Whose blog is it anyway?
My guest post at Petite Anglaise, written as part of the virtual blog tour I am currently undertaking with Derek Torres to promote our book The Unofficial Guide to Windows Vista, has provoked some pretty strong reactions from her readers.
As I understand it, their main objection seems to be that I have taken advantage of Petite's audience to try to sell a product (did they notice the Sponsors section in her sidebar before accusing her of selling out by publishing my post?). Some commenters also seem to confuse Derek and me, two humble technical writers, with Microsoft, the company everyone loves to hate - a fact which clearly doesn't help matters, not least because it makes them think I'm promoting Vista itself rather than our book.
Surely it is up to Petite what she decides to publish on her blog, be it paid advertising, giving a helping hand to a friend or whatever else she chooses to write about.
Also, let me be clear about one thing. I am visiting five blogs on our tour, and I know each of the bloggers who are hosting me personally. Every single one of them, including Petite. That's what I'm taking advantage of - some of the many online and real world friendships that having a blog for over five years now has allowed me to form.
Finally, rather than clashing with the content that the readers of these blogs are used to finding (in the case of Petite, "a slice of life and a serving of self-indulgent navel gazing"), it was my intention to write posts that would link the topic of Windows Vista with whatever each host blogger normally writes about. Fortunately, at least some of Petite's readers seemed to find what I wrote worthwhile. One commenter even said she was going to forward the post to a friend, which, I hope you'll agree, more than makes up for being called "a cheap slime".
Comments
I think you're the last person who needs to apologise, Petite. You did us a big favour, and both Derek and I realise that.
To be honest, I found the "slime" comment more amusing than anything else. The more extreme a person's reactions, the harder it is to take him or her seriously. I am always more upset by criticism that I agree with.
Stuart | 09:06 , 1 2006
I still stand by my decision to host your tour. My commenters can be odd, to say the least, but it's MY site and I reserve the right to do precisely as I please...
But apologies for the "slime" comment, I'm afraid I have a no censorship policy.
petite | 11:29 , 30 2006
Hello CheapSlimeStuart, I think the problem with Petite's blog is that her readers invest a lot of emotions in it and as a result feel very much like it's "their" private space, where they get together to discuss very personal matters. I think that's why they got upset by what they clearly considered an invasion by someone trying to sell them stuff. The fact that your book is a study of a Microsoft product obviously didn't help... A lot of people missed out on the fact that Petite was lending a friend a hand, which makes complete sense on a personal blog, even if it clashes slightly with the rest of her site.
céline | 06:37 , 29 2006
I guess they felt it was like reading a personal diary, but then somebody came along and violated that relationship. It broke the pretense, and as with most 'falsehoods' that are self-perpetuated, the response to that discovery is not introspective.
gummi | 04:26 , 29 2006
Indeed; I found the personal attack disturbing. I'd also like to thank Petite again for graciously hosting us, as well as taking the heat for us.
Derek | 03:18 , 29 2006