So, a lot of bloggers are criticizing Gizmodo for pulling off this badass prank at CES. Crunchgear said blah blah blah, John Chow, who I normally respect big time says this gives bloggers blah blah blah, (by editing out the negativity, I’m expressing my approval—ney, respect—for this immature act because it exemplifies why blogging beats the hell out of journalism.
Business/finance/media/world: stop taking yourselves so seriously! So CES doesn’t invite them back (they were actually banned from next year’s event, LOL), all that’s going to do is make for an even funnier video of them sneaking into the event and pulling off a similar prank. (depending on how many lawsuits, if any, surface in the next few weeks).
You see blogging is all about freedom. The freedom to write whatever, whenever and however you want. To cut through all the corporate/marketing/PR BullShip. Whether it’s the technology, celebrity, sports or finance arena, whatever your little heart desires. If you write honestly and have any talent/sense of humor/experience/wisdom to pass on, you can get people to visit your site and then it’ll grow or not depending on the value of your offerings.
As for blogging being about gaining credibility—let me tell you, I’ve tasted credibility and it’s nothing to write home about. Off the top of my head, I can name about 500 foods that taste better. When I first announced I closed my tiny fund to write/teach full-time, I took a lot of flack from people saying I’d blown up and given up on trading (erroneous, erroneous on both counts!).
Since then, the haters have quieted down (probably due to my daily roundups detailing all my screw ups that somehow have still yielded a 20%+ return in the past two months?!?!), but the simple truth of the matter is it’s much more fulfilling/enjoyable/inevitably profitable to be able to say and do whatever you want. Blogging is journalism at its finest because its raw. Let’s call it the evolution of journalism. People will always need short recaps of the news, but bloggers have the luxury of being able to flip the system on its head by actually making news. And, what happened when Gizmodo stopped reporting and started creating news—after only three days, their post of the stunt has been viewed nearly 500,000 times, inevitably becoming their most popular post ever overtaking last year’s post about sex dolls for dogs, which clocks in around 750,000 views (also a very funny post).
Let us not forget, the media game is all about eyeballs—the public chooses what matters and what doesn’t. Not uptight bloggers. Not traditional or even new age media. Not the SEC, FBI, CIA, POS (politicians or sycophants). Not angry technology execs. Not any BS electoral college. It’s the people, stupid. They are all that matter and why the blogosphere is not only beautiful, it exemplifies the great American ideal of freedom. If a TV anchor or newspaper writer did this—their numbers wouldn’t budge and they’d surely be fired, their reputation in tatters. On the other hand, this stunt has solidified the reputations of all involved.
Gizmodo should be congratulated for forcing everyone to loosen up. This stunt should be spread like wildfire and serve as inspiration to bloggers and freedom lovers everywhere.