem like a corporate blogger standing up for something he believes in is a attack on follow bloggers. But really this reminds me of a republican. No matter how wrong they are they will still lie in your face, while never point to any facts. ie no link to what your talking about. As the year go by your sinking lower and lower. I mean at least pirillo to the plunge into the b***sh**. Dear Microsoft, what is this a Dear John letter, as if your were breaking up with someone. Have some integrity

    Like

  94. Alijah: fair enough. But life isn’t fair when you are a blogger associated with a company. It’s more akin to working the front counter of a store.

    But, I do see that I pushed this too far. I apologize. Go on with your lives. I’m still not going because of the other reasons. At the last PDC there were hundreds of press people. I’m sure you’ll hear all about it.

    Like

  95. Alijah: fair enough. But life isn’t fair when you are a blogger associated with a company. It’s more akin to working the front counter of a store.

    But, I do see that I pushed this too far. I apologize. Go on with your lives. I’m still not going because of the other reasons. At the last PDC there were hundreds of press people. I’m sure you’ll hear all about it.

    Like

  96. Robert: Yes, I agree that personal blogging can affect the company. I also think it’s fine to express opinions, even critical ones, in a professional manner.

    The two phrases you wrote that really got me were “without consequences” and your reference to “never attack anyone who used ink by the barrel”.

    The “without consequences” comment still puzzles me. What do you mean by that? How would you even know that there were no consequences?

    And with the “ink by the barrel” comment you’re really putting yourself on a pedestal. I would argue that every single blogger or non-blogger, customer or anyone else deserves the same kind of respect that you do. If anything, it’s you guys who would be the first one who deserve criticism over anyone else.

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  97. Robert: Yes, I agree that personal blogging can affect the company. I also think it’s fine to express opinions, even critical ones, in a professional manner.

    The two phrases you wrote that really got me were “without consequences” and your reference to “never attack anyone who used ink by the barrel”.

    The “without consequences” comment still puzzles me. What do you mean by that? How would you even know that there were no consequences?

    And with the “ink by the barrel” comment you’re really putting yourself on a pedestal. I would argue that every single blogger or non-blogger, customer or anyone else deserves the same kind of respect that you do. If anything, it’s you guys who would be the first one who deserve criticism over anyone else.

    Like

  98. I just notice a trend if you’re a blogger then you should not like what Microsoft does at all. ? what am I talking about when blogger s are so hell bent to suggest to stay with windows xp, never blinking a eye to the competition. And all the problems as if you didn’t notice them.

    Like

  99. I just notice a trend if you’re a blogger then you should not like what Microsoft does at all. ? what am I talking about when blogger s are so hell bent to suggest to stay with windows xp, never blinking a eye to the competition. And all the problems as if you didn’t notice them.

    Like

  100. we don’t care if you go or not Robert its. Its more about the slander. Like I said have some integrity

    Like

  101. we don’t care if you go or not Robert its. Its more about the slander. Like I said have some integrity

    Like

  104. last comment, because I just can’t believe the balls on this guy. I don’t think the bloggest sphere was expecting you to cover anything. Even when you were at Microsoft you didn’t do them justice

    Like

  105. last comment, because I just can’t believe the balls on this guy. I don’t think the bloggest sphere was expecting you to cover anything. Even when you were at Microsoft you didn’t do them justice

    Like

  106. Mike: because I’ve been noticing attacks frequently and over a period of time, so obviously they aren’t feeling any consequences (including on other blogs than Dare’s, and continuing to Alijah’s posts here). This isn’t the first time I’ve seen it. Alijah: slander? Dude, please do look up the meaning of that word. No one slandered anyone. Certainly not me. I didn’t even say the name of any specific person, so no way I slandered anyone.

    Like

  107. Mike: because I’ve been noticing attacks frequently and over a period of time, so obviously they aren’t feeling any consequences (including on other blogs than Dare’s, and continuing to Alijah’s posts here). This isn’t the first time I’ve seen it. Alijah: slander? Dude, please do look up the meaning of that word. No one slandered anyone. Certainly not me. I didn’t even say the name of any specific person, so no way I slandered anyone.

    Like

  108. Mike: I disagree. Why don’t you ask PR professionals why they counsel people not to attack the press. There’s a reason for that. It reflects badly on everyone who does it (including me, look at the pushback I’m getting here and I didn’t even attack anyone by name).

    Like

  109. Mike: I disagree. Why don’t you ask PR professionals why they counsel people not to attack the press. There’s a reason for that. It reflects badly on everyone who does it (including me, look at the pushback I’m getting here and I didn’t even attack anyone by name).

    Like

  112. Mike is right here. There’s a lot of background to the incident that most people don’t see. What most people think is that Dare blogged something bad about TC and Mike fired back in an over reacted manner.

    Well, that’s just not true. Dare is a Microsoft blogger. Why does Microsoft hire bloggers? And just because MS is a BIG company doesn’t mean it ignores little entities. It’s like an army of ants working on several minor things. It’s a huge machine with thousands taking care of minute things. That’s what makes it BIG.

    That said, let me give you a bit of background on this incident. This is Dare’s second attack on TC. First attack: MS was hiring people to edit it’s wikipedia pages in favor of it’s format against ODF to become the standard. This is clearly unethical and Mike blogged about it criticizing MS. This Dare Obasanjo dude goes and defaces TC’s wikipedia entry and confronts Mike to do what he can about it. Now, this is clearly not a *personal opinion*. It reflects on MS and not just Dare.

    Second attack: Gillmor put up a post on TechCrunchIT retaliating Dare who was criticizing new standards bodies which were backed by Google, Yahoo, etc., These are mostly the standards which Plaxo and other guys are trying to frame and promote. Now MS isn’t involved in these discussions and had not responded to their invites. Dare was of the opinion that IETF was the body to promote internet standards and these smaller and ad-hoc standard committees are a farce and backed by Google et.,al to outwit MS. Gillmor countered that many important standards like OAuth, OpenID, etc., had emerged in similar ad-hoc manner and that waiting for IETF to formally approve standards was just out of pace with the speed at which the internet is moving. Dare counters again and calls Gillmor names and accuses him of personal attack. Gillmor puts up another post explaining his position and saying it was not a personal attack. Then comes Dare’s post attacking Mike and TechCrunch. Now, this isn’t exactly *personal opinion*. It is clearly MS engine at work. And Mike was right in calling it out. This was all as a response to TechCrunchIT supporting competing standards.

    Now coming to this MossyBlog dude here in twitter encounter, even if theres no central mandate, it is driven by the employee’s pride for his company. Now he is *pride-blind* and not objective. He feels MS’s interference with their bloggers is minimal. But then, MS *has-to* look at their blogger’s behavior when they go attacking other bloggers. MS wants to become a part of the blogosphere and want to have their voice by hiring bloggers. Surely then, it should also make sure to watch their step. You can’t shrug it off as employee’s *personal opinion*.

    Like

  113. Mike is right here. There’s a lot of background to the incident that most people don’t see. What most people think is that Dare blogged something bad about TC and Mike fired back in an over reacted manner.

    Well, that’s just not true. Dare is a Microsoft blogger. Why does Microsoft hire bloggers? And just because MS is a BIG company doesn’t mean it ignores little entities. It’s like an army of ants working on several minor things. It’s a huge machine with thousands taking care of minute things. That’s what makes it BIG.

    That said, let me give you a bit of background on this incident. This is Dare’s second attack on TC. First attack: MS was hiring people to edit it’s wikipedia pages in favor of it’s format against ODF to become the standard. This is clearly unethical and Mike blogged about it criticizing MS. This Dare Obasanjo dude goes and defaces TC’s wikipedia entry and confronts Mike to do what he can about it. Now, this is clearly not a *personal opinion*. It reflects on MS and not just Dare.

    Second attack: Gillmor put up a post on TechCrunchIT retaliating Dare who was criticizing new standards bodies which were backed by Google, Yahoo, etc., These are mostly the standards which Plaxo and other guys are trying to frame and promote. Now MS isn’t involved in these discussions and had not responded to their invites. Dare was of the opinion that IETF was the body to promote internet standards and these smaller and ad-hoc standard committees are a farce and backed by Google et.,al to outwit MS. Gillmor countered that many important standards like OAuth, OpenID, etc., had emerged in similar ad-hoc manner and that waiting for IETF to formally approve standards was just out of pace with the speed at which the internet is moving. Dare counters again and calls Gillmor names and accuses him of personal attack. Gillmor puts up another post explaining his position and saying it was not a personal attack. Then comes Dare’s post attacking Mike and TechCrunch. Now, this isn’t exactly *personal opinion*. It is clearly MS engine at work. And Mike was right in calling it out. This was all as a response to TechCrunchIT supporting competing standards.

    Now coming to this MossyBlog dude here in twitter encounter, even if theres no central mandate, it is driven by the employee’s pride for his company. Now he is *pride-blind* and not objective. He feels MS’s interference with their bloggers is minimal. But then, MS *has-to* look at their blogger’s behavior when they go attacking other bloggers. MS wants to become a part of the blogosphere and want to have their voice by hiring bloggers. Surely then, it should also make sure to watch their step. You can’t shrug it off as employee’s *personal opinion*.

    Like

  114. Robert: Mostly I like, or at least understand your position. This time no. Well I get the bit where you say why you don’t want to go.

    The second bit I don’t get. Are you saying these bloggers are enticed by Microsoft and should be reigned in? Or are you saying Microsoft should mind what their employees blog about? I e, if i take exeption to a blog post, I should be able to complain to the bloggers employer?

    I’m sure I’m missing something due to lack of information. Sorry if these are stupid question but could you straighten this out?

    Like

  115. Robert: Mostly I like, or at least understand your position. This time no. Well I get the bit where you say why you don’t want to go.

    The second bit I don’t get. Are you saying these bloggers are enticed by Microsoft and should be reigned in? Or are you saying Microsoft should mind what their employees blog about? I e, if i take exeption to a blog post, I should be able to complain to the bloggers employer?

    I’m sure I’m missing something due to lack of information. Sorry if these are stupid question but could you straighten this out?

    Like

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  119. Scoble who? Oh yeah, that guy who had his 15 minutes of fame 5 years ago or something? You will be missed.

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  120. Scoble who? Oh yeah, that guy who had his 15 minutes of fame 5 years ago or something? You will be missed.

    Like

  123. Scoble. I don’t work for MSFT and I also think you are an idiot. Do you really think MSFT ‘cares’….they don’t.

    BTW, the small new aggressive start-ups. They (the ones that are smart at least) don’t care if you cover them either.

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  124. Scoble. I don’t work for MSFT and I also think you are an idiot. Do you really think MSFT ‘cares’….they don’t.

    BTW, the small new aggressive start-ups. They (the ones that are smart at least) don’t care if you cover them either.

    Like

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  128. Robert, I cannot believe you are defending a corrupt, manipulative slimeball like MA. Mike’s post on this matter explicitly tries to get Dare muffled. Mike is a complete dick; almost everything he writes is so unbelievably spun and twisted that it’s unreadable – I certainly don’t subscribe. I can only cringe and watch in horror as some folks take it too seriously and send links into my reading stream.

    If TC went out of business or otherwise was disappeared, the world would be a better and brighter place.

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  129. Robert, I cannot believe you are defending a corrupt, manipulative slimeball like MA. Mike’s post on this matter explicitly tries to get Dare muffled. Mike is a complete dick; almost everything he writes is so unbelievably spun and twisted that it’s unreadable – I certainly don’t subscribe. I can only cringe and watch in horror as some folks take it too seriously and send links into my reading stream.

    If TC went out of business or otherwise was disappeared, the world would be a better and brighter place.

    Like

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