Forbes misses the point

Via BL Ochman: Forbes Story Bashes Bloggers As Lynch Mobs and Scoble: Bloggers up in arms about Forbes cover

Too bad Forbes. Too bad, Daniel Lyons. Hey Daniel, if you have a google alert or icerocket, or pubsub, or feedster to see who's talking about you, after you get through the 1001 important people who dropped your name today, when you see this, send me an email and I'll overnight you a galley copy of Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. Or you can read the drafts on the web site.

You see Mr. Lyons, and Forbes, I'm betting you or someone in the office there read Hugh Hewitt's Blog. Let's not debate Mr. Hewitt's politics. It's his use of "blog" as a 4-letter word that makes me mad. You're making the same mistake he did in only citing the few negative examples and telling people to run and hide in fear of getting "blogged".

Business blogging, business blogs, are mostly about providing a positive experience and helping build something up, not tearing things down. If you'd read Naked Conversations you'd know that. You'd see that 90%, maybe 95%, of this business blog book is about the positive things companies and individuals in companies can do with blogs to make a positive impact for their company and their customers.

I'm earnest in my galley copy offer. If somehow you find this, email me, the link's near the bottom of the left column. Or leave a comment. I get few enough of those to read them all. :)

P.S. One of the things I've loved about working with Shel and Robert is a re-broadening of my reading horizons. A year ago, I never would have found BL Ochman. Or Jozef Imrich. Thanks Shel, thanks Robert.

Comments

[Jozef Imrich]

There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.
- Federico Fellini

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. My life has been lived out of suitcases, in foreign lands, with foreign people. Yet I count my blessings.

The virtual kindness of strangers is just priceless ;-)

Is the world really separated by six degrees? I doubt it as a friend in Canada read your entry and emailed me straight away ...

Jim your link as well as soulful commentariats like this tend to mean a lot to me http://margokingston.typepad.com/harry_version_2/2005/10/makebelieve_dem.html
Make Believe Democracies ...

[Jozef Imrich]

Coda: http://www.portalsmag.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=6911&TopicID=6
The Case for Blogging

[Pat Eyler]

Daniel Lyons has been preaching against the 'Free Software rabble' for a while in his articles about SCO. This looks like an extension of that kind of writing. Blogs are just a little bit too enabling.

-pate