A baby blogger in my peer group (we’re young) has been writing incredibly investigative and analytical posts about in-depth topics many of us wouldn’t take time to write. I’ve been noticing and marveling over the time and thought she’s puts into her content. She’s also become a guest author on a regular basis for several Ad Age Power Bloggers the likes of Danny Brown and Mark Schaefer.
And, that is exactly with whom she had a run in this week — a power blogger (not Danny or Mark); a run in that is akin to a cyber blogger bullying experience.
This woman wrote an article about the use of back links to drive traffic to websites via affiliate marketing. Apparently, there’s something of a black social media market for +1, links, SEO and key-word rich posts, and the like.
What ensued on her post in comments was an outright negative attack by this power blogger who demanded the blog post be retracted, threatened to sue her for libel and refused to calmly review the issue. Following this incident, the said power blogger was tooting his horn on Twitter saying he’d successfully corralled and shut down another “hater.”
Imagine that. An Ad Age Power Blogger took the bull by the horns and called out this baby blogger with no phone call, respect or attempt to understand the facts and the reality. The power blogger’s brand remained intact with another notch on his belt while the baby blogger’s psyche and brand are in need of repair. And, the communications strategy to manage her response has been ongoing throughout the weekend; I know because she and I have been in continuous conversation about appropriate messaging and the strength of the story she needs to tell as a follow-up.
This situation makes me sad — there are so many of us who don’t know the ins and outs of every aspect of blogging — there is a back end that needs coding, there are tools and apps to drive traffic and interactivity, and link building and affiliate marketing have a key place in driving success, too. We who are innocently learning the ropes and bringing authentic content to the forefront are suffering from the likes of egocentric individuals who elect to use bullying tactics and the threat of a lawsuit instead of coherent conversation.
I applaud Neiclole Crepeau for her steadfastness in this matter, and she’s aware it’s been a learning experience. She admits she could’ve chosen a word or two differently, and she has sought counsel to determine how best to proceed. At the same time, she is smarting from the experience, and yet, she’s done absolutely nothing wrong; she has corroborated this. While I will not name names in the event that this dude gets his underwear further in a bundle, I will share that his blog rhymes with “sloppyfrogger.”
As we experience the tipping point in social media where automation is devouring authenticity, those of us still developing and delivering authentic content in small communities should open our eyes widely that something as innocent as blogging can be fraught with landmines. This situation is a good reminder that words are not innocent; they can be taken differently by whomever is reading.
I read the original post (since republished) and thought it was a great look at some of the irregularities online. I also thought a lot of the responses were over-the-top but, sadly, it’s something I’ve come to expect from certain circles. I must admit, I was surprised at Brian’s response and “attack” – I would have thought a simple “Would you mind changing the title of the post” would be fair. From what I could see, Neicole tried to make it clear she didn’t think his site was doing it; simply a third-party was putting it in jeopardy.
Sigh…
You’re so much more in the know about these issues; for we who are pretty tiny in comparison, these situations take us all by surprise. We’re not building entire business platforms on our blogs — yet — and there is enough to go around for us all — one would think. Thanks; have updated this post with your link…yes, keenly aware of when it’s 9:30 ET!! LOL
Like I said, damn, you’re keen. 🙂
What’s the initiation ritual for joining the “Brown – Livingston Syndicate” anyway? Does it involve ritual slaughter and hallucinogens?
Apparently it involves just telling the truth and not being sucked in by hyperbole and faux respect…
I’m out! Where’s the fun in that? LOL!
I thought it involved being a sheep expert. 😉
Oh, you’re talking about @Klout:twitter there – I thought we were talking syndicates. 🙂
The Brown-Livingston Syndicate smear tweet was my personal favorite.
I literally laughed out load when Ins aw that one. 🙂
I think it’s funny that people think a) they’re that organized and b) have time to smear anyone or anything. #goodlord
Oh the drama!
You have no idea.
Geez, I feel like I am saying this a lot lately, but cant we all just agree to disagree? Why is it that if you disagree with something you are a hateror you get attacked? Maybe said Power blogger is starting to feel threatened by the baby sheep who actually get it and have something worthwhile to share!
I think this shines light on the problems with metric systems like “Klout”. People get this numbers that say they are the be all end all – and feel like they can do no wrong and if you happen to disagree with them, it gets ugly!
I know you were privy to the entire unfolding event alongside me and a few others. I didn’t follow the entire exchange but read it just after the fact — didn’t feel good looking in, and still feels badly this morning. What we can all do is lend support, and that’s exactly what you did, are doing and what this post intends to do. Thanks, Jennifer!
That’s exactly what my post on Danny Brown’s blog today is about. I think we forget to remember that we are all human, and hopefully mostly with good intentions.
This is every “baby blogger’s” worst nightmare. Nothing worse then the feeling of being threatened with a lawsuit. This sort of behavior makes the A-listers in question look pretty boorish. What a shame. I feel a bit sick to think that there just is no respect anymore. Why can’t we take disagreements offline? Must we act out in public for everyone to see? Could this not have been solved with a phone call or a email?
This is what happens when people start believing their own hype. Sad.
Is this the bloggers blogging for money versus for those learning the ropes dichotomy?
Defending oneself is not bullying. Pointing on that someone has published an untruth with reckless disregard for the truth (one standard for libel) and asking for a retraction is not the same as threatening to sue. Another hyperbolic title, two lies. You people are good.
It’s all about perspective, right, Brian? Your view from the top — the highest echelon of blogging which I respect for your hard work to get there, was regarded as a threat by a baby blogger with not even one iota of your influence. I saw the comments unfold; I was there, and it wasn’t a “can’t we all play nice in the sandbox” approach.
“You people are good?” I believe we are; so are you.
I’m sorry that you still see it this way, Brian. But there was not a single lie in the post. There may have been some opinions that you disagree with, and I can see how you might feel that people would read one of the lines as suggesting that your blog had a lot of this type of content, but there were no lies. That’s not my style.
So THAT’s what happened. Neicole, thank you for making us aware of the behind-the-scenes in the big-blogging world–in more than one way. I thought the article itself was welcome and refreshing, but I didn’t see the conflict unfold in the comments. And thank you Jayme, for explaining. I was looking for that post last week!
Thanks. I actually reposted the article and comment thread, and the tweets after, with all names removed. Jayme has been terrific giving me advice and helping me out this weekend!!
Here’s where I’ll throw my two cents in. I know Danny Brown. I know Brian Clark. Props to both along with mad respect for each building highly respectable online destinations.
Back in May, I presented at BlogWorld Easy on the legal implications of blogging in conjunction with Janet Cullum, a widely respected intellectual property attorney at Cooley LLP in NYC. It’s important that bloggers understand not only the legalities that govern their words, but their responsibility to OWN them and the implications attached to them.
I saw the original post in a Google cache (proof that your words online *never* go away). If a blogger of any stature is going to call out another publisher on any manner of behavior, here are a few “best practices” to live by:
* tell them it’s going to happen and give them a chance to respond (I’ve made this same mistake – a rough lesson to learn)
* don’t use sloppy soundalike words if you’re going to call them out
* keep emotions and behavioral judgements out of it – that’s where you’re going to hit a slippery slope from a legal perspective (and Brian’s right, it’s called defamation)
As a publisher who writes a column called “The Bitch Slap” on a regular basis, I can attest that these lessons are sometimes learned the hard way. But if you’re going to go after the big guns – or ANY guns – in your space, it’s a myth that David always triumphs over Goliath. The way to make points is to have solid, substantiated arguments instead of piles of conjecture. Do I agree 100% with how Brian responded? Certainly not. Do I think the Niecolle made some missteps? Certainly. Every blogger, whether “baby” or not was once a small fry. Danny, Brian and I are all still small fries, depending on the demographic you measure us against. But you’re not going to get anything other than hammered if you don’t first understand the rules of the road before you try breaking them.
Hope that helps, as it doesn’t matter how well you’re loved online – mistakes are mistakes and stature (or perceived stature) doesn’t make overcoming them any easier. Hello, AirBNB.
Thank you; well said, well taken and will reference for future.
I absolutely agree with you. I have a post forthcoming about some of my learnings. There are definitely things I would do differently. And I will read your post. Just to be clear, though, I didn’t mean to call Brian out at all. But, there’s one of my learnings. Because of the way I wrote the post, it was interpreted that way. That’s on me, completely.
Guess I’ll jump in here, as I really like Erika’s $20 bucks worth of a comment and h/t to @soulati:disqus for sticking to your neck out in support of what you believe.
Neicole, I just emailed you my support. As I read and reread the post.. there are things I’d have done differently, a few word choices may have made it less ‘offensive’ or whatever. I really agree with Jayme’s assessment, that you take an in-depth look at matters often ignored in a blogosphere of “How To” and “Top 7 List” posts; I know your intentions weren’t to slander or make waves but as always to get others to consider and think. So I look forward to read about your learning experience, what you’d have done differently… and what changes may come. FWIW.
Wait a minute – not one single “F*ck” in this comment – are you the real Erika, or an imposter??? 🙂
Sage words, miss. As usual.
I can be cleaned up, dressed up and presented in front of a crowd, Mr. Brown 😉
Erika, thank you for this. I just apologized to Neicole over at Danny’s place, and I’ll apologize to Jayme here. I could have handled this much better, and I will strive to do so in the future.
Brian, my apologies to you and your position, as well. You own authority, influence and amazing knowledge, and with Erika’s comment above and yours over at Danny’s you can bet I will become a student and educator of the legalities of blogging. I’m sorry, and I respect you and what you’ve built knowing the little I do.
And in the interests of full disclosure, I’m a blogger who has been fortunate enough to be invited to contribute on multiple occasions to Copyblogger. I’ve never been paid for my content and they have, indeed, rejected one of my posts (gasp!). Writers like me post on sites like Copyblogger to introduce us to new readers, up our proverbial street cred, and…shocker…to perhaps do so well that we’re invited back for another go round. If we write crap, they don’t post it, and for a site that publishes so frequently, I think it rates in the top 5 for Crap-Free Sites on the web. Not even the Huffington Post can say as much (and they don’t pay, either) 😉 It’s relationship building, pure and simple. No matter how much SEO juice you think your site has, it doesn’t matter if the content is craptastic. I could care less about SEO on my blog. My audience finds me in other ways. And for sites pursuing a solid SEO strategy, those results show. SEs hate spam and BS tactics, so if a site is ranking these days, it’s most likely going about business in the right way.
Brian, I don’t necessarily think there’s any apologizing to be done. As someone who’s had the chance to work with you and your team, I’ll say it’s inspirational to see a company go from “a blog” to a media property. I remember the announcement! We all get nad kicks at the most inopportune times, and it just so happened that Neicole drew the ire of a former attorney defending what he’d built (and rightly so).
I think it’s all good – and no one needs defending or to feel the need to apologize. F-bombs for everyone with a side of pony! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see about washing my hedgehog.
um i didn’t like this, i actually left a comment that was deleted. please take my face off of this comment.
Jessica, please explain? I don’t understand? Who deleted your comment; it was not I — perhaps it’s in moderation, and I’ll look. I was traveling yesterday so that’s possible…but I allow all comments?
Brave and fascinating posts! And y’know what’s amazing to me is that yesterday I wrote a post on a very similar theme for publishing tomorrow over at the BusinessDarlings.com site. SEO and authenticity were ever bound to butt heads, eh? Was there ever a more profoundly true lesson than “Moderation in all things”?
That’s really what you meant to say, wasn’t it Mr. Clark?
Brave and fascinating posts! And y’know what’s amazing to me is that yesterday I wrote a post on a very similar theme for publishing tomorrow over at the BusinessDarlings.com site. SEO and authenticity were ever bound to butt heads, eh? Was there ever a more profoundly true lesson than “Moderation in all things”?
That’s really what you meant to say, wasn’t it Mr. Clark?
I think the learning environment this has created is bar none going to be long term for many. Balanced reporting, moderation, emotional v. business, legal implications for blogging, A-list to Z-list, respect and cordiality, education, and more. Thanks for sharing your site; will go take a look.
I think the learning environment this has created is bar none going to be long term for many. Balanced reporting, moderation, emotional v. business, legal implications for blogging, A-list to Z-list, respect and cordiality, education, and more. Thanks for sharing your site; will go take a look.
Hi, Mary…just visited your site, and sent it along to a Virtual Assistant I know. Very well done!
Wow, this has turned into one hell of an ugly dual and stands as a good learning ground for all of us ‘baby bloggers’ out there. Not to be silenced into fear and submission that is, but rather as to what is “best practice” when you are about to potentially burn some kindling and start a smoking hot fire- intentional or otherwise!
I’m sure it would have occurred to Neicole; at least to some degree that in putting such influential names in her post it would attract some sort of attention from these people, and/or their loyal followers?
Although I doubt she was aiming for or even considered the post would get the barrage of negative attention it did bring- mainly to the person being named, who seams to have responded in a rather vitriolic and excessively defensive way IMHO. I doesn’t seam to me that any of what was said was done with malice or with ‘intention’ to defame..and intention is still important right? I saw the original post after the retraction was made simply by subscribing to rss so ‘The redhead’ was totally right when she said that “your online words never go away”…and I will be taking that thought to bed with me tonight. Thank you for reminding me of this. But my humble 2 cents is that far too much has been made of this by the injured party, and whilst I don’t know what it feels like be considered an “A-list blogger” and have a reputation to uphold. I do know what It feels like to have untrue and/or unkind things said about me… and it hurts. It’s easy to take it personally rather than professionally. Which from my reading, it would appear to me that the blogger in question has done?I’d never read Neicole’ work prior to this shit storm, but I loved the post, both versions, and will be following from now on! It also gave me an insight into things that I was completely oblivious and ignorant to before and us baby bloggers need all the info we can get! In addition, every response of Neicole’s I’ve read in relation to this fiasco has been humble, respectful, considered and decent. Big respect to her for keeping her cool when many others where quickly losing theirs!I wrote a fairly hardcore post about a powerful blogger not to long ago, based purely on my personal experience with them. I was asked, in fact actively encouraged to “name names”. After much consideration (what did I stand to gain from going all out etc) I stuck by my guns and did not name names, as I feared that ‘my point would be lost’ in the shit storm that may have occurred as a result of me sticking my neck on the line and publicly calling them out. To be honest, I just didn’t need the aggro and had gotten what I had to say off my chest-job done!I hope this situation disappears as quickly as it appeared and Neicole is able to get back on with doing what it appears she does best. Writing great content that attracts an engaged and interested audience. I’m on board. Respect.PS. Please accept my apologies Jayme for writing was is in effect a long winded response to Niecole on your blog, I hope you wont be too mad at me : )
G’Day Jayme,
They reckon that we Aussies are laid back. Having read all this stuff all I can say is “someone’s gotta be!” Youse blokes and sheilas oughta calm bloody down a bit. You’ve done the blogosphere a great disservice. You’ve caused The Redhead to comment without so much as the hint of vulgarity. What are ya tryin’ t’do. for God’s sake? Next thing, bloggers and commenters’ll start being polite. That would never do.
Remember what ole Sam Clemens said; “It aint what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for certain that just aint so.”
Hang loose and…..
make sure you have fun
Leon
I still think it’s a fake @RedheadWriting:disqus – the real Erika would have F-bombed at about the seventh word, or at least fifth syllable…
I think you can nicely call we boys and girls just “jamokes.” That oughtta cover blokes and sheilas. G’Day yourself, Mr. Noone.
My experience has been that the internet + taking oneself seriously = bad times. The end. Props to Neicole.
You and I were among the first readers and commenters on the original post, so we both watched the drama unfold. Truthfully, I didn’t have a negative opinion about anyone except the below-board SEO practitioners who were targeting the most successful bloggers to make money. But once the threats started coming, that’s when my opinion turned negative. So ironic. Thankfully, the issue has been resolved and we can hopefully go back to creating and reading compelling content and sharing opinions in a respectful manner.
That was totally ridiculous. In any situation of conflict one should always take the hight road (especially on-line) Great job Neicole you handle this as best as you could have on the fly.
It’s been a wild ride, to say the least. Neicole handled herself with aplomb; each of us took perspective and learning from this experience. I’ll be writing about it awhile, but trying to put the dust back to settle before I do. Thanks for coming over!
Thank you. Deeeeeeep breaths.
My two cents is that I’d like to be the kind of person (and blogger) that approaches everything reality presents me with kindness and compassion. Thanks for the learning in this whole saga everyone!
Thanks for stopping in to share, Haroun. I appreciate it, and watch this space for more writings on this topic — what fodder we’ve gleaned; I’m tired! (But no more than Neicole!)
I see you made the rounds over to the pretzel fella…that android writing with an alias who HATES? And you’re seeking his counsel??! You may be better off hitting The Sales Lion to see what you might learn, Haroun!
A day without drama in the blogosphere is like rainforest without trees.
J:I wrote a comment on Neicole’s blog that I’d like to share here. If you find it inappropriate, go ahead and delete it. I won’t have hard feelings about that. (hug)
The internet has sleaze written all over it. There’s sleaze is written into the very DNA and infrastructure of the internet. If you ever made real money in digital, you’re hands are dirty. Been there and done that. Because I was paid well. And that’s not an excuse either. [laughing]
I tried to do penance. IAB Europe stopped me dead. Shit happens. I am thrilled by Neicole’s commitment to pull back the curtain on the
wizardry. There are many curtains. And curtains behind curtains.
In my opinion, there is no fundamental difference between white and black hats. It’s all counterfeit. I’d even go as far as saying it’s idolatry. My general advice is not to wear silly hats. And don’t do business with people who wear silly hats.
A friend of mine uses an expression that fits Neicole: a lady in shining armor. That’s what you are Neicole, a lady in shining armor.
I appreciate you, Neicole.
P.S. If anyone want’s to see what pissing in the wind really is about, send them to my recent blog post: https://wp.me/pbg0R-nJ
I see nothing inappropriate here, Stan…keep on!
It has always been thus, and what goes around comes around. Be good to people on the way up because you’ll meet them again on the way down. Nice post. Tx! -k @FitOldDog
Hi, Kevin!! You could not have put it more simply and perfectly. Thanks.
This is a HUGE problem in the online world. It is a system (or lack thereof) of anarchy. The Top Dogs think they have it all. Unfortunately, this is the same bullheaded nonsense that our leaders are also using to make changes. It never works.
I recently had a similar experience with both a blogger and coach *whom i paid* to teach me how to blog. I will not get into the details, but isn’t it bad customer service to go as far trying to file a lawsuit?
If the online world is free from the constraints of our government, and we can say whatever the hell we want publically online, is it then okay to bring in lawyers and judges into this? If it is possible to have lawsuits over online content – then wouldn’t the law be in favor of the bullied blogger and not the big guy?
Things need to change.
I wonder whether this arena is the next ripe-pickings for the legal world, Jessica? Based on your comments, I’m thinking so…that will be so very sad. (P.S. was traveling yesterday all day in car and could not respond to you sooner…my apologies.)
If somebody actually has a lawyer, one of the first things said lawyer would tell them is “Don’t go threatening to sue people, especially in public”. This puts the lawyers client in an adversarial and antagonistic position, and seriously reduces the lawyers options. What the lawyer would tell them is ‘if something comes up, say nothing, and call me’. The lawyer then would probably start with a cease & desist, or some formal and legally founded and backed communication. I typically see “I’m gonna get my lawyer” as the “I’m gonna get my big brother” for people who have moved away from home.
I always love when you come to visit, Ray! Your logic and viewpoint are refreshing. Thank you and great seeing you!