Our panel discussion last night was a huge success, and seemed to be enjoyed by all. For those of you who sadly could not attend, please enjoy these two fine write-ups of the event from FishbowlNY and the Wall Street Journal. To get an idea of what was said, here’s some folks who were Twittering the event using #CR as the hashtag. We’ll post video of the panel later. We’d also like to thank all the readers who made it out to Manhattan to say hello. It was nice to put some faces to log-ins.
psas
Drink With Consumerist In DC
By 5.14.09
Ben and Meg have finished their interview with Austan Goolsbee and we are now heading to Recessions to drink cheap beers in big mugs. Come join us! (Photo: Jeremy Brooks)
You're Invited To A Consumerist Panel Party
By 5.13.09
Consumer Reports and Consumerist are hosting a panel on how online media is making a difference for consumers. Panelists include myself, Ben Popken, Craig Newmark, Rachel Sklar, and Bob Sullivan. Moderated by Kevin Mckean, VP and Editorial Director of Consumer Reports. Come and meet some of the Consumerist gang, get a free drink, hear some media folks jaw, that sort of thing. Tuesday, May 19, 6-8pm, NY, NY. Hit rsvp@consumerist.com for location (it’s downtown) and complimentary cocktail. Space limited to first 125 respondents. Fancy invite, inside:
Consumerist Starts Taking It Seriously?
By 5.8.09
Why so serious? Can all these companies really be taking all of these incidents as seriously as they say? Or is “taking it seriously” really just “disaster ketchup,” an all-purpose phrase you can toss on any situation and mask the underlying bad taste it leaves in your mouth? We have no idea, we just know that as long as companies keep messing up, “taking it seriously” will still be with us. However, we have our own policy about “taking it seriously” on Consumerist, which you’ll have to watch this video of me inside the Consumers Union anechoic testing chamber to find out. And if it’s a policy you agree with, shove some bucks in our tipjar at donatetoconsumerist.com.
By 5.6.09
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For a while today, messages sent to tips@consumerist.com bounced. The problem has been fixed. If your tip bounced, please send it again. Or send an entirely new one; we won’t know the difference.
Meg & Ben Dance-Fight The Shaky Machine
By 5.5.09
Ain’t no party like a shaky-machine party! Meg and I were cruising through the halls of Consumers Union, sporting our awesome lab coats, and then we came across this thing. It’s a machine whose whole purpose is to shake. Oh, and tap. That’s not a bad way to go through life. We tried to communicate with it through the universal language of dance. Not sure if what we were saying came out right, we were trying to tell it it should visit donatetoconsumerist.com and toss a few bucks in our tipjar, but I think what came out is that we all agreed to go on a bicycle tour of Europe together this summer.
Answering Some Of Your Tip Jar Questions
By 5.4.09
I’ve noticed a few recurring questions and themes in the donatetoconsumerist.com tip jar comments, so I’m going to take my best crack at answering them.
EAT MANGURT
By 5.1.09
Sorry guys, you just didn’t donate enough. Our tipjar, Donatetoconsumerist.com, has raised $5,639.67 so far with 392 donors. In these tough times, that doesn’t cut the mustard. We’re going to have to start taking sucking down some payola. We’ve already signed our first sponsor: MANGURT.
By 4.29.09
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Follow (Most of) Your Favorite Consumerist Editors On Twitter Aside from Carey, who uses Tumblr because he’s cool, you can find all your favorite Consumerist nerds, as well as the blog itself, on Twitter.
$4,334.86 Raised, Ben Eager To Test Snuggie
By 4.28.09
280 people have donated $4,334.86 to The Consumerist tip jar so far, hootie-hoo. The average donation is $15.48, which surprises me because I ask, “don’t people know you can give as little as two bucks? C’mon, just two bucks to spare at donatetoconsumerist.com.” But I don’t get any response back because I’m still locked inside the Consumer Reports anechoic chamber and there’s no echo. The odd shape of the sound baffling has ceased to baffle me. Instead, it has become my friend. There’s just one thought on my mind. Well, two, really. Firstly, how do I escape. Lastly, I can’t wait to get Consumer Reports to test the Snuggie!
$3,269.84 Raised So Far, Ben Still Stuck In Anechoic Chamber
By 4.27.09
So far 207 people have donated $3,269.84 to The Consumerist Tip Jar. Woo! We’re stoked. We’ve got 3 more weeks of this fund-drive and I bet we can raise a bunch more. Which would be really nice, because, as you can see in this video, I’m still stuck in Consumer Union’s anechoic chamber (a room that has no echo) and having a chair malfunction. See, they’re really serious about keeping us free from commercial influence. That’s why there’s no ads from outside companies on the site that might influence our coverage. But sticking me in an echo-less chamber might be going a little too far. I can hear my own heart beat in my ears. So visit Donatetoconsumerist.com and help us out, and maybe they’ll let me out!
Where Are The Dancing Alien Ads?
By 4.21.09
Here’s our latest donation video installment in which I, sporting a lab-coat and situated inside CU’s anechoic testing chamber, ask the burning question: where are the dancing alien ads on Consumerist? The answer make shock and delight you, and prompt you to visit Donatetoconsumerist.com to stuff some bills in our tip jar of non-profitness. Remember folks, if you do a good job donating, we just might be able to get Consumer Reports to test the Snuggie. No joke.
Carey Will Be Back Next Weekend
By 4.18.09
Our beloved weekend editor Carey is taking the weekend off. I have put on my Carey wig, my Carey vest, my Carey shoes, and my Carey clown nose and will be posting this weekend as a very poor substitute for Carey, while the weather outside is amazing. Here’s a picture of how we probably all feel about this.
New Tip Jar Video! Deep Research Tells Us How To Improve The Site
By 4.17.09
Ben consults the latest high-tech market research tools to find out what we really need to do to make this a better site. Tune in to our latest video, and see what he finds out. Then visit DonateToConsumerist.com for more exciting adventures in fundraising!
DonateToConsumerist.com Launches With Much Fanfare And Fantastic Video
By 4.16.09
Donatetoconsumerist.com is the place to go to stuff some bucks in our tip jar. To entice you to give, we have created a video, featuring myself and Meg in the CU TV labs discussing her need to wear a labcoat, and one of our favorite comments of all time. It ends in violence! I can’t wait till the next one!
Consumerist Gets A Tip Jar
By 4.13.09
I chased Meghann through the hallways of Consumer Reports, a blue lab coat flapping in my hands, myself sporting an identical lab coat. She ducked and dodged, and every time I thought I had her, she reappeared in an opposite doorway and was overall a very wily opponent.
Get A Real Mystery Shopping Gig With Consumer Reports
By 4.3.09
Hey Consumer Reports is hiring actual mystery shoppers to do actual mystery shopping. You can earn some coin, help out other consumers at the same time, and help with the results that end up in the Consumer Reports magazine. Pretty swell. The job posting is inside.
Welcome To The New Improved Consumerist
By 4.1.09
Extensive market research that we paid out the @#$ for has determined that this blog doesn’t contain nearly enough pictures of cakes and cute animals. Today, at the beginning of a new fiscal blogging year, we’re pleased to bring you additional photographs of things you’d like to pet or eat.
