[arg_discuss] Deception and what it means to be Real

[Michael Monello]

On 6/19/09 12:21 PM, "Brooke Thompson" <brooke at giantmice.com> wrote:

On it's own, the blood copy blog is fine and adds
value to its readers. However, when that content is pushed onto
another site, it districts users from what they went there for in the
first place - it takes away value.


Actually there's a much much deeper (and more interesting) story here that involves an article published by someone who didn't bother to check facts and then when retracted posted a screed about deception and lies (rather than the true mea culpa that should have been written), and the Gawker editorial staff taking sides very publicly against the advertising staff.

The post you link to was the first contact readers of gawker sites had with the integration, establishing a tone that was instantly combative and not based on the content at all. To be really crass about it - the editorial department shit in the pool before anyone had a chance to dip a toe in.

The question as to whether readers would have responded differently remains - the bloodcopy posts were not taking away from what people came for, they were attempts to tell a fictional story through the space usually occupied by banner ads.

There were definitely issues with the way it was handled, particularly between Gawker editorial and advertising, no doubt.

The story is too rich for me to write here, but I'd be happy to share it over beers at ARGFest if anyone is interested, as I'm sure it would spark interesting discussion and debate.


---
Mike Monello
Partner, Campfire
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