Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
A couple of posts ago in an update I suggested that perhaps we should lock Nick Denton and Jason Calacanis in a room together and let them have an all in brawl til they get their issues with one another off their chests. This comes after their latest spat over Gizmodo’s decision to accept an offer from Siemens for an all expenses trip to Germany for the CeBit show in return for posts on the blog. Follow the latest disagreement at Gizmodo sells out to Siemens, then Calacanis transparency policy and then My comment policy.
So after suggesting the fight club solution above I got to thinking – maybe we should have a debate?!? I mean there is already one going on – but how about we actually have a formal Pro Blogging debate between Nick and Jason?
I think it should be held at an independent third blog (I’ll volunteer as I’ve been both a knocker and supporter of Nick and Jason over the past 6 months). We’ll flip a coin and choose who gets to make an opening statement about their issue with the other (or perhaps we should name a topic on blogging ethics, or on accepting stuff for posts – transparency I guess) – then the other can have a go and we go back and forwards a few times till its all said and done. As we go the rest of us can have our say and then at the end we all go back to our blogging business.
Who knows it might actually achieve something for all of us thinking through issues of ProBlogging and the ethics of it!? Or then again it might just be a good PR exercise for all involved – I mean there is nothing like a good fight to draw a crowd!
What do you say Nick and Jason?
Please don’t encourage them. Most of us are tired of watching them take potshots at each other.
A good idea but why the formal structure, it would be far more entertaining to have no structure and just them go for it :-)
Yawn…a couple egos taking themselves way too seriously.
I’m so sick of them. To be honest I think they behave like two year olds with their squabbling. I’m actually going to stop reading their blogs because they are being taken over by bitching about crap. I’d much rather read your blog Darren and come away with some useful information that can actually add to what I do.
While there’s merit in a ProBlogging debate I don’t think either of those two would be good candidates for the debate. For it to be of any use the debaters should attempt to make their case, not score points.
Unlike other posters I don’t think the bitching is about egos or behaving like two year olds. I think its quite simply a way to attract further attention to their blogs.
And it works.
you’re probably right Eoghann – OR….
maybe Jason and Nick are actually one in the same person?? Has anyone ever seen them in the same room together?
You guys seem to be too focused on the squabbling to notice the issue at hand: that a major blog sold out to one of the companies it covers. that doesn’t bother any of you?