Heh - nice to see someone remembers what the verb "flame" means.
Ted Demopoulos
· 3 years ago
Insults? I unplug my nose at you! I fart in your general direction! . .
Or even worse, I don't read you everyday :) Hmmm, I've been called a traitor and anti-American for my technical views and much worse! I get maybe 1% of what you get Robert, as I'm only an M-list blogger (recently upgraded!), so it's only amusing to me, but it might get to me if I had a constant torrent of nasties unleased at me.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Ted: you used my wife's line. That one hurts! ;-)
Diego Barros
· 3 years ago
There are many more people that like you than don't. I can understand it's hard to see when so much crap is flung your way. Keep your chin up.
Technology just hasn't come up with a good enough flame retardant suit for the blogosphere. :)
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Thanks, but if that's your idea of flaming...
;-)
rickster
· 3 years ago
«I am so sick of that fat retard…» Well, I don't think you're retard ;-) It has nothing to do about what you do or say - it's all about beating up (one of) the most notorious guys around. Call it envy, a complex, whatever. We all have a role to play, no one will ever agree with us 100%; when the insults become personal, tough on the poor and obnoxious souls who do it. But loosing some weight would't harm you :-)
John Evans (Syntagma)
· 3 years ago
Great viral, Robert. You're an overweight traffic machine! How's that for a flame?
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
John, my momma can flame better than that! :-)
Dan
· 3 years ago
Here's mine: I think you haven't provided enough thoughtful analysis on Microsoft's attitude towards ODF. Nasty, huh?
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Dan: telling the plain truth without embellishing doesn't count as a flame. I do need to do more homework on that one.
Now, if you said "you fat swine, you haven't provided enough thoughtful analysis on Microsoft's attitude towards ODF" then you would be a contender.
Anyway, I gotta get some sleep. Even fat, rude, lazy, non-doing, egotistical, idiotic, corporate shilling bahstards need to sleep.
Ade
· 3 years ago
I'm not sure about your pic (the one on the banner here) but your recent shots at your Naked Conversations book signing thingamajick... hey, you're hot man!! I would love to stroke that chest hair and watch you purrrr..
Haha!
And I'm on Patrick's side.. go Apple!
Seriously, I sometimes think you're bias towards Microsoft but I figured that if you're working and talking with the Microsoft folks most of your waking hours (here's me assuming), then you'd see them in a more personal light and heck, some are great friends. Hence, it's only natural to get defensive when's there's an 'attack' on Microsoft. Anyway, that's my take on human-nature-biasness. Ain't your fault! Be glad to be only human!
As for weight issues... the more the merrier.. there's more to share around.. and more for us to love. If that freaks you out, then hell yeah, go for salads, fruits and sushi!!
Sushi lovers of the world, unite!
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Ade: I ate sushi last night. I'm all up for good sushi! Even if you eat it on top of a Macintosh.
Shelley
· 3 years ago
I have anonymous commenters out at my site and they rarely flame, Robert. I don't censor most comments unless they're off topic.
I'm not into religion, but you reap what you sow.
Something happens with Microsoft and you're in the front lines saying how you'll call this person or that. Then when folks respond about MS in your comments, you go, "Hey! This is a personal weblog!"
You write things you know are going to trigger a heated response, and then you go, "Oh, bad week." or "Oh, I was tired. I'm only human".
True to both -- but you do it a lot more frequently than most folks.
Most of all, lately you've been demanding that we do this and do that--outrageous. And then when people just plain disagree, you call it a flame.
I don't think you want dialog. I don't think you want conversation. And I don't think you really care about the flames as long as the buzz is still there.
Michael Air
· 3 years ago
Robert, I know it's hard to deal with but I think comments like the ones you quote ultimately reflect more on the person making the comments and the majority of people realise that although the blogosphere does have a tendency to amplify the negative.
Don't let it get you down :)
Tim V
· 3 years ago
Robert, When you work for the Yankees of computer software, you have to live with either being hated or loved, not much in between. But as you already know, any press is good press. (Fat retard aside).
Think of the good times when you move to Quincy and the most excitement you have is spending Saturday nites in Levinworth dancing the Polka and Drinking Stiens of beer! :-)
If you need a break, head over to the Yakima Valley and we'll taste test our wine until we throw caution to the wind and surf the net all night with IE with all our spyware protection turned off.
Mike
· 3 years ago
Good one Scoble - a bit of humility is all you need to survive ;)
John C. Welch
· 3 years ago
Nah, most of those are not good flames, they're just personal attacks. Anyone can do that, although almost everyone else does it really poorly. A well-crafted personal attack should cause therapy.
But a real flame should have a kernel of truth, or at least a central issue. That is, it's a comment about something, just very heated. In my case, I tend to write with emotion and emphasis, because it's how I speak. When I speak in public, I move around. Somewhere in Dallas, there's film of me using a statue of an astronaut to show the difference between Bluetooth and IRDA. I yell, I get into it.
If I'm going to tell you I think something you said is dumb, there's no fun in it, unless I can hear it in my head, the pitch changes, the emphasis on certain words, etc. It's a challenge to write it exactly the way I would say it, and it's fun in an odd sort of way. Some people use photoshop or painter, or a bit of chalk, I use text.
But calling you some bizarro-world midget Sta-Puff Man? nah, that's too easy :-P
Brian Dunbar
· 3 years ago
Your mother dresses you funny.
No sense dressing up fourth grade-level insults with adult language ..
Sarah
· 3 years ago
Well someone i know... no names, came up with something that would amuse you today:
scoblephoria: a state of overzealous spin doctoring because you think something is cool.
I thought it was a bit harsh but it seems to be what people are accusing you of unfortunately. Feedback always welcome ;)
Rushi Vishavadia
· 3 years ago
Remember: Idiots drag you down to their level and beat you with their experience.
D
· 3 years ago
You are encouraging them at this point by responded and responding with new blog posts about this subject. The best thing you could do is move forward blogging about MS and technology without addressing those around who might not like what you do.
Jim Holmes
· 3 years ago
Scoble, may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits and groin. Hell, let's get serious: may a thousand camels infest your armpits and groin.
May you forever have monkeys fling poo at you each time you pass by their cage at the zoo. Don't even think of passing by the elephants.
So there.
The Nobleizer
· 3 years ago
Microsoft's marketing drones tell you what to write.
Hahahahaman
· 3 years ago
Scoble, you need to not stay up this late and post in this aggrieved state. You've got to learn to take ignorant, hostile comments as what they are: pointless and essentially harmless.
The truth is, there are a number of Microsoft employee blogs that are supposedly only personal in nature but that continually seem designed only to do PR control; and then use the caveat of "this is just a personal blog" when the lines are clearly not delineated and are called out as being mouthpieces for PR assaults.
If you think for a moment that I think this and majornelson's are personal blogs unaffected by anything other than an affinity for the worker at the company, then I have a Nigerian friend who has access to $7million that with your help can be split evenly between you and him.
These blogs are nothing more than PR stunts. There is no way if this was a blog that reflected genuine, personal, unaffected views that the Origami would've been touted as it was here - because the overwhelming consensus of comments, the universal consensus, was that it wasn't so hot.
Likewise, anyone with any semblance of clarity can see that Vista's delay isn't good news and there is a serious problem taking hold at Microsoft - brain drain coupled with a lack of faith in lower level employees. It's all about the parking lots. Used to be up in Redmond there were cars parked there all night.
How many very young engineers and coders would say that working at Microsoft is their top goal post college right now? How many are working at Microsoft because they truly believe in it?
If your company really wants to understand blogs then understand we want unfettered honesty and hypocrisy will be challenged.
Now get some sleep. Obviously you're not fat or retarded. John Porcaro, though...
Adam S
· 3 years ago
Scoble, I read your stuff every day and there are plenty of real reasons to flame you, none of which involve being ...well ...mean. When I disagree with you, it has never made me mad enough to call you fat or retarded. If I had to nitpick a complaint, I'd say that if you use the words "Web 2.0" again, I'm going to blow my brains out with a musket. We get it already.
I do tend to believe that Microsoft is going to HAVE to change soon, because the racket they/you run (like Windows & Office licensing) isn't going to fly the same way going forward, but you in particular tend to have some pretty decent vision, and I think having you around is a good thing for Redmond in general. You are able to conjure up some pretty good feelings about a company whose supporters are often perceived as idiots by the technical elitists, especially when they often are goons who haven't been exposed to alternatives or chowderheads who have, but don't understand it.
Time to dump Windows legacy application support and rebuild from scratch. Support THAT and you'll really get people talking!
Larry Borsato
· 3 years ago
I see no point in insulting people. They may want to insult me back. And I generally think less of people who resort to that kind of thing.
As I've said before though, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Joel Richman
· 3 years ago
This is a pretty fascinating conversation. I'm a longtime reader of the site, and you and I met (briefly) at the first Syndicate show in New York; I have a question.
My firm is a huge fan of blogging in business. We advise on blogs, help create content, etc. But, what do you tell a company going through a situation like this about the virtues of blogging? How about companies that are watching what's going on here and trying to decide whether or not this is something they want to jump into? What's the upside here? To respond to criticism, or just engaging in a conversation that's going to happen whether you join it or not?
Is there a real benefit to a company when the level of transparency has risen this high? Red Herring just picked up this story because of the blogging about it.
warren
· 3 years ago
robert, last night i had to reformat and reinstall windows because it had gotten so slow and clunky -- any thing that used full screen 3d graphics would freeze and crash. windows took the liberty of destroying my boot loader so i now can't get into linux. the other nice thing is that i can't get networking to work, so i'm kind of screwed.
the remarkable thing is that installing ubuntu several months ago was much, much easier. it's better about security updates, too: no fascist "activation"/validation. 17,000 open source packages at my finger tips that can be automatically downloaded, installed, and configured with a few clicks or keystrokes.
the day has come, mr. scoble, when it is entirely probably that configuring and installing a linux distribution like ubuntu is easier than installing and configuring windows.
now it's off to google i go to where i will try to figure out how to load back GRUB so i can boot into linux and get back to getting work done.
Gerard
· 3 years ago
I love reading your blog, I even changed my opinion a little of Microsoft. I now think that this big EVIL company has some real nice people working there.
Now if this was Bills blog......
dahowlett
· 3 years ago
Scoble - the Master of Masochism (and Irony)...I can almost see the rubber geek suit and dominatrix whip :)
Matthew Oliphant
· 3 years ago
Okay, I will take you up on your challenge. Are you sitting down? Here it comes...
You, sir, are incapable of doing exactly what every individual (who reads this blog, or reads about you on dozens of other blogs) expects you to do. Ergo, you are a cad.
You have too few reasons for this post.
Diffuse venom, fine. Generate traffic, fine. Get kudos, fine. Because you want to, not good enough for most, but I will give it to you.
Frankly that's not enough. There are so many people who respect and despise you... apparently you don't care about all of them equally. They all have reasons for why you wrote this post. Do you really think the four I mentioned will cover their points-of-view, too? Hardly!
Robert, Mr. Cad if you will, you need to quit your job. Not so the shilliness can be washed from you, over time of course, but so you can devote the time necessary to appease all your readers. Also, it might help if you don't enjoy life. Yeah that's good, too.
In the end, this isn't a personal blog, it's a person-all blog. One for all. (All for One™ functionality available Fall 2008.)
Mini-Microsoft
· 3 years ago
Great deflection, Mr. Scoble. What's interesting is that I usually let the stuff critical of me through when comment moderation is on - it's a bit of defusing humility I learned from watching your blog. Critical of me seems okay, unless it uses extreme language. Who knew I was a prude?
What I'm buckling under right now is every person who believes Microsoft has to pay for past sins and market domination.
I didn't start *this* fire. And I don't see a need to feed it. But it's an interesting conundrum. Will it always be there as an impossible to reconcile criticism? Is ignoring it or throwing it away the exact wrong thing to do?
Cheers, Mini.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Mini: I don't know. I don't think there's appeasing some people. There certainly are enough outlets for venom, though. With the interconnectivity of comment areas everyone who cares will see it and there are plenty of sites, cough Slashdot, that'll print anything anti-Microsoft.
Personally I like your comments better when you prune out the noise and only send the signal. It's made me think that I should do the same here. I just wish I had the time to do it.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Shelley: you're right. I don't want to have a conversation with someone who sticks up for journalists who lie, journalists who misquote people, who don't source their sources (Raymond of Acer called me on Sunday night and it was very revealing), and who print headlines that are laughably incorrect. I guess if you want that kind of journalism you aren't the kind of person I'd like to have a conversation with. You're right.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Hahahah: >There is no way if this was a blog that reflected genuine, personal, unaffected views that the Origami would’ve been touted as it was here - because the overwhelming consensus of comments, the universal consensus, was that it wasn’t so hot.
That's absolutely not true. The tables around the Origami at Mix06 were JAMMED. That wouldn't have happened if people weren't interested and many people said they were excited about the new devices.
It might come to you as a shock, but I genuinely AM excited about Origami. Still am. If that's gonna earn me flames, so be it.
One thing though. Most of the flames came from people who had never had their hands on one. It's amazing how so many people make up their minds on a product before even trying one out for 15 minutes. I doubt, for instance, that you've had YOUR hands on one. You just instinctively hate it. That's cool, I guess, but it says more about you than it says about me.
Mujibur
· 3 years ago
I absolutely agree with Shelley.
You'll never admit it but you don't care about the conversation. You want to generate buzz for Microsoft and that's about it.
Sadly, I'd expect more from you than what you've devolved into. Why are you acting like a 2 year old with, "boo hoo, woe is me" type posts.
Usually we get better than that from you.
Mujibur
· 3 years ago
Also, your logic is wanting.
Just because lots of people wanted to see what Origami was all about at MIX doesn't make it a hot product.
It just makes it new -- you use retarded logic like this all the time.
Scott
· 3 years ago
I didn't flame, I just spoke the truth from my context. I don't get any useful information from your blog. Your blog has become uninteresting to me. I think a lot of people would be better off not reading you. I don't think you contribute a lot to the areas of the internet and world I'm interested in. All these people buy into the "cult of Scoble" and link to you, hanging on your every word. That's not me.
I'm a lot smarter reading people like Alex Russel, Brent Simmons, Scott Hanselman, and Wolf Rentzsch than I am reading you. It's the difference between a Petzold book and People magazine.
Brad
· 3 years ago
Sorry, but I don't see that you did anything bad, there's nothing wrong with pointing out dishonesty, or with saying that people shouldn't support dishonesty. Let's not confuse the virtue of being "naked" (open and honest) with the vice of being amoralistic.
I would just hope that next time, for your own sanity, you do what M J Foley did: say "this is patently false" and then walk away. BS doesn't deserve any more time and energy than that.
By the way, your socks don't match.
Uncle Fuddy
· 3 years ago
Is your wife and kid off limits?
warren
· 3 years ago
update: linux to the rescue! props to GRUB for recognizing all the operating systems i had installed, unlike windows. fuck microsoft and their childish good-for-nothing-but-gaming operating system.
Robert Scoble
· 3 years ago
Scott: good flame. You said you weren't personal, but you just were again. Good one! And you insulted all my readers too. Hey, you're catching onto this pretty quickly.
I've posted dozens of links to dozens of really cool things in the past 50 hours. You're saying you didn't learn ONE thing from all those? Wow.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Joel: if I had an ROI on each post I make, I probably wouldn't write anymore. I write because I like doing it. Not cause there's a direct marketing benefit behind each post. Sorry. If someone expects each post of mine to make them money or provide some positive business outcome they'll be sorely disappointed in my kind of blogging.
That said, there are lots of business benefits of having a blogger who loves his company, loves his work, loves his industry. We cover most of those in the book.
Robert Scoble
· 3 years ago
Uncle: like anything I said would stop you? I find telling people what not to do actually encourages them. So, if you must, go ahead! Just remember my son is 12 and can flame back better than I can! :-)
Hahahahaman
· 3 years ago
Scoble in 39 - the main reason those tables were jammed was because of hype largely generated by this blog. As soon as you wrote with cryptic foreshadowing what the device wasn't, and how you'd pay your own money for one... Everyone took the trust they had in you that you'd earned over time, to expect a product that would be worth that. I see today that I can get one for $900. If I'm going to stick anything on a coffee table it's going to be an iBook for a little more money than that. Let's face it, the product didn't click - the general zeitgeisty meme out there is that it's overpriced and not that essential and confusing. The general zeitgeist is that the Xbox 360 launch has been a debacle, with sales of roughly 1k a week in Japan, inability to fulfill demand leading to consumer frustration and abandonment, giving retailers a crappy holiday season and then telling them you want to get rid of them in future (not a good way to get retailers on your side). The general zeitgeist is that the Vista news is not good, though I can appreciate you wanting to check bugs and security cause that's what is causing people to leave Windows. And more importantly, I've had close family friends who worked at MS back in the day and see a total change in culture. The general zeitgeist if you're 16 is that if you're into software and OSes, you're going to work at Apple or Google or on open source work.
This is blindingly obvious to everyone. Your blog should reflect that instead of worrying about people calling you names. How about using this blog to admit that, find out how maybe the company can do better, and putting it to good use, instead of trying to manipulate our reality?
Curt
· 3 years ago
Robert Scoble is an ill-constructed robot made out of kitten carcasses and bowling alley pencils, who sits, pantless, on public couches chewing the eyes out of elderly ladies, whom he seizes while they are baking marionberry muffins for orphans. After he has filled his wobbling gut with grandma eyes he unleashes a hideous stream of small-pox infected effluvia onto heaps of Torahs, Qurans and New Testaments, while his vocal processing unit shreiks and squeals flanged versions of Sweden's Aha!
Also he's a big stupid dumb poopoo head.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Hahahahahman: I wish I had that kind of power. Most of the Mix06 attendees don't read me. That's probably a good thing, too, cause most of them didn't flame me in the hallways either. :-)
Sebhelyesfarku
· 3 years ago
Scoble - you are... ... ...a Maczealot!
I guess I won the flame contest!
Mr. Sun
· 3 years ago
Sorry, this is off topic, but, hey, Robert, did you read the news that Facebook is up for sale? It has already rejected, hope you're sitting down, a $750-million offer!!!! Businessweek broke the news and said Facebook is hoping to fetch $2 billion!!! Holy Cow! And I thought Fox overpaid for MySpace for $580 million. Here is the Businessweek article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/...
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Mr.Sun: wow.
Sebhelyesfarku: heheh! You're right about that! My son is a Maczealot. I was one from 1984 through 1993.
Alex
· 3 years ago
Scoble ... it is amazing just watching how little you can get. It is also amazing that you actually receive money for all the meaningless BS you write ... ah well, maybe your blogs server a higher purpose, but I fail to see it.
dmad
· 3 years ago
You overstate your importance and contribution to Microsoft. I venture to guess that more than half of MS employees have no clue who you are or how you can help them sell more software.
You are insulated, live in a echo chamber, and are ignorant of what the real world wants or needs from technology. Geeks you understand. People and companies that can benefit from technology you don't understand.
But, you seem to be a great husband and father and at the end of the day know that in 10 years no one will remember why this blog existed, but that your wife and son will remember how much time you focused on work and how much time you focused on them. And that as far as they were concerned, I submit that your priorities were in the right order.
Innocent Bystander
· 3 years ago
"Let's get it all out on the table so you can get all your venom out of your system and we can go on with life together".
No.
Miles Archer
· 3 years ago
Why even bother flaming Robert, he's irrelevant.
:-b
the head lemur
· 3 years ago
Robert, Your decline into madness has really picked up speed. So you are trying Aversion Therapy now? Doesn't work. http://theheadlemur.typepad.com/ravinglunacy/20... I hope we do not have to destroy the village to save it
Ned
· 3 years ago
Scoble is long lost and far gone. He's just ranting and raving now, instead of defending Microsoft.
This latest "attack me" post is troubling... :/
anon-y-mouse
· 3 years ago
Well.. the "Scobleizer" is totally 1999. :) AND I'd suggest more tyrates!!
Regardless if I agree, or disagree with your postings, the glimpse into MS is great.
People will call you a corporate shill, but what other companies have this level of transparency? Does Dell? HP? IBM? Sony? Sun? Disney? Fidelity? Your neighborhood restaurant? Nope.
You're brave to be the lightning rod for MS -- keep it up as long as you can stand it!
Guy Pelletier
· 3 years ago
For the last two weeks, we have been assualted with the anti-Scoblisem in all its glory. I read Scoble because he brings alot from the internet to a single location that I can scan through. Yes, I have read his book and am trying to get my company used to the blogging concept, however, when I use blog sites as an example, the only response I receive is fear that all the bad people in the world will be the only ones reading our blog. Enough is enough, this blog has had several outstanding links, comments, and banter that keeps over 180,000 people subscribed to it. This is NOT the Microsoft blog that should be generating all of this content. I know that I am just one of the 187,000 + people, however, my voice that I would add to this is: Scoble stop with this BS, we know that it has been a rough couple of weeks and yes your son is an outstanding flamer. I do not really care what somebody who is trying to make a name for him or her self says. I want those links and opinions on what you find on the internet.
As for all of the commenters that have nothing better to do, if all you want to do is to bad mouth people in public while demonstrating your inability to perform - get a sign!
Brett
· 3 years ago
Seriously, people that have written the types of things you've been getting really need to get a life. I personally don't have enough time to waste flaming others even when I do think they are complete idiots. Flamers are only making themselves feel just slightly better about themselves because they need the ego boost. To the flammrs, spend some time reading, exercising, doing something new, anything that will boost your self-esteem so that you won't feel compelled to tear somebody else down. Constructive criticism is great, but personal attacks just shows that you feel lousy about yourself.
Robert Scoble
· 3 years ago
Guy, thanks. Will do. Great advice.
Jonathon
· 3 years ago
Nobody ever picked a Microsoft product based upon your blog.
Dan
· 3 years ago
You inject yourself into every story that you cover. You intrude needlessly with shrill laughter and/or pointless comments when interviewing others. Your posts frequently strike me as condescending. ("Here's a hint...") Your blog posts frequently strike me as disingenuous, such as your use of "huh?" after writing something, pretending as though you yourself are confused by what you just said. ("Here's an audio recording that Kevin Marks did. Huh? Hey, I’m interested in the topic and wanna know which Firefox extensions people find useful.") You have risen simply by being obnoxious and loud.
macbeach
· 3 years ago
"Mini: I don’t know. I don’t think there’s appeasing some people."
You caused me to look the word up just to be sure:
appease: pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands.
In what way has Microsoft changed? I don't think allowing blogs counts, as I don't remember any users critical of Microsoft were demanding that they allow blogs. How about a lower price? How about making possible that $100 PC that Balmer seems to think is such a desirable goal? How about not belittling people working on a $100 PC for the poor? How about getting out in front of the trend by abandoning monopolistic practices and focusing on product quality rather than lock-in techniques? How about adopting existing standards for interfaces instead of always inventing new semi-proprietary ones?
There are a lot of things that your company could do to appease its users as well as people who have already left for greener pastures, but I don't see any of them being done.
As to flaming, if accusing someone of being a shill is a flame, then accusing them of being a liar must be too right? As I see it, someone can be an unintentional shill, but you can't be an unintentional liar, and you have accused other journalists and bloggers of being liars here on several occasions, when in at least a few instances, if what they said was not true, they may have simply been mistaken. By the very measure that you have applied to others you must be a liar as you have admitted to saying things here that turned out to not be true.
I'll close by giving you some seemingly contradictory advice (but it's not):
Look in the mirror before you post. And: It's not about YOU.
Kevin M
· 3 years ago
in the immortal words of Bill "the cat", Bleh!
Sorry, no flaming here, find it moronic and counter-productive. Perhaps peoples' willingness to flame is a sign that civilization is doomed or at least civility. There are times when I feel the comments are bias or uninformed, but if I have a real issue I will state as such in the most thoughtful manner I can muster.
There is one thing though. I dislike your header graphic, it cause flashbacks of the '70s, oh the horror!
I for one will keep reading, long live RSS.
Adam S
· 3 years ago
Jesus, MacBeach - that is HARSH. Harsh on Scoble and harsh on Microsoft.
Comic Strip Blogger
· 3 years ago
Robert Scoble: I don't hate you or something, but you must admit that some Microsoft employees spent too much time on blogging: reading your blog, creating their own and strying to brownnose you to get link?
Michael
· 3 years ago
Ok, I'm a student who will be finished university soon, so according to one of the commenters here, I should be wanting to go work for Apple or Google or work on some open source project when I finnish.
But the company I most want to work for is Microsoft, and the biggest reason for that is Scoble, and the other people at Channel 9, and the other MS employees who blog.
They show anyone who's willing to open their eyes what things are really like at Microsoft and despite the fact that a lot of the industry treats them like shit, they really seem to enjoy what they do.
One suggestion though Robert: when you've got interesting things to blog about, you tend to pack 10 or more of them into one post with just a line or two about each, whereas you dedicated whole rants to less interesting things like what people are saying about you. It'd be nice if you could keep the main posts for the interesting things, and respond to the comments in the comments, and maybe one blog post a week to respond to all the things people have said about you on other blogs, just one or two lines for each.
Will
· 3 years ago
With this post, you have begun the journey from the finest blogger at MS to the next John Dvorak. It takes real talent to go from the Dark Side to The Darker Side.
[That's the insult part.]
Seriously, the only thing I can think of that you should be doing that you're not is examining some of the issues being talked about on Mini-Microsoft.
J. Random Poster
· 3 years ago
Scoble is an apologist for mediocrity. That's about all there is to it.
BaronMatrix
· 3 years ago
Well, as a former MS employee, I can say you are just like the other half illiterate, pathetic white guys running around with your chests stuck out because the good old boy network allows your OBVIOUS INCOMPETENCE to be floated to women and minorities. You guys over there are so full of shit you should change the company name to PortAPotty.
Adam
· 3 years ago
I'm agree with Michael. I'm studying Computer Science and when I graduate Microsoft would be my number one choice to work at by far. And that probably wouldn't have happened if Scoble hadn't introduced me to so many talented and hard-working individuals who are there.
Jorgen Veisdal
· 3 years ago
Everyone, including Scoble I'm sure can see through these statements as nothing but jealousy and wining. Such unbelievebly stupid comments that are nothing but hurting the guy who writes them because from that point on he becomes someone people see right through, a morron that lacks skills of discussion and the ability to talk calmly and stay at the case at hand. Anyone who uses the term "fat" in critic doesn't understand the business and doesn't understand the nature of the people we are, people who care about skill and actual ability to make good products and do great things.
My biggest consern however, is not for the people like Scoble, but for the kids like myself who are looked uppon as nerds and geeks, fat kids who do nothing but sit on their computer and play games. Ironic, the guys saying this doesn't even know what programming means, but thats just a measure of how completely wrong they are. These kids don't have that "buffer" that can understand what is personal and what is business, what you can take serious and what you can't, most of us look down at the loosers who don't understand that MS is a company that has a history of doing great things, being great businessmen and earning money. At the end the best player stays on the field, and 30 years is a heck of a long time to be a company that doesn't make good and inovative products. Sorry for my bad english.
Ex2bot
· 3 years ago
Scoble:
I am a true blue Mac user, so you have this coming:
Insulting someone's weight is no different from insulting their ethnicity or sexual orientation. It's low, nasty, and shameful. It's really no better to "suggest" to someone that he or she should lose weight. Look up MYOB in the Wikipedia (I mean Encarta! Yeah!)
I haven't read your blog more than a couple of times, but I'll throw my support to you and your efforts (despite my lack of enthusiasm for your employer) _because of_ the misguided who attack you or anyone else with nasty insults.
Take that! ;)
Ex2bot
Proud Mac . . .uhhh . . . Microsoft Office v.X user! Yeah!
Jon Galloway
· 3 years ago
Michael said exactly what I was thinking. I wish you dedicated the time, energy, and sheer word count to informing us as you devote to writing about ephemeral controversy. No one will remember this "tempest in a teacup" stuff in a month (at least, I sure hope not). The technologies that are being created now will potentially affect millions or even billions of people over the next 20 years.
You've got a very unique perspective - access to people and information, and the ability to tie that together to let us know what's happening on a broad scale. You also have a large amount of influence, both inside and outside Microsoft. Use your powers for good!
People will always complain and nitpick, especially tech people. If everyone always agrees with you, you're just an advocate for the status quo. Of course, it's easy to argue over inconsequential things or generate a stir by starting a meaningless controversy, but your position allows you to challenge your readership in really good ways. If you're going to risk being wrong, make it count, but please continue to risk being wrong.
There are folks who will tear down whatever you try to build for reasons completely unrelated to what you're trying to build - they're just mean, they think Microsoft stands between them and utopia, they envy success, etc. Giving these people undue attention does exactly what they intend - at a minimum, it distracts you from your message, and at worst it detracts from your credibility.
There's so much in technology right now that desperately needs a spokesman. An example is InfoCard - it could solve so many fundamental problems, and in the right way. And yet, if the word doesn't get out, there's the risk that it will be dismissed as "Passport II". You are in a position to sell this technology in a way that few people can, and this is just one of many such potential technologies.
Go to it!
Preston
· 3 years ago
Mini-MSFT has turned on moderation before. He had recently turned it off for the last few entries because he didn't want to use all his time going through comments. After the Vista delay, he had to turn it on again.
yah, and if i tel u,,ul just s
· 3 years ago
fuck u microsoft cock sucker. u never give others a chance,its always ms this ms that. open ur dog shit eyes and see that there are better things than ms out there and whats up with this pee play on second life. i like ur son more,hes tru,gets mad only genuinely ,well,even he\'s a kid,, but u bloody cocksucker,u just play politics with ur fuck drama mad show. the only reason u put this post for flamin is to get people to trust you,getting more crowd into ur shadow becoz itl get people more onto ur (urggh)humane side after all those flaming against u. now u bloody shitter,,ur acting just like ur pimp MS, ur only covering your stinky ass and trying to impress upon them tht people who actually hate u are just making wrong assumptions and are not credible.ofcourse just becoz ur more read ,,doesnt make ur more trustworthy,if not for the silly goat flock bloggers that keeps nodding their heads everytime u blame somebody and go on adding u their blogroll(theyre just trying to getfamous,u bloody dumb fat blonde bitch,cant u see that???) the only thing u do because this blog is the only business u bloody have and the readers,covering ass is important not because \"you\" feel its important, but for business,,because once ur credibility is lost,ur readers woulnt think once about shitting on you.ur life\'s over..what more do u have than this blog bitch. and ur cruel attitude with steve gilmore and another filthy ass cover afterwards.u really think people believe u,fuck you,you half dollar whore. alright thanks for listening ,,now just go back to ur bill cock sucking,,
whooooo, i feel better now
yah, and if i tel u,,ul just s
· 3 years ago
fuck u microsoft cock sucker. u never give others a chance,its always ms this ms that. open ur dog shit eyes and see that there are better things than ms out there and whats up with this pee play on second life. i like ur son more,hes tru,gets mad only genuinely ,well,even he's a kid,, but u bloody cocksucker,u just play politics with ur fuck drama mad show. the only reason u put this post for flamin is to get people to trust you,getting more crowd into ur shadow becoz itl get people more onto ur (urggh)humane side after all those flaming against u. now u bloody shitter,,ur acting just like ur pimp MS, ur only covering your stinky ass and trying to impress upon them tht people who actually hate u are just making wrong assumptions and are not credible.ofcourse just becoz ur more read ,,doesnt make ur more trustworthy,if not for the silly goat flock bloggers that keeps nodding their heads everytime u blame somebody and go on adding u their blogroll(theyre just trying to getfamous,u bloody dumb fat blonde bitch,cant u see that???) the only thing u do because this blog is the only business u bloody have and the readers,covering ass is important not because "you" feel its important, but for business,,because once ur credibility is lost,ur readers woulnt think once about shitting on you.ur life's over..what more do u have than this blog bitch. and ur cruel attitude with steve gilmore and another filthy ass cover afterwards.u really think people believe u,fuck you,you half dollar whore. alright thanks for listening ,,now just go back to ur bill cock sucking,,
whooooo, i feel better now
Soulhuntre
· 3 years ago
Let's face it - people love to target the "big guy". Anyone who is sucessful in any field will get this sort of thing all the time.
Ignore them.
p.s. I would love a job at Microsoft, call me!
Luke Gedeon
· 3 years ago
Scoble, I switched to apple because I needed a computer that would work, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. But, I still think MS has the potential to make good software. And your blog is part of the reason I still hold onto hope for the company that made computers a commodity. I started reading your blog shortly after I switched. (I was finally able to connect to the internet from home.) I was excited to hear about and research Office 12, and get the scope on one of my MS zealot friends. The info on Wordpress, helped me choose what has turned out to be a really cool tool. Many of your other links have made my life better or more enjoyable. I can definitely understand peoples frustration with MS, but I am total mystified about your flamers. Why do they keep reading? And, even more perplexing, why do they keep writing? I guess I have never experienced true uncontrolled rage or anger. I have heard that it can cause strange reactions. And, yet another mystery; you seem to enjoy the flames. You thrive on the adrenaline that pours into your veins as you are attacked for things that are not your fault and reprimanded for trying to do what is right. You really enjoy this, don't you?
yah, and if i tel u,,ul just s
· 3 years ago
luke, me for example dont read this blog because of scoble. u see this blooody whore has nothin to say for himself but dumpshit trash.i dont care much for dumpshit trash like he does. but the problem is with the readers.now that he's so famous,people somehow keep trying to get him to post their links ,, and a lot of their links turn out to be useful.i dont hate microsoft,i like it for my own reasons none of which is associated with this dumb dick head,who thinks he's cool because he's got all those people trying to sell them their links.. hey shithead scobleizer or whatever: a lot of ur readers just come here for the links,fucker,, what do u mean "this is my blog,deal with it",,who asked u to put up this blog and "evangelize" microsoft.typical celbrity showoff. i want it but dont want it. whore behaviour -mr.x
Interesting how the worst flamers duck for cover as soon as you invite them in. Tomorrow they'll be back. As soon as you post something earnest, they'll be back. That's their MO. No pain will be received by you from this post (since it's an invitation and your back is not turned) which is exactly why nobody's serious about dishing it out here. It's just a *demonstration* of warfare.
I feel bad whenever I read your blog, Robert. A hostile crowd gathers here pretty regularly. How do you become a magnet for healthy discussion?
I'd consider changing formats - blog but find a different way to represent the ideas.
Have you read a book called "Fierce Conversations?"
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Matthew, no. I'll look it up. Thanks!
Not sure either. I think it's time to take some time off, let all the trolls find someone else to pick on, then start with a fresh slate.
Aaron
· 3 years ago
Flamers just look at yourselves for a minute. Think about it. You're overflowing with rage, spite and hatred like you've just caught your partner in bed with someone else. All for what again?
The opinion of an employee at a software company.
Take a deep breath and think about it again.
The opinions of one guy at a company that makes software.
Now go outside for some fresh air. Reflect on why it is you get so wound up by one guy expressing his opinion on software issues. Then you will realise you need a life.
dmad
· 3 years ago
@82. That's true, but how does that apply to Scoble?
Mike
· 3 years ago
You still owe me wine, Scoble. :)
Jeff
· 3 years ago
Hate is good. Love is good. Indifference sucks.
Embrace it.
Budda-budda
· 3 years ago
Here you have it: Scoble, you must stop blogging at once and push on Channel 9 videos - the site was not updated for nearly a week! Lazy bastard.
Dave
· 3 years ago
The bottom line for me - you are two-faced in just about every way.
For instance, I simply asked you where the "transparency" was last week. Nothing personal, nothing rude... and you immediate reply was to call me anonymous, ask me where my blog was, request I prove who I work for (otherwise I _must_ work for a competitor)....
All of which would otherwise mean I don't matter. Nice way to act what you preach Robert.
Now, is THIS comment personal? Sure is. As personal as I get. (Please note, like always, I speak in tempered tones - not using words like "jerk", "liar", "idiot" - unlike you.) Very personal, since you somehow think you can (a) say such things ad hominum while (b) somehow portray yourself as not sinking to levels I never did until YOU provoked me.
Yes. That makes you human. But it also shows you "nakedly" for exactly what you are....
And all this doesn't even bring up what THIS antagonistic two-faced titled post does.
Did I use the term "two-faced" properly there? I mean just a few days ago you were asking someone lose their job over a headline that really is no worse - or provocative or attention-seeking - than this post.
Venom? Sure, you provoked me.... yet if you really care to check it out Robert, you'd notice that while I replied to your taunt - I still haven't stooped to the level you did to me. While I just flamed you (hopefully) well... I never found the need to resort to anything I cannot back up. Or called your passion/background/person into play. Unlike you did last week in totally unprovoked ways.
You speak of being sorry a few posts ago. Then you post this?
I'll only give you credit for one thing - you do face and reply to comments in your blog. But the manner in which you do lately simply lacks... class.
There. Is that last sentence a flame worthy of making you consider taking a MUCH needed break from blogging?
Peace. And yes, please consider the damage you have done - it does go both ways you know - the past week. At the very least you have polarized things significantly.
Greg
· 3 years ago
YOUR A GICANTIC POOPY HEAD AND CHANNEL9 IS MADE OF POOP AND YOUR MOM IS MADE OF POOP TOO.
I am so sorry, I love you.
A. J. Santiago
· 3 years ago
Oh come on, in the industry like this, you can only be liked or hated. Nothing in the middle. People are encouraged to voice their opinions on certain issues. Especially when you step into a medium such as this, wherein anonymity is pretty much commonplace, one should not be surprised to see thoughts that contradict and oppose what the writer thinks. I think I'm not making too much sense here.
And yes, Robert Scoble... drop the fat. The fat slob who blogs in their mother's basement gimmick is old.
Kenneth Rohde
· 3 years ago
Scoble,
I agree with a lot of people that you made a mistake last week. and yes, you have said so yourself. Kudos to admitting to it.
On the other hand I think someone should write a book about people and their behaviour online because I see this receiving more and more attention. people say things online they would never say to a persons face, both as blog comments and in regular IM chats and on websites such as MySpace. I also believe this is the a reason for people stealing music online. These same people would never steal a cd from a physical record store - that would be "wrong". But because the screen distances oneself from another, the same ethical principles are neglected and people curse and insult people in ways they would otherwise never do - and get a lot more personal.
Tom
· 3 years ago
Reminds me of the festival where the electricity went (I think it was the electricity) the DJ (John Peel, the legend.) encouraged the entire audience to shout "John Peel is a cunt" as loud as they could to prevent them getting ugly.
A few years later he was seen with it emblazoned on a T-shirt.
I wasn't there, I was told about it - so forgive me if the details are missing.
Oscar
· 3 years ago
What is all this about? I read this blog just to get some information and learn a bit. I did not like the post about banning people from the blogosphere (what I do not like is the irony there), but it's fine, it's my point of view. But why is everybody getting mad and saying all this? More and more I am beginning to think that the famous article in Businessweek about blogs is becoming true! Why people spends time insulting somebody else. If that was a politician, I would understand that they would be trying to convince voters not to vote for him/her. But what's the point of all this. OK with discussing ideas, but why personal attacks? Has anything to do the fact that many people is making a living out of clicks on advert and traffic? And rude words and quarrels attract that like shit the flies? And why are you writting more about it than about the other stuff. Does anyone remember that if you can't say anything good about somebody, better not say anything? I am getting really fed up with A-lists, Truth owners, and other people who think they are important just because they have a tool that let's them publish whatever runs around their minds.
wonkthis
· 3 years ago
Robert, your idea to take some time off is a good one. You are attracting an audience that isn't the one you want. A little down time to consider how you might attract a different audience sounds like time well spent. We attract what we put out there.
A personal karma adjustment by you would be a service to your readers, as well.
katfood
· 3 years ago
You should be ashamed of yourself... This is more juvinile then my eight year old. I am a consumer. I read this blog to understand MSFT and how things work on the inside. This certainly leaves a less than mature impression of how MSFT's public poster child, who represents one of the largest and greatest companies, behaves. Let's focus please. Are you blogging in order to give insight into MSFT, innovation and technology or are you blogging to make yourself look foolish, childish & condescending (remember, you wrote a book about corporate blogging). People look to you as a leader and spokesperson... Instigating a post of this kind is the silliest thing you could have done. You should have moved on and ignored it. Take the freakin' high road and get back to why you are here. Why do you blog? I certainly cannot believe it is to get the technical public riled up about YOU. How selfish...
This certainly leaves a less than mature impression of how MSFT’s public poster child, who represents one of the largest and greatest companies, behaves.
Yeah. Just he (and most bloggers) are infused with that bait game come-on, that even bad publicity is good publicity.
The count the wins, the hits on Channel 9 and other communities. But they don't see the losses, they don't count the turn-aways. It's all the usual dot.com Dean-styled fuzzy eyeballs accounting, not very big picture. It becomes circular elitest and eventually the community eats itself apart. Happens to every Microsoft-created community eventually.
Anonymous
· 3 years ago
"Who can write the best anti-Scoble flame?"
I'll let you know what I honestly thing, anonymously.
I think you have a job an 8 year old could do, and that you get paid the salary of 10 people who have jobs that require an actual skill.
I think you know all of this. I also think the same of Sandquist. I think you'll do and say anything to keep your 6 figures, barring absolutely nothing.
I think you work amongst a group of truly pompous and shallow people.
What else, hmmmm....
I think that your "common man" act is pathetically dull. "huh, huh, I'm just one of you, reporting from the outside". Anybody with an IQ over 50 can see through it.
I think you're a horrible actor. Take some lessons, then come back and try again.
Steve Fleming
· 3 years ago
Hey I love you man, but here goes.
"Scoble, he's the log in blog."
or
"Scoble, always sucking up to Guy Kawasaki."
bob corrigan
· 3 years ago
Who's Scoble?
Mike Abundo
· 3 years ago
Most personal attacks in my comments are so ridiculous, they're too funny to delete. :P
Seyed
· 3 years ago
Robert, this post is why I continue to subscribe to your feeds. I skip past the inane links to dumb M$ products (hmmm... Tablet? Um, right... hmmm... Oragami? Um, right....) and the buzzword bingo (hmmm... web 2.0? Um, right... Meme trackers? Um, right).
I come here to watch a man publicly flog himself in the service of a giant corporation that may once have been evil but is now just a big large mediocre beast. It amuses me how this creature has consumed so much talent to spew out so much sub-standard technology.
This amusement was fun to witness in the age of fury against its illegal monopolistic practices and when its inferior products would cause rage in offices across the land. It was mildy entertaining watching the Slashdot crowd rage in impotence. But ultimately it was writing itself into irrelevance. It was rich and lumbering and would be a feature of the landscape for years to come but it was forgottable. It just wasn't entertaining and frankly I had almost forgotten it existed.
Then came Robert Scoble: Microsoft Martyr. "Woe is me! My poor misrepresented comrades! The lying internets and scumbag journalists who don't give us a chance!"
For this service to comedy I thank you Robert. More posts like this please and if possible become ever slightly more shrill, have a few more blogging breaks to return vitalised, minimise the fluff of links to buzzwords / shit products and proceed directly to lengthy sermons of masochism.
I do so enjoy those.
Sincerely,
Your biggest fan.
Robert Bruce
· 3 years ago
Someone please pass the Kleenex. And while you're at it please explain who this Scoobie chappie is?! What's his claim to fame?
"The difference between a Petzold book and People Magazine" ?
Scott...What, are you nuts ? How long HAVE you been reading anything Charles has written ? I still have my original copy of Programming Windows from 1988. Other than that edition, I think he's had ONE more useful release (re: flavor) of that book. Not that People magazine is the height of stylized prose, but Petzold ? Pick a better writer, Richter ( oops, can't do that, he's not at MS anymore ), Grimes ( Nope, he's not a .NET rah-rah man anymore either ), BOX !. Yes, Don Box. Now I get it.
All Comments
Scoble rocks. :)
Maybe we'll play that game tomorrow here. :-)
Or even worse, I don't read you everyday :)
Hmmm, I've been called a traitor and anti-American for my technical views and much worse! I get maybe 1% of what you get Robert, as I'm only an M-list blogger (recently upgraded!), so it's only amusing to me, but it might get to me if I had a constant torrent of nasties unleased at me.
Ted: you used my wife's line. That one hurts! ;-)
Technology just hasn't come up with a good enough flame retardant suit for the blogosphere. :)
;-)
Well, I don't think you're retard ;-)
It has nothing to do about what you do or say - it's all about beating up (one of) the most notorious guys around. Call it envy, a complex, whatever. We all have a role to play, no one will ever agree with us 100%; when the insults become personal, tough on the poor and obnoxious souls who do it.
But loosing some weight would't harm you :-)
Now, if you said "you fat swine, you haven't provided enough thoughtful analysis on Microsoft's attitude towards ODF" then you would be a contender.
Anyway, I gotta get some sleep. Even fat, rude, lazy, non-doing, egotistical, idiotic, corporate shilling bahstards need to sleep.
Haha!
And I'm on Patrick's side.. go Apple!
Seriously, I sometimes think you're bias towards Microsoft but I figured that if you're working and talking with the Microsoft folks most of your waking hours (here's me assuming), then you'd see them in a more personal light and heck, some are great friends. Hence, it's only natural to get defensive when's there's an 'attack' on Microsoft. Anyway, that's my take on human-nature-biasness. Ain't your fault! Be glad to be only human!
As for weight issues... the more the merrier.. there's more to share around.. and more for us to love. If that freaks you out, then hell yeah, go for salads, fruits and sushi!!
Sushi lovers of the world, unite!
I'm not into religion, but you reap what you sow.
Something happens with Microsoft and you're in the front lines saying how you'll call this person or that. Then when folks respond about MS in your comments, you go, "Hey! This is a personal weblog!"
You write things you know are going to trigger a heated response, and then you go, "Oh, bad week." or "Oh, I was tired. I'm only human".
True to both -- but you do it a lot more frequently than most folks.
Most of all, lately you've been demanding that we do this and do that--outrageous. And then when people just plain disagree, you call it a flame.
I don't think you want dialog. I don't think you want conversation. And I don't think you really care about the flames as long as the buzz is still there.
Don't let it get you down :)
When you work for the Yankees of computer software, you have to live with either being hated or loved, not much in between. But as you already know, any press is good press. (Fat retard aside).
Think of the good times when you move to Quincy and the most excitement you have is spending Saturday nites in Levinworth dancing the Polka and Drinking Stiens of beer! :-)
If you need a break, head over to the Yakima Valley and we'll taste test our wine until we throw caution to the wind and surf the net all night with IE with all our spyware protection turned off.
But a real flame should have a kernel of truth, or at least a central issue. That is, it's a comment about something, just very heated. In my case, I tend to write with emotion and emphasis, because it's how I speak. When I speak in public, I move around. Somewhere in Dallas, there's film of me using a statue of an astronaut to show the difference between Bluetooth and IRDA. I yell, I get into it.
If I'm going to tell you I think something you said is dumb, there's no fun in it, unless I can hear it in my head, the pitch changes, the emphasis on certain words, etc. It's a challenge to write it exactly the way I would say it, and it's fun in an odd sort of way. Some people use photoshop or painter, or a bit of chalk, I use text.
But calling you some bizarro-world midget Sta-Puff Man? nah, that's too easy :-P
No sense dressing up fourth grade-level insults with adult language ..
scoblephoria: a state of overzealous spin doctoring because you think something is cool.
I thought it was a bit harsh but it seems to be what people are accusing you of unfortunately. Feedback always welcome ;)
May you forever have monkeys fling poo at you each time you pass by their cage at the zoo. Don't even think of passing by the elephants.
So there.
The truth is, there are a number of Microsoft employee blogs that are supposedly only personal in nature but that continually seem designed only to do PR control; and then use the caveat of "this is just a personal blog" when the lines are clearly not delineated and are called out as being mouthpieces for PR assaults.
If you think for a moment that I think this and majornelson's are personal blogs unaffected by anything other than an affinity for the worker at the company, then I have a Nigerian friend who has access to $7million that with your help can be split evenly between you and him.
These blogs are nothing more than PR stunts. There is no way if this was a blog that reflected genuine, personal, unaffected views that the Origami would've been touted as it was here - because the overwhelming consensus of comments, the universal consensus, was that it wasn't so hot.
Likewise, anyone with any semblance of clarity can see that Vista's delay isn't good news and there is a serious problem taking hold at Microsoft - brain drain coupled with a lack of faith in lower level employees. It's all about the parking lots. Used to be up in Redmond there were cars parked there all night.
How many very young engineers and coders would say that working at Microsoft is their top goal post college right now? How many are working at Microsoft because they truly believe in it?
If your company really wants to understand blogs then understand we want unfettered honesty and hypocrisy will be challenged.
Now get some sleep. Obviously you're not fat or retarded. John Porcaro, though...
I do tend to believe that Microsoft is going to HAVE to change soon, because the racket they/you run (like Windows & Office licensing) isn't going to fly the same way going forward, but you in particular tend to have some pretty decent vision, and I think having you around is a good thing for Redmond in general. You are able to conjure up some pretty good feelings about a company whose supporters are often perceived as idiots by the technical elitists, especially when they often are goons who haven't been exposed to alternatives or chowderheads who have, but don't understand it.
Time to dump Windows legacy application support and rebuild from scratch. Support THAT and you'll really get people talking!
As I've said before though, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
My firm is a huge fan of blogging in business. We advise on blogs, help create content, etc. But, what do you tell a company going through a situation like this about the virtues of blogging? How about companies that are watching what's going on here and trying to decide whether or not this is something they want to jump into? What's the upside here? To respond to criticism, or just engaging in a conversation that's going to happen whether you join it or not?
Is there a real benefit to a company when the level of transparency has risen this high? Red Herring just picked up this story because of the blogging about it.
the remarkable thing is that installing ubuntu several months ago was much, much easier. it's better about security updates, too: no fascist "activation"/validation. 17,000 open source packages at my finger tips that can be automatically downloaded, installed, and configured with a few clicks or keystrokes.
the day has come, mr. scoble, when it is entirely probably that configuring and installing a linux distribution like ubuntu is easier than installing and configuring windows.
now it's off to google i go to where i will try to figure out how to load back GRUB so i can boot into linux and get back to getting work done.
Now if this was Bills blog......
You, sir, are incapable of doing exactly what every individual (who reads this blog, or reads about you on dozens of other blogs) expects you to do. Ergo, you are a cad.
You have too few reasons for this post.
Diffuse venom, fine. Generate traffic, fine. Get kudos, fine. Because you want to, not good enough for most, but I will give it to you.
Frankly that's not enough. There are so many people who respect and despise you... apparently you don't care about all of them equally. They all have reasons for why you wrote this post. Do you really think the four I mentioned will cover their points-of-view, too? Hardly!
Robert, Mr. Cad if you will, you need to quit your job. Not so the shilliness can be washed from you, over time of course, but so you can devote the time necessary to appease all your readers. Also, it might help if you don't enjoy life. Yeah that's good, too.
In the end, this isn't a personal blog, it's a person-all blog. One for all. (All for One™ functionality available Fall 2008.)
What I'm buckling under right now is every person who believes Microsoft has to pay for past sins and market domination.
I didn't start *this* fire. And I don't see a need to feed it. But it's an interesting conundrum. Will it always be there as an impossible to reconcile criticism? Is ignoring it or throwing it away the exact wrong thing to do?
Cheers,
Mini.
Personally I like your comments better when you prune out the noise and only send the signal. It's made me think that I should do the same here. I just wish I had the time to do it.
That's absolutely not true. The tables around the Origami at Mix06 were JAMMED. That wouldn't have happened if people weren't interested and many people said they were excited about the new devices.
It might come to you as a shock, but I genuinely AM excited about Origami. Still am. If that's gonna earn me flames, so be it.
One thing though. Most of the flames came from people who had never had their hands on one. It's amazing how so many people make up their minds on a product before even trying one out for 15 minutes. I doubt, for instance, that you've had YOUR hands on one. You just instinctively hate it. That's cool, I guess, but it says more about you than it says about me.
You'll never admit it but you don't care about the conversation. You want to generate buzz for Microsoft and that's about it.
Sadly, I'd expect more from you than what you've devolved into. Why are you acting like a 2 year old with, "boo hoo, woe is me" type posts.
Usually we get better than that from you.
Just because lots of people wanted to see what Origami was all about at MIX doesn't make it a hot product.
It just makes it new -- you use retarded logic like this all the time.
I'm a lot smarter reading people like Alex Russel, Brent Simmons, Scott Hanselman, and Wolf Rentzsch than I am reading you. It's the difference between a Petzold book and People magazine.
I would just hope that next time, for your own sanity, you do what M J Foley did: say "this is patently false" and then walk away. BS doesn't deserve any more time and energy than that.
By the way, your socks don't match.
I've posted dozens of links to dozens of really cool things in the past 50 hours. You're saying you didn't learn ONE thing from all those? Wow.
That said, there are lots of business benefits of having a blogger who loves his company, loves his work, loves his industry. We cover most of those in the book.
This is blindingly obvious to everyone. Your blog should reflect that instead of worrying about people calling you names. How about using this blog to admit that, find out how maybe the company can do better, and putting it to good use, instead of trying to manipulate our reality?
Also he's a big stupid dumb poopoo head.
I guess I won the flame contest!
Sebhelyesfarku: heheh! You're right about that! My son is a Maczealot. I was one from 1984 through 1993.
It is also amazing that you actually receive money for all the meaningless BS you write ... ah well, maybe your blogs server a higher purpose, but I fail to see it.
You are insulated, live in a echo chamber, and are ignorant of what the real world wants or needs from technology. Geeks you understand. People and companies that can benefit from technology you don't understand.
But, you seem to be a great husband and father and at the end of the day know that in 10 years no one will remember why this blog existed, but that your wife and son will remember how much time you focused on work and how much time you focused on them. And that as far as they were concerned, I submit that your priorities were in the right order.
No.
:-b
Your decline into madness has really picked up speed.
So you are trying Aversion Therapy now? Doesn't work.
http://theheadlemur.typepad.com/ravinglunacy/20...
I hope we do not have to destroy the village to save it
This latest "attack me" post is troubling... :/
Regardless if I agree, or disagree with your postings, the glimpse into MS is great.
People will call you a corporate shill, but what other companies have this level of transparency? Does Dell? HP? IBM? Sony? Sun? Disney? Fidelity? Your neighborhood restaurant? Nope.
You're brave to be the lightning rod for MS -- keep it up as long as you can stand it!
Enough is enough, this blog has had several outstanding links, comments, and banter that keeps over 180,000 people subscribed to it. This is NOT the Microsoft blog that should be generating all of this content.
I know that I am just one of the 187,000 + people, however, my voice that I would add to this is:
Scoble stop with this BS, we know that it has been a rough couple of weeks and yes your son is an outstanding flamer. I do not really care what somebody who is trying to make a name for him or her self says. I want those links and opinions on what you find on the internet.
As for all of the commenters that have nothing better to do, if all you want to do is to bad mouth people in public while demonstrating your inability to perform - get a sign!
You caused me to look the word up just to be sure:
appease: pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands.
In what way has Microsoft changed? I don't think allowing blogs counts, as I don't remember any users critical of Microsoft were demanding that they allow blogs. How about a lower price? How about making possible that $100 PC that Balmer seems to think is such a desirable goal? How about not belittling people working on a $100 PC for the poor? How about getting out in front of the trend by abandoning monopolistic practices and focusing on product quality rather than lock-in techniques? How about adopting existing standards for interfaces instead of always inventing new semi-proprietary ones?
There are a lot of things that your company could do to appease its users as well as people who have already left for greener pastures, but I don't see any of them being done.
As to flaming, if accusing someone of being a shill is a flame, then accusing them of being a liar must be too right? As I see it, someone can be an unintentional shill, but you can't be an unintentional liar, and you have accused other journalists and bloggers of being liars here on several occasions, when in at least a few instances, if what they said was not true, they may have simply been mistaken. By the very measure that you have applied to others you must be a liar as you have admitted to saying things here that turned out to not be true.
I'll close by giving you some seemingly contradictory advice (but it's not):
Look in the mirror before you post. And: It's not about YOU.
Sorry, no flaming here, find it moronic and counter-productive. Perhaps peoples' willingness to flame is a sign that civilization is doomed or at least civility. There are times when I feel the comments are bias or uninformed, but if I have a real issue I will state as such in the most thoughtful manner I can muster.
There is one thing though. I dislike your header graphic, it cause flashbacks of the '70s, oh the horror!
I for one will keep reading, long live RSS.
But the company I most want to work for is Microsoft, and the biggest reason for that is Scoble, and the other people at Channel 9, and the other MS employees who blog.
They show anyone who's willing to open their eyes what things are really like at Microsoft and despite the fact that a lot of the industry treats them like shit, they really seem to enjoy what they do.
One suggestion though Robert: when you've got interesting things to blog about, you tend to pack 10 or more of them into one post with just a line or two about each, whereas you dedicated whole rants to less interesting things like what people are saying about you. It'd be nice if you could keep the main posts for the interesting things, and respond to the comments in the comments, and maybe one blog post a week to respond to all the things people have said about you on other blogs, just one or two lines for each.
[That's the insult part.]
Seriously, the only thing I can think of that you should be doing that you're not is examining some of the issues being talked about on Mini-Microsoft.
My biggest consern however, is not for the people like Scoble, but for the kids like myself who are looked uppon as nerds and geeks, fat kids who do nothing but sit on their computer and play games. Ironic, the guys saying this doesn't even know what programming means, but thats just a measure of how completely wrong they are. These kids don't have that "buffer" that can understand what is personal and what is business, what you can take serious and what you can't, most of us look down at the loosers who don't understand that MS is a company that has a history of doing great things, being great businessmen and earning money. At the end the best player stays on the field, and 30 years is a heck of a long time to be a company that doesn't make good and inovative products. Sorry for my bad english.
I am a true blue Mac user, so you have this coming:
Insulting someone's weight is no different from insulting their ethnicity or sexual orientation. It's low, nasty, and shameful. It's really no better to "suggest" to someone that he or she should lose weight. Look up MYOB in the Wikipedia (I mean Encarta! Yeah!)
I haven't read your blog more than a couple of times, but I'll throw my support to you and your efforts (despite my lack of enthusiasm for your employer) _because of_ the misguided who attack you or anyone else with nasty insults.
Take that! ;)
Ex2bot
Proud Mac . . .uhhh . . . Microsoft Office v.X user! Yeah!
You've got a very unique perspective - access to people and information, and the ability to tie that together to let us know what's happening on a broad scale. You also have a large amount of influence, both inside and outside Microsoft. Use your powers for good!
People will always complain and nitpick, especially tech people. If everyone always agrees with you, you're just an advocate for the status quo. Of course, it's easy to argue over inconsequential things or generate a stir by starting a meaningless controversy, but your position allows you to challenge your readership in really good ways. If you're going to risk being wrong, make it count, but please continue to risk being wrong.
There are folks who will tear down whatever you try to build for reasons completely unrelated to what you're trying to build - they're just mean, they think Microsoft stands between them and utopia, they envy success, etc. Giving these people undue attention does exactly what they intend - at a minimum, it distracts you from your message, and at worst it detracts from your credibility.
There's so much in technology right now that desperately needs a spokesman. An example is InfoCard - it could solve so many fundamental problems, and in the right way. And yet, if the word doesn't get out, there's the risk that it will be dismissed as "Passport II". You are in a position to sell this technology in a way that few people can, and this is just one of many such potential technologies.
Go to it!
u never give others a chance,its always ms this ms that.
open ur dog shit eyes and see that there are better things than ms out there and whats up with this pee play on second life.
i like ur son more,hes tru,gets mad only genuinely ,well,even he\'s a kid,, but u bloody cocksucker,u just play politics with ur fuck drama mad show.
the only reason u put this post for flamin is to get people to trust you,getting more crowd into ur shadow becoz itl get people more onto ur (urggh)humane side after all those flaming against u. now u bloody shitter,,ur acting just like ur pimp MS, ur only covering your stinky ass and trying to impress upon them tht people who actually hate u are just making wrong assumptions and are not credible.ofcourse just becoz ur more read ,,doesnt make ur more trustworthy,if not for the silly goat flock bloggers that keeps nodding their heads everytime u blame somebody and go on adding u their blogroll(theyre just trying to getfamous,u bloody dumb fat blonde bitch,cant u see that???)
the only thing u do because this blog is the only business u bloody have and the readers,covering ass is important not because \"you\" feel its important, but for business,,because once ur credibility is lost,ur readers woulnt think once about shitting on you.ur life\'s over..what more do u have than this blog bitch.
and ur cruel attitude with steve gilmore and another filthy ass cover afterwards.u really think people believe u,fuck you,you half dollar whore.
alright thanks for listening ,,now just go back to ur bill cock sucking,,
whooooo, i feel better now
u never give others a chance,its always ms this ms that.
open ur dog shit eyes and see that there are better things than ms out there and whats up with this pee play on second life.
i like ur son more,hes tru,gets mad only genuinely ,well,even he's a kid,, but u bloody cocksucker,u just play politics with ur fuck drama mad show.
the only reason u put this post for flamin is to get people to trust you,getting more crowd into ur shadow becoz itl get people more onto ur (urggh)humane side after all those flaming against u. now u bloody shitter,,ur acting just like ur pimp MS, ur only covering your stinky ass and trying to impress upon them tht people who actually hate u are just making wrong assumptions and are not credible.ofcourse just becoz ur more read ,,doesnt make ur more trustworthy,if not for the silly goat flock bloggers that keeps nodding their heads everytime u blame somebody and go on adding u their blogroll(theyre just trying to getfamous,u bloody dumb fat blonde bitch,cant u see that???)
the only thing u do because this blog is the only business u bloody have and the readers,covering ass is important not because "you" feel its important, but for business,,because once ur credibility is lost,ur readers woulnt think once about shitting on you.ur life's over..what more do u have than this blog bitch.
and ur cruel attitude with steve gilmore and another filthy ass cover afterwards.u really think people believe u,fuck you,you half dollar whore.
alright thanks for listening ,,now just go back to ur bill cock sucking,,
whooooo, i feel better now
Ignore them.
p.s. I would love a job at Microsoft, call me!
me for example dont read this blog because of scoble.
u see this blooody whore has nothin to say for himself but dumpshit trash.i dont care much for dumpshit trash like he does.
but the problem is with the readers.now that he's so famous,people somehow keep trying to get him to post their links ,, and a lot of their links turn out to be useful.i dont hate microsoft,i like it for my own reasons none of which is associated with this dumb dick head,who thinks he's cool because he's got all those people trying to sell them their links..
hey shithead scobleizer or whatever: a lot of ur readers just come here for the links,fucker,, what do u mean "this is my blog,deal with it",,who asked u to put up this blog and "evangelize" microsoft.typical celbrity showoff. i want it but dont want it. whore behaviour
-mr.x
It's an addiction. I think I'll enter the 12-step program. See here: http://theheadlemur.typepad.com/ravinglunacy/20...
Interesting how the worst flamers duck for cover as soon as you invite them in. Tomorrow they'll be back. As soon as you post something earnest, they'll be back. That's their MO. No pain will be received by you from this post (since it's an invitation and your back is not turned) which is exactly why nobody's serious about dishing it out here. It's just a *demonstration* of warfare.
I feel bad whenever I read your blog, Robert. A hostile crowd gathers here pretty regularly. How do you become a magnet for healthy discussion?
I'd consider changing formats - blog but find a different way to represent the ideas.
Have you read a book called "Fierce Conversations?"
Not sure either. I think it's time to take some time off, let all the trolls find someone else to pick on, then start with a fresh slate.
The opinion of an employee at a software company.
Take a deep breath and think about it again.
The opinions of one guy at a company that makes software.
Now go outside for some fresh air. Reflect on why it is you get so wound up by one guy expressing his opinion on software issues. Then you will realise you need a life.
Embrace it.
For instance, I simply asked you where the "transparency" was last week. Nothing personal, nothing rude... and you immediate reply was to call me anonymous, ask me where my blog was, request I prove who I work for (otherwise I _must_ work for a competitor)....
All of which would otherwise mean I don't matter. Nice way to act what you preach Robert.
Now, is THIS comment personal? Sure is. As personal as I get. (Please note, like always, I speak in tempered tones - not using words like "jerk", "liar", "idiot" - unlike you.) Very personal, since you somehow think you can (a) say such things ad hominum while (b) somehow portray yourself as not sinking to levels I never did until YOU provoked me.
Yes. That makes you human. But it also shows you "nakedly" for exactly what you are....
And all this doesn't even bring up what THIS antagonistic two-faced titled post does.
Did I use the term "two-faced" properly there? I mean just a few days ago you were asking someone lose their job over a headline that really is no worse - or provocative or attention-seeking - than this post.
Venom? Sure, you provoked me.... yet if you really care to check it out Robert, you'd notice that while I replied to your taunt - I still haven't stooped to the level you did to me. While I just flamed you (hopefully) well... I never found the need to resort to anything I cannot back up. Or called your passion/background/person into play. Unlike you did last week in totally unprovoked ways.
You speak of being sorry a few posts ago. Then you post this?
I'll only give you credit for one thing - you do face and reply to comments in your blog. But the manner in which you do lately simply lacks... class.
There. Is that last sentence a flame worthy of making you consider taking a MUCH needed break from blogging?
Peace. And yes, please consider the damage you have done - it does go both ways you know - the past week. At the very least you have polarized things significantly.
I am so sorry, I love you.
And yes, Robert Scoble... drop the fat. The fat slob who blogs in their mother's basement gimmick is old.
I agree with a lot of people that you made a mistake last week. and yes, you have said so yourself. Kudos to admitting to it.
On the other hand I think someone should write a book about people and their behaviour online because I see this receiving more and more attention. people say things online they would never say to a persons face, both as blog comments and in regular IM chats and on websites such as MySpace. I also believe this is the a reason for people stealing music online. These same people would never steal a cd from a physical record store - that would be "wrong". But because the screen distances oneself from another, the same ethical principles are neglected and people curse and insult people in ways they would otherwise never do - and get a lot more personal.
A few years later he was seen with it emblazoned on a T-shirt.
I wasn't there, I was told about it - so forgive me if the details are missing.
But why is everybody getting mad and saying all this? More and more I am beginning to think that the famous article in Businessweek about blogs is becoming true! Why people spends time insulting somebody else. If that was a politician, I would understand that they would be trying to convince voters not to vote for him/her. But what's the point of all this. OK with discussing ideas, but why personal attacks? Has anything to do the fact that many people is making a living out of clicks on advert and traffic? And rude words and quarrels attract that like shit the flies? And why are you writting more about it than about the other stuff.
Does anyone remember that if you can't say anything good about somebody, better not say anything?
I am getting really fed up with A-lists, Truth owners, and other people who think they are important just because they have a tool that let's them publish whatever runs around their minds.
A personal karma adjustment by you would be a service to your readers, as well.
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archive...
Yeah. Just he (and most bloggers) are infused with that bait game come-on, that even bad publicity is good publicity.
The count the wins, the hits on Channel 9 and other communities. But they don't see the losses, they don't count the turn-aways. It's all the usual dot.com Dean-styled fuzzy eyeballs accounting, not very big picture. It becomes circular elitest and eventually the community eats itself apart. Happens to every Microsoft-created community eventually.
I'll let you know what I honestly thing, anonymously.
I think you have a job an 8 year old could do, and that you get paid the salary of 10 people who have jobs that require an actual skill.
I think you know all of this. I also think the same of Sandquist.
I think you'll do and say anything to keep your 6 figures, barring absolutely nothing.
I think you work amongst a group of truly pompous and shallow people.
What else, hmmmm....
I think that your "common man" act is pathetically dull. "huh, huh, I'm just one of you, reporting from the outside". Anybody with an IQ over 50 can see through it.
I think you're a horrible actor. Take some lessons, then come back and try again.
"Scoble, he's the log in blog."
or
"Scoble, always sucking up to Guy Kawasaki."
I come here to watch a man publicly flog himself in the service of a giant corporation that may once have been evil but is now just a big large mediocre beast. It amuses me how this creature has consumed so much talent to spew out so much sub-standard technology.
This amusement was fun to witness in the age of fury against its illegal monopolistic practices and when its inferior products would cause rage in offices across the land. It was mildy entertaining watching the Slashdot crowd rage in impotence. But ultimately it was writing itself into irrelevance. It was rich and lumbering and would be a feature of the landscape for years to come but it was forgottable. It just wasn't entertaining and frankly I had almost forgotten it existed.
Then came Robert Scoble: Microsoft Martyr. "Woe is me! My poor misrepresented comrades! The lying internets and scumbag journalists who don't give us a chance!"
For this service to comedy I thank you Robert. More posts like this please and if possible become ever slightly more shrill, have a few more blogging breaks to return vitalised, minimise the fluff of links to buzzwords / shit products and proceed directly to lengthy sermons of masochism.
I do so enjoy those.
Sincerely,
Your biggest fan.
Luv ya really!
RB
http://comicstripblog.com/?p=212
No hard feelings, mate!
Scott...What, are you nuts ? How long HAVE you been reading anything Charles has written ? I still have my original copy of Programming Windows from 1988. Other than that edition, I think he's had ONE more useful release (re: flavor) of that book. Not that People magazine is the height of stylized prose, but Petzold ? Pick a better writer, Richter ( oops, can't do that, he's not at MS anymore ), Grimes ( Nope, he's not a .NET rah-rah man anymore either ), BOX !. Yes, Don Box. Now I get it.