- “I read with amusement your recent piece on the rapid resolution of the google blog deletion, since of course blogger kills blogs every day (just browse the blogger support google group for head counts). One of the kill tactics that is especially swell is their spambot. Now I have no sympathy for true splogs and I appreciate that they’re trying to combat this. But as our small public library just found out, spam isn’t all they’re killing.”
BLOGS
Google Hates Public Library’s Blog
By 4.3.06
WalMart *Does* Sell Purple Ribbon
By 3.30.06
We’ve been covering this Wal-Mart in Missouri accused of refusing to sell “immoral” purple Mardi Gras ribbon. Eagle-eyed reader Beth took a close look at some of the pictures the NoCoast blog posted to support their claim.
Photos: WalMart Won’t Sell Sinful Mardi Gras Ribbon
By 3.30.06
We earlier reported that a Missouri Wal-Mart might be refusing to stock ribbons useable for Mardi Gras decorations. Jon asserts that when he tried to buy purple ribbon, he was told Mardi Gras was immoral, un-Christian, caused rape, and he was escorted from the store by Wal-Mart employees.
UPDATE: Wal-Mart’s ‘Sinful’ Purple Ribbon, a Hoax?
By 3.29.06
As we reported earlier, a Missouri Wal-Mart was accused of refusing to sell purple ribbon, stating it could be used for immoral Mardis Gras celebrations.
Walmart Refuses to Sell ‘Sinful’ Purple Ribbon, Man Claims
By 3.29.06
Jon usually avoids shopping at Wal-Mart, but was blessed/cursed with a gift card. He wanted to buy some purple ribbon and use it to make a Mardi Gras chair. He claims Wal-Mart refused to sell him the ribbon for ‘moral’ reasons and escorted him out the store.
More on AP Blog Plagiarism: “We only credit blogs we know.”
By 3.29.06
Some follow-up to the story we reported on the other day about the AP not crediting bloggers. Luscious Larissa Alexandrovich, the blogger who was plagiarized by AP for a story she did on revised guidelines for US security clearance, wrote us to point our attention to the new tact AP is taking to excuse the plagiarism: now they claim that while they do credit bloggers, they don’t credit bloggers they don’t know.
Quantifying Bad Word Of Mouth
By 3.20.06
We saw over at Church of the Customer Blog that some new research has attempted to quantify the effect of bad word of mouth. The statistics aren’t encouraging for companies inclined to approach the concept of customer satisfaction only in the aggregate.
Steve Rubel Blog Marketing Q&A At Washington Post
By 3.10.06
Speaking of the Walmart/Edelman scandal, there’s a Q&A session with Steve Rubel, senior vice president at Edelman, up at the Washington Post. On one hand, as is the rule-of-greasy-thumb for PR double-speak, most of it seems eminently reasonable and level-headed. In fact, a good amount of it we agree with. But there’s a couple of pearls of wisdom that have tumbled from Rubel’s snout that betray the usual slimy patronization of consumers by executives that gets The Consumerist shouting “Spoon!”
Detroit Pays Attention To Bloggers
By 3.10.06
Despite the rant we posted yesterday from Lori Green of GM, it appears that Detroit car manufacturers are slowly beginning to take actual measure of criticism directed at them. The Tennessean has an article up detailing how Detroit automobile companies are learning that they ignore bloggers’ criticisms at their peril.
PR Monolith Edelman’s Wal-Mart Cramps and Diarrhea
By 3.8.06
A brief glance on what goes on inside the mind of PR giant and Wal-Mart lover, Richard Edelman, courtesy of Gawker.com. Our virginal, Harriet-the-Spy-esque sister writes,
PR Agency Steps Up About Wal-Mart Blogging
By 3.8.06
We emailed Steve Rubel, a PR blog maven who recently was hired by Edelman, the same PR agency handling the Wal-Mart blog apparatchik. We asked him what he thought of the Wal-Mart blog affair. He passed our email along to Marshall at Blue World Wide, the advertising division of Edelman, who wrote us a nice note…after the jump.
Source Email From Wal-Mart’s Blogtrusion
By 3.7.06
Here’s an email Mark Thomas, an economics blogger, received from Wal-Mart via an employee of Edelman.
Walmart Loves Blogging
By 3.7.06
Walmart is drawing bloggers into the fold to help burnish its tarnished image.
Blogs Get Whited-Out by Bic
By 3.7.06
The Ad-Rag advertising blog got white-out slathered on it for posting unauthorized Bic ads.
Pherotones offers $6900.69 for Videos of Randy Ringtones
By 2.22.06
Despite being outed on The Consumerist and on at least one of the very blogs it advertises on, the Pherotones campaign continues, oblvious to its irrelevance.
Sprint Will Give Us a Free Cell Phone For Our Honest Bile
By 2.21.06
Sprint just approached us to be “Ambassadors.” Basically, Sprint gives us a free Power Vision Phone and service for six months in return for our “candid feedback.”
