im being sponsored – blogging turned ugly
firstly a real geeky badge:
I have to note that both during the les blogs conference in Paris and the london geek dinner the previous saturday I have in some content had something sponsored
a goodiebag at les blogs
all “meals” at les blogs
the sponsors got keynotes and where on panels.
when I entered the restaurant in London where the geekdinner was held , the waiter didn’t know what I was talking about when I said that we were attending the “geekdinner” – she refered to it as the “microsoft party” which left me slightly puzzled.
I soon found out that microsoft had payed 10 £ for each attendant for the food. to begin with the bill was 20 £ ( the microsoft reduction was not mentioned on geekdinner page) – so I was sponsored again. and guess what ? the sponsors got to speech.
microsoft had send their man from “MSN UK” who said that “we could love him or hate him, but we were to notise that they were at this geekdinner – and yahoo and google were not” – ( I couldn’t help but thinking that they wanted to show that they cared for the geeks).
still I the reason the geekdinners are attractive for me is that it is venues who aren’t sponsored- you pay yourself and you get to talk to people.
and I met excellent people there, some I knew, some I didn’t
I don’t care if there’s corporate bloggging – the can use the tools as they want. What is essential for me is that bloggers shouldn’t be marketed at, at a geekdinner venue. a geekdinner in my opinion is conversation. period.
what is the counteract of the corporations taking advantage of the blogosphere ?
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12 Responses
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Henriette
if for some reason there will be, I will let you know in advance *s* but I doubt it
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In Les Blogs there were lots of advertisements from the big companies that sponsored the events. On every picture of the presenters there are also couple of company logos. I thought it were because this conference has a special thread about corparate blogging. But it is paradoxial as many bloggers share the vision of free information and free media – and a kind of open source/open content approach – that the stage is decorated with totems of the intellectual propritary society we live in at present. I found it especially funny during Ben Hammersly speech, see my videoclip http://samkoma.net/videoblog/?p=13
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Not sure if I agree, Henriette. If the blogosphere was only for the geeks, it would be a lot less interesting.
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hugh, the ideology might be something but in real life, it is something quite different. so far in Denmark there is not a lot of people knowing about blogs – but they are genuinely interested in the the use of the tool – which as far as I am concerned makes them communication geeks. some people at the geekdinner are technology geeks, fashion geeks. the same thing is happening in Denmark.
corporations should become communication geeks.and I did never state that the blogosphere was only for geeks. I only stated that I don’t thing that “geekdinner” and “sponsorship” belongs in the same sentence, little mentioned in the same room.
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Goddag
I am the man Microsoft “sent” from MSN and as for a “speech” (2 minutes?) it was not my idea to speak at all. The only reason I had decided to sponsor – SUPPORT – the event was to ensure that there are many more Geek dinners in the future which I personally enjoy. I have been blogging since 2001 using Radio Userland.
The time and money Hugh puts into organising these events, booking the venue, paying in advance for the venue and food does not come for free! Hugh and I met at Les Blogs and agreed that MSN could make a small payment so that we were NOT seen as taking over the event as some big corporate company because I knew I would sadly recieve the expected trite comments like the one in your post. The venue mistakenly called it a “Microsoft event” which made me cringe too! It was and will always be a Geek dinner irrelevant of how it is paid for.
As for not pre-announcing the fact that MSN/Microsoft were making a payment was upon my request. I did not want to be seen as making a marketing gain from the wiki by marketing our sponsorship.
If I had stuck a big Microsoft/MSN logo on the Wiki you would have had a go at me for this. I cannot win.As for making a speech and leaving. I stayed until the end and then took 50+ people to Kettners restaurant for more drinks which I personally paid for. We then all stayed for several more hours talking freely and not about MSN or Microsoft.
By the way I got home for 5am! I was also the person responsible for MSN sponsoring Les blogs because they could not afford some of the costs including the free Wifi you happily used. The alternative was to significantly increase the cost of the event for each attendee.
I am sorry you feel the way you do about the corporate companies participating in these events. I am happy to withdraw our sponsorship and support if that is how participants feel. But all I ask is “seek to understand before being understood”. Have a rant at me by all means but please get your facts right first.
Thanks
Sam
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Hm, if Microsoft wants to give me a presentation, it’s gonna cost them more than 10 quid. Nothing against Microsoft per se, and they’re welcome to buy me a drink, but I think it crosses a line if they want to put in a “word from the sponsor.”
And anyway, isn’t that already covered by sending Scoble to these things?
(Meta: Henriette, why can’t I preview my comment?)
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Addendum to my previous comment:
There seems to be some disagreement about how much of a presentation per se took place there, and how much was just Microsoft paying for things.
So, to clarify my point: I don’t think it’s cool to pitch people at such a meet-up, but I do think it’s fine to pick up the tab and say why you did so.
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Frosty, I wouldn’t MSN was making a pitch. Just my opinion.
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Frosty, I wouldn’t say MSN was making a pitch. Just my opinion.
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Sam, thanks for your reply. I can only publish my opinion, and I looked for you because I wanted to have a chat with you because it all seemed really odd to me..
anyway I am sorry if I haven’t gotten the ” I didn’t get home till 5 am” right.
but everything else counts… I have corrected it in the blogpost also
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Hi Henriette
I hope at the next geek dinner we can meet up. I respect your opinion and understand your sentiment and agree that corporate companies should never turn events like the Geek dinner into a corporate presentation or pitch. I hope that my continued support for these events will be welcomed in order to ensure their continued success. It is not my aim or intention to hijack these events in any shape or form. So much so at the next one I will not even make a small pitch.
Sam
Tak
Sam
Yop – I agree – I would have my concerns about going to a dinner if I knew I was sponsored by some corporation. Not because of likes or dislikes – but to avoid being forced to listen to a sales talk about “the great Corporation X and our visions for the use of blogs…” The good thing about geekdinners or bloggerdinnes or etc. is – like you point out – the mere conversation, the exchange of views and visions with no other agenda that to broaden our minds.
And to hear somebody flashing his company – pointing out that the competitors isn’t there – that would annoy me.
I’ll gladly pay 10 or 20 £ extra to have a conversation – free of any direct we-have-to-make-some-money-talks.
I take it that there will be no sponsors at the geekdinner in Cph in january