____/ RonB on Wednesday 20 February 2008 08:05 : \____
Yes, indeed, Moshe, thank you, oh so much. I am not a sockpuppet... I am a
real poster who just happened to enter COLA at the exact right time to be
saved from a major mistake I was about to make. If this sounds like idiot
dialogue I guess it's because I'm an idiot. I would never spread M$ FUD.
Trust me, I'm the... how you say? -- real McCoy.
For those who watch this, there is a coordinated act here between several
posters who are Microsoft agents/shills/PR people who put up a little show,
trying to scare the reader and add their bit of fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Some of these posters are possibly the same person (a sockpuppet show). To
show you that this phenomenon has a long history, examples of some recent
incidents are appended at the bottom.
If you spot a threat that is crossposted to several newsgroups as in this case,
assume it is a net k00k seeking to disrupt USENET.
___
Examples of Microsoft AstroTurfing:
http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/3000/PX03096.pdf
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
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
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 Â
| 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/cont...on_at_channel_9.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Is Seven Renegade, Guerrilla Marketer or Fake?
,----[ Quote ]
| Some kudos for Microsoft: If Seven is a sanctioned guerrilla marketer, he or
| she has been too long waiting to blog. Microsoft, you need to get some good
| leaks out there to generate buzz. Please, let's see more of this. Be
| aggressive, take marketing risks. A blog such as this is worth millions of
| dollars in advertising, if it delivers the goods (meaning details) and
| generates buzz. Â Â Â
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/cont...arketer_or_fake.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. Â
`----
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. Â Â Â
|
| 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. Â Â Â
`----
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
Received this by E-mail:
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-651865,36-991097@51-991184,0.html
,----[ Quote ]
| As you see, it's in French but it is short and sweet. Â It refers to an
| article published in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps on Monday (available for a
| payment of 2.50 Swiss francs.) Â But I find the Le Monde article
| sufficient and can offer a translation:
| Â
| Â Â Â 1,445: number of students in the world paid by Microsoft to
| Â Â Â promote favourable speech in their universities
| Â
| Â Â Â "How Microsoft has infiltrated the Swiss universities" was the
| Â Â Â title of the Monday Le Temps. Â The Genevean newspaper pointed to
| Â Â Â these students charged with "forging links with their peers and
| Â Â Â the professors" to improve the image of Bill Gates' firm in the
| Â Â Â universities. Â The program "Microsoft Student Partners" is not at
| Â Â Â all clandestine, it has an official Website at
| Â Â Â "
http://student-partners.com". Â It is no longer at all local: the
| Â Â Â 1,445 students at the service of Microsoft are active in 102
| Â Â Â countries. Â In France, more than 100 students carry the title MSP
| Â Â Â and correspond with the Microsoft teams during their whole time in
| Â Â Â school. Â These French students have actively participated in the
| Â Â Â launch of the Vista operating system, organising 87 conferences
| Â Â Â and stands, leading 17 training sessions and moderating 42 blogs.
`----
Microsoft Using YouTube To Promote Vista & Live, Leaves Comments Open
,----[ Quote ]
| The more interesting aspect is that Microsoft would use the Google owned
| YouTube for such as promotion; it certainly demonstrates just how powerful
| the market position of YouTube has become over the last 2 years that
| Microsoft would use it to promote their products. Â
`----
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/3...e-to-promote-vista-live-leaves-comments-open/
http://tinyurl.com/2ghzzm
Notable examples of viral marketing
,----[ Quote ]
| # ilovebees.com - viral marketing for Halo 2
| # Hotmail, promoted largely by links at the bottoms of emails sent by
| its users, is the classic viral marketing example
| # Microsoft's Origami Project campaign
| # Microsoft's Xbox 360 campaign, called OurColony
`----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing
MSN Is Spamming The Blogosphere
,----[ Quote ]
| Mr. Youth LLC is a marketing firm and lists MSN as a customer. Â Their
| website is here:
http://www.mryouth.com/ Â 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. Â 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 ]
| Â Â "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"
|
| Â Â 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_rec...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/Sto...79E274}&source=blq/yhoo&dist=yhoo&siteid=yhoo
http://tinyurl.com/yjaseg
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
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz |
http://Schestowitz.com | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
run-level 2 2008-01-24 14:06 last=
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