Microsoft offers $300m for web-washing ad campaign
,----[ Quote ]
| We've been here several times before. Most recently, isn't the desire to be
| seen as hip to the web why Redmond paid $240m for a piffling 1.6 per cent of
| revenue-lite Facebook - a site Steve Ballmer described as a "fad"?
|
| Microsoft certainly needs to do something. The latest research from the
| search market - where the money is in online services - shows that Google's
| slice of the pie continues to grow. In the US in October, 58.5 per cent of
| web queries went though its enormous text ad farms.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/29/ms_web_ad_campaign/
Maybe they should return to shills while Gates buys some more media companies.
How much was spent on advertising the spyware flop (Vista) which forces people
to pay the absuing monopoly (Intel) for a new PC? $500,000,000.
Related:
More on Troy Wolverton, the Street, and Apple Scandal
,----[ Quote ]
| MediaNews did buy the Mercury News with a loan from Bill Gates' foundation,
| and is in the process of paying back that loan by publishing information
| without much journalistic or technical integrity.
|
| Specifically, I wrote “One might think that the San Jose Mercury News, being
| located in Apple's backyard, would tend to trumpet the company's success. One
| would be wrong... Apple's corporate proximity to San Jose is trumped by the
| Mercury News’ need to publish low cost, highly sensational news to make
| enough money to pay back Bill Gates for the favor of his humanitarian loan.”
`----
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q3.07/082663E0-6FD8-4F1D-909F-1BC72833AD02.html
Gates sold 100,000 Univision shares-SEC filing
,----[ Quote ]
| The foundation said it sold its remaining stake in Univision,
| which is in the process of being acquired by private investors,
| for an average of $35.34 per share in open market transactions.
`----
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsmlreuters.com:20070105:MTFH49951_2007-01-05_22-11-13_N05298823&type=comktNews&rpc=44
http://tinyurl.com/yll88p
Bill Gates lends cash to buy newspapers
$350 million to MediaNews
,----[ Quote ]
| Gates involvement has been very behind the scenes. In fact many of
| those involved in the deal didn'teven know he was one of the investors.
| It was carried out through the Gates Foundation, the world's largest
| philanthropy outfit.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33849
Gates Foundation reports AIG, Covidien stakes-filing
,----[ Quote ]
| The overall value of the foundation's portfolio increased to $9.12 billion
| from $6.64 billion as of June 30.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN1423378020071114?rpc=44
Bill Gates fund reports 12.8 pct PlanetOut stake
,----[ Quote ]
| Bill Gates' investment fund Cascade Investment LLC reported in a regulatory
| filing on Friday that its holds a 12.8 percent stake in the common stock of
| online media company PlanetOut Inc.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKN1331033020070713?rpc=44
More on Troy Wolverton, the Street, and Apple Scandal
,----[ Quote ]
| MediaNews did buy the Mercury News with a loan from Bill Gates' foundation,
| and is in the process of paying back that loan by publishing information
| without much journalistic or technical integrity.
|
| Specifically, I wrote “One might think that the San Jose Mercury News, being
| located in Apple's backyard, would tend to trumpet the company's success. One
| would be wrong... Apple's corporate proximity to San Jose is trumped by the
| Mercury News’ need to publish low cost, highly sensational news to make
| enough money to pay back Bill Gates for the favor of his humanitarian loan.”
`----
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q3.07/082663E0-6FD8-4F1D-909F-1BC72833AD02.html
Dark cloud over good works of Gates Found
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Gates Foundation Revokes Pledge to Review Portfolio
,----[ Quote ]
| ...the Gates Foundation took down their public statement on this
| and replaced it with a significantly altered version which seems to
| say that investing responsibly would just be too complex for them
| and that they need to focus on their core mission: 'There are
| dozens of factors that could be considered, almost all of which
| are outside the foundation's areas of expertise. The issues
| involved are quite complex...
`----
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/12/1756212&from=rss
What happened to the guts?
,----[ Quote ]
| Of one thing I am fairly certain. Microsoft all but eliminated
| mainstream software competition. As a result, Microsoft became
| the primary source of advertising revenue for mainstream publications.
| You don't bite the hand that feeds you. So instead of publishing
| issues calling for a worldwide boycott of Vista because it focuses
| more on what you can't do than what you can do, you see special
| editions praising Vista as the greatest advancement in computing
| since Windows 95. Granted we all know that Windows 95 was a dog
| from day one, but by the 90s, the mainstream press had already
| become rampant with Microsoft sycophants and they pushed Windows
| 95 like it was the second coming.
|
| [...]
|
| In short, I'd love to see a mainstream publication become an
| advocate for the consumer once again.
|
| As noted above, there are exceptions, including Linux Journal,
| most other FOSS-centered publications and even The Register.
| But we're the little guys.
`----
http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000173
http://slated.org/bbc_microsoft_bias
Beeb slammed for 'fawning' to Bill Gates
,----[ Quote ]
| BBC viewers have flooded the corporation with complaints over how it
| covered the launch of Microsoft Vista earlier this week.
|
| In one cringingly servile interview worthy of Uriah Heep, the
| Beeb's news presenter Hugh Edwards even thanked Gates at the
| end of it, presumably in appreciation at being allowed to give
| the Vole vast coverage for free.
|
| In other TV news items presenters excitedly explained how Vistac
| ould be obtained and installed - details courtesy of the BBC's
| website.
|
| But British viewers, currently forced to pay a £131.50 licence
| fee to maintain the BBC's "impartiality", were less than impressed.
|
| Scores got in touch to complain that so much was Auntie up Bill's
| bum that you could barely see her corset.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37411
PC World Editor Resigns When Ordered Not to Criticize Advertisers
,----[ Quote ]
| Apparently he also told the staff that product reviews had to be
| nicer to vendors who advertise in the magazine. The sad thing is
| that given the economics of publishing in this day and age, I
| doubt anything even comes of this even tho it essentially
| confirms that PC World reviews should be thought of as no
| more than press releases. I know that's how I will consider
| links from them in the future. But congratulations to anyone
| willing to stick to their guns on such matters.
`----
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/03/1810239&from=rss
Microsoft on paying 'independent' people to praise Microsoft
(comprehensive 'smoking gun')
http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/3000/PX03096.pdf
Microsoft pays star writers to recite slogan
,----[ Quote ]
| The stodgy old media industry has a rule that newspaper reporters, and TV
| news hosts, shouldn't trade on their public trust to endorse products.
`----
http://valleywag.com/tech/federated-media/microsoft-pays-star-writers-to-recite-slogan-271485.php
Malik, Arrington and Battelle: X-22, come in [to Microsoft]
,----[ Quote ]
| What would possess a collection of online publishers and venture capitalists
| to pimp a Microsoft advertising slogan?
|
| Valleywag today reported about a site tied to a Microsoft ad campaign
| where the likes of Michael Arrington, Om Malik and others seemingly
| lend their support to the "people-ready" catchphrase.
|
| I sent e-mails both to Arrington and Malik and--surprise,
| surprise--heard nothing back. (Obviously, they are not yet
| sufficiently "Coop-ready.") Microsoft was still checking for me into
| whether money exchanged hands. But even if not a single shekel exchanged
| hands, I must wonder about the absence of common sense. Why would
| ostensibly independent voices come across as Microsoft shills? If
| they were hoping for a free dinner with Bill Gates, there are
| smarter ways to go about it.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9733995-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
,----[ Quote ]
| "The main thing I'm pissed off about right now is that they pulled all the
| ads, which mean we're taking a revenue hit. We're running a business here,
| and have payroll to make. We run ads to make that payroll. Those ads have now
| been pulled."
|
| Microsoft once again corrupts confidence in the blogsphere. They
| turn 'citizen journalists' to marketing people in disguise.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9734034-7.html?tag=head
How's the Reception at [Microsoft's] Channel 9?
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates emphasized the importance of blogging in a
| May 2004 speech during the company's annual CEO summit. But Gates doesn't
| blog; same for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
|
| [...]
|
| Many Microsoft employees do blog, reportedly more than 4,000 of them.
| The number of employee bloggers was comparatively quite small, about
| 300, before the launch of Channel 9 and the success of Scoble's blog.
|
| Last year could be called year of the blog at Microsoft. Employee
| blogrolls swelled and Microsoft bloggers disseminated lots of
| vital information about the company. Increasingly, employee
| bloggers are becoming Microsoft's primary evangelists. They are
| certainly a group over which the company can exact some control
| and which can spin information to Microsoft's advantage.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/developer/hows_the_reception_at_channel_9.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Recidivist M$ Up to New Tricks
,----[ Quote ]
| Unleash the Astro-Turfers!
|
| Already on Apple oriented developer mailing lists one can see the
| astro-turfing has begun. A really amateurish attempt by 'Mac Developer' (no
| one uses a stupid handle like that) turned up today.
`----
http://rixstep.com/1/20071004,00.shtml
Meet Thomas Brooks. He's a viral marketer for Microsoft.
,----[ Quote ]
| It's unfortunate that paid blogging is becoming all the more prevalent in
| communities like 1UP. And it's not just the blogs or reviews, it's also the
| message boards. Microsoft, for instance, also has a person (or people?) who
| is paid to post on some of the popular gaming boards (and no, Jeff Bell
| wasn't part of that plan). But it's not just Microsoft -- I know of a few
| other game publishers who pay users to blog. They don't necessarily require
| bloggers to say positive things about their products, but it's certainly
| implied with the paychecks.
|
| What bums me out about all this viral stuff is that, to some extent, you
| don't know who to trust anymore. There was a time when, if you no longer
| believed in what the professional editors where saying, you could at least
| count on your fellow gamers for honest opinions. Not anymore. In a sense,
| perhaps that helps elevate the importance of the professional word once
| again, which I suppose is a good thing for us. But I'm still not happy about
| it.
`----
http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8281416&publicUserId=4561231
,----[ Quote ]
| In 2001, the Los Angeles Times accused Microsoft of astroturfing
| when hundreds of similar letters were sent to newspapers voicing
| disagreement with the United States Department of Justice and its
| antitrust suit against Microsoft. The letters, prepared by Americans
| for Technology Leadership, had in some cases been mailed from
| deceased citizens or nonexistent addresses.
`----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
MSN Is Spamming The Blogosphere
,----[ Quote ]
| Mr. Youth LLC is a marketing firm and lists MSN as a customer. Their
| website is here: http://www.mryouth.com/ Their phone number is
| (212) 779-8700.
|
| I've talked to a couple of other bloggers who said they are receiving
| similar comments on their blogs. This pisses me off because MSN/Mr.
| Youth should 1) be more upfront about their true identity, and 2)
| provide a real e-mail address so that I can request they take my
| blog off their marketing campaign.
`----
http://www.scott-o-rama.com/2006/12/06/msn-is-spamming-the-blogosphere/
,----[ Quote ]
| "Some years back, Microsoft practiced a lot of dirty tricks using
| online mavens to go into forums and create Web sites extolling the virtues
| of Windows over OS/2. They were dubbed the Microsoft Munchkins, and it
| was obvious who they were and what they were up to. But their numbers
| and energy (and they way they joined forces with nonaligned dummies who
| liked to pile on) proved too much for IBM marketers, and Windows wont
| he operating-system war through fifth-column tactics"
|
| Mr Dvorak wonders if Microsoft is today using reverse-dirty-tricks
| to promote the Xbox 360: pay people to create Web sites that slam the
| gaming computer in order to provoke a barrage of defenders.
`----
http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos/2005/11/2_grassroots_an.html
Microsoft really loves Bloggers !!!
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft regularly flies customers and industry experts to its
| campus in Washington to listen to the feedback given by those
| people.The company invites dozens of key customers and partners
| to the event,where they spend brainstorming as a group.But as of
| late, Microsoft has changed it's strategy and the company is
| making extensive use of blogs to get direct customer feedback.
|
| Within a year,more than 1000 Microsoft employee blogs featured
| developers and product managers talking directly to customers every
| day, instead of once a year.Microsoft employees read dozens of
| blogs every day to see how customers react to Microsoft products
| and services. In fact,Microsoft employees have taken a bigger leap
| and even contribute to other's blogs in the expanding space of
| Blogosphere.
`----
http://thoughtsprevail.blogspot.com/2007/03/microsoft-really-loves-bloggers.html
Microsoft Traps and Hunts for Bloggers in India !!
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has announced the "Microsoft BlogStars" contest, to Hunts
| for Developer Bloggers in India. After feeling the power and increase of
| the Bloggers community in India, Microsoft tries to trap and hunt Bloggers
| in India to buildup the blogging community, for writing blog posts
| supporting towards Microsoft Technologies.
`----
http://i5bala.blogspot.com/2006/10/microsoft-traps-and-hunts-for-bloggers.html
Seattle Area Bloggers Needed for Microsoft User Research Study
,----[ Quote ]
| For your participation, we'll give you your choice of retail
| software and hardware from our extensive list. Current titles
| include the latest Xbox, Xbox 360, and PC games, keyboards,
| Microsoft Office, Windows, productivity software and much more.
`----
http://blogs.msdn.com/usability_recruiting/archive/2007/01/05/seattle-area-bloggers-needed-for-microsoft-user-research-study.aspx
Bloggers meet Mr. Bill (Gates)
,----[ Quote ]
| That meeting is to help Web developers understand how to "unlock new
| revenue opportunities" through technology and content, which could
| include podcasts and blogs. The Microsoft sessions wraps up with a
| one-hour q-and-a up with Bill Gates.
`----
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BD18F3BC9%2DF59E%2D4DB4%2DB978%2DD4651079E274%7D&source=blq%2Fyhoo&dist=yhoo&siteid=yhoo
http://tinyurl.com/yjaseg
Bribing Bloggers
,----[ Quote ]
| This is the most frustrating thing about the practice of giving
| bloggers free stuff: it pisses in the well, reducing the credibility
| of all blogs. I'm upset that people trust me less because of the
| behavior of other bloggers. Don't even get me started about PayPerPost.
|
| [...]
|
| Do not, under any circumstances, consider upgrading an XP system to
| Vista... even if it's fairly new and even if it's Vista Supremo
| Premium Ultra-Capable.
`----
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/12/28.html
Microsoft's Laptop Giveaway Becoming PR Disaster?
,----[ Quote ]
| This thing is starting to feel like a PR disaster. Bloggers are
| starting to smell blood and this thing very well may begin to
| turn into yet another episode of bloggers gone wild.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/061228/23174_id.html?.v=1
Bribing Bloggers
,----[ Quote ]
| It's a bribe. Period. You say nice things about us, you get nice
| things from us. Heck, just say neutral things about us-we'll give
| you a killer new laptop and we know that you'll be inclined to say
| better things about us.
`----
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2077596,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000616
Getting a Vaio [with Vista, from Microsoft, even in March 2007]
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Belgium rang me yesterday (I don?t think they realised it
| was a public holiday here!).
|
| [...]
|
| The phone call yesterday was to confirm my address - the laptop (a
| Sony Vaio - dunno which model or spec yet) is en route with Vista
| Ultimate and Office Ultimate pre-installed.
`----
http://www.tomrafteryit.net/getting-a-vaio/
INQhack survives Vistability test in Volesville
,----[ Quote ]
| The Vole (Microsoft) supposedly invited The INQ over for tea because
| we are notorious "Microsoft doubters" - and we were accompanied by
| other supposed Vole doubters such as the folk from lifehacker and
| a very nice man from Slashdot, as well as some Microsoft MvPs.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36312
Microsoft desperately wants my love -- and yours
,----[ Quote ]
| I spent December seventh, eighth, and ninth in Seattle as Microsoft's
| guest. Microsoft flew me there from Florida at its expense, put me up
| in a nice hotel, provided decent food, and comped me and four other
| invitees to this "special conference" with presentations about the
| marvels of Vista and other recent or upcoming Microsoft products. They
| didn't quite play the old Beatles song "Love Me Do" in the background,
| but it was the event's unstated theme.
`----
http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/12/12/085222
|
|
