Posts Tagged ‘debate’

Point and counter point … bottled water

Great example of an exposé of ‘Manufactured Demand’ for bottled water … Followed by a ‘fake journalism’ (complete with ‘noddies’) PR/propaganda fightback by the bottled water manufacturers*…’Good Stewards of the Environment’ How do they keep a straight face? *Let me know what BWM Report could possibly stand for.

Why ‘legal action’ can be sooo dangerous …

Look at the sort of thing comes out in the wash: For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately “roughed up” the videos to make them [...]

The peasants are revolting

Remember this?: Very recently, it seems, under threat and pressure from different advertisers/spruikers, or the poor economy, or something, the ‘corruption’ (to use a word I really dislike) appears to have spread. It has now reached the point where … the forum Moderators and management appear to be actually CENSORING THE DISCUSSION FORUM to make [...]

A tale of woe … or fevered imagination?

The vast majority of the world’s population will NEVER visit an online discussion forum. They don’t care. (More important things to do etc.) Those who do (visit, and care) can be divided into a few categories from lurkers (who look but don’t post) to occasional and regular posters, to fanatical networkers and naked self-promoters who [...]

On the wall of honour … Fake Steve Jobs on Google

So good, I had to plonk it here: One of my heroes, Fake Steve Jobs (Dan Lyons)… China to Google: Drop dead Minister of Information Technology says Google must obey the laws or leave, and China doesn’t give a crap because they’ll be just fine without Google. (Especially since they apparently can waltz into Google’s [...]

Ad-supported site … or ‘supporting’ the advertisers? A case study.

An interesting debate is rumblng about the use of Ad-blockers on web browsers… Ars Technica’s Ken Fisher laid out his case “Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love” including this section which got me thinking: My argument is simple: blocking ads can be devastating to the sites you love. I am not [...]

When propaganda turns into ‘demonizing’ …

Sometimes a zealot can go ‘too far’ …. even for his/her own supporters. I’ve seen it in political debate. I’ve seen it in business. The ‘object’ of the exercise — the debate, the contest of ideas — becomes somehow personal, and the ‘campaign’ can start to lose focus. It can be like a blood lust [...]

Talking with Dave: thoughts about media blur

I’m part way through an online conversation with Dave, who I like, about hyperbolic opinion pieces masquerading as news (what I call the Glenn Beck/Fox News effect). We’re discussing Dave’s frustration with the “blur” between news and opinion. Dave said: I wouldn’t mind if the media did genuinely report as an opinion piece. At least [...]

Good move: recognize inevitability

On a hiding to nothing Sometimes a party to a lawsuit has to recognize they’re holding a losing hand, and put an end to the dispute. Certainly, in my experience, it can take a while for reality to sink in to your opponent’s cranium. A long dispute means both parties are wrong, said Voltaire, which [...]

Cor!

Anyone who ever felt intimidated by a border crossing can be thankful they didn’t get this treatment. Lily Sussman’s story interests me for two reasons beyond the Midnight Express/travel horror story aspects. 1) Wow! The hard drive still works! 2) Look at the discussion on Lily Sussman’s blog about the Israel/Occupied Palestine issue. It gets [...]