Obligatory Kathy Sierra post, and Google "fragmentation grenades"
I have succumbed, since the bogosphere and Google and my own concerns have now all aligned:
Regarding the Kathy Sierra fracas, after much consideration and silence on my part, I am beyond tired and beyond angry. I have been wrongly named and targeted, tied to death threats I didn't make and tasteless posts I didn't write. ...
I'm now up to 681 hits on google with my name and "death threats" combined, have received emails from people saying they've gotten comments condemning them for linking to or advertising with this blog she has been involved in making death threats against Kathy which is not true. As my family name is raked over the coals across the web and in mainstream press, I would ask those of you who decided to tie me to these threats to spend the time I just did sitting still, considering your own motives and assumptions. ...
That Google bit caught my eye. I see "about 9,610" results now for a search on ["Jeneane Sessum" "death threats"], but that's a very misleading number since it includes a huge number of duplicated bogosphere posts and sindication feeds and aggravator fodder. Still, it seems to me that in contrast to a "Google bomb" (targeting of one result), this is kind of a "Google fragmentation grenade" - lots of sharp little pieces blasted out all over the territory, and you never know when one of them will do damage.
I was severely tempted to go around to the various A-list blogs which are now pontificating about the need for better behavior, and ask:
WHERE'S THE "CODE OF CONDUCT"? [Against A-lister smears] WHO ENFORCES IT?!
But I know better ![[sad face image]](http://sethf.com/images/inline-sad.gif)
Of course you're right. People lime Tim O'Reilly and Kathy Sierra and Robert Scoble are marketers. They thrive in environments where they have the only real voice, where they get to talk and talk and nobody can talk back, where they control the conversation. What marketers hate more than anything is criticism. Criticism destroys the illusion and you can't have that. So the actions of a single internet troll are now being deliberately exploited to create an environment where criticism is "unacceptable," especially criticism to the A-List marketers. They intend to turn the blogosphere into an environment that's friendly to marketers.
Your question about who watches over the A-Listers is naieve. I hope you're being sarcastic. Who watches over the current President? Those with power act without any restriction. This is what it means to have power.
Regardless of the issues, I love "Google fragmentation grenade". Perfect term.
Ask a foot slogger what they think of grenades - dangerous to everyone but the enemy.
Can't wait to see who ends up being blown up by this piece of idiocy - have they forgotten the golden rule of the internet?
Don't feed the trolls.