‘Cash for comment’ journos, bloggers under spotlight in Oracle-v-Google
An unknown number of bloggers and hacks are feeling a little sweaty around the collar today, with a US judge ordering the disclosure of financial relationships that might have affected published articles and comment in the Oracle-versus-Google lawsuit. The order follows FOSS Patents’ blogger Florian Mueller’s voluntary …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Can hardly wait to see the list
That list is going to fun to read
Bleedin' 'Ell
Why do I always, but always, find out about these rich people with open wallets willing to pay for scribbles after they've closed them, not while they are still open?
The lawn needs reseeding for example and 1,000 words for either side should be good enough for that, no?
Re: Bleedin' 'Ell
"Why do I always, but always, find out about these rich people with open wallets willing to pay for scribbles after they've closed them, not while they are still open?"
Contacts, my good man, contacts! You've gotta get out there and network if you want to be in on the latest cash. (You don't really think people actually like to play golf enough to account for those club fees do you?)
But what analysis...
Does the oft-quoted El Reg patent expert Florian Mueller offer on the subject? (Never mind that he's on The List; conflict of interest has never stopped him in the past.)
Hahahahaha..
"Paid for" journalism in the dock?
They'd need a damn large courtroom to handle that.. Those people are also easy to find - just do a quick check on who wrote positive reviews for the dogs that Microsoft brought out, especially the one that holed the Titanic properly: Windows Vista.
Good
Florian Meuller taken down a peg or two now I'd pay to see that!
Won't happen
I wrote to both the BBC and the Guardian after they described Mueller as a patent expert pointing out that he has, as far as I know, no qualifications on which to base such a claim: he is neither a patent lawyer not a former patent examiner. No response. I guess that the media doesn't like qualifications being challenged because someone might start to ask how well their own commentators were actually qualified to give as much publicity as they do to their opinions.
Re: Won't happen
By that logic, I know nothing about computers. I have no formal qualification at all, after an B/TEC in engineering. I have, however, 17 years in industry seven of which were as a senior designer engineer at a FTSE100, in charge of the technical steering of a department of 20 other specialist design engineers.
Qualifications aren't everything - see vendor qualification - experience counts for a hell of a lot.
Re: Experience
experience counts for a hell of a lot
Not when CVs are filtered out by any HR droids - they only care about nice, safe tick boxes (certification & degrees) because they don't understand the job or its needs.
Re: Won't happen
I am afraid that when it comes to IP law, qualifications are a must. You learnt by doing. FM has never worked as a patent attorney or examiner. He has learnt by reading about. I too value experience, but I get worried when, for instance, new graduates tell me confidently that they can do something they read up on Wikipedia the previous night.
Re: Won't happen
> He has learnt by reading about.
No, he hasn't.
He just tries to portray the image that he has.
But he's wide of the mark *so* often that even that doesn't work any more. Except at the BBC.
Vic.
noob judge
Bloggers are paid through layers of advertisement companies.
They can just say "i paid for ads".
Re: noob judge
Not only bloggers, that's usually true for all media!
Re: noob judge
"Bloggers are paid through layers of advertisement companies....." Worse, the inquest as such doesn't look at subscription patterns, and many companies will encourage employees to take up subscriptions and then claim it back through expenses, hiding the "bribe".
Will Barry Shitpeas and his friend "g e" make it into Google's list? Oh I'll be looking very closely at that list.
Shock! Horror!
I have to say I'm deeply surprised that people are writing comments for money.
I had assumed that it was bots writing these comments.
On some sites you only have to write "I quite like Blogg's Miracle Rug Cleaner" to get, 50 ns later, a reply to your comment saying:
Blogg's Miracle Rug Cleaner is one of the worst products I have ever encountered, even Wile E Coyote wouldn't use this stuff. I only sprinkled a tiny amount on the living room carpet and now my wife has developed scales, my kids' asthma makes the house sound like a Darth Vader convention, my dog has exploded and the cat has hired a hitman to take me out.
Use Smith's Miracle Rug cleaner instead. I did and now my house if full of magic moonbeams, my mother-in-law has emigrated, exotic wildlife has moved into my garden, I have won the lottery twice and the lead on my roof has all turned to gold.
Re: Shock! Horror!
You forgot:
"Blogg's Miracle Rug Cleaner contains BEDBUGS BEDBUGS BEDBUGS and BLACK MOLD!"
Voluntary....
.... yeah right. He only coughed because he was being called out about it
Re: Voluntary....
Interesting that El Reg has put such a positive spin on the situation regarding ol' Florian. Interesting, but hardly surprising considering how his witterings have been reported in these hallowed web-pages in the past.
Re: Voluntary....
> considering how his witterings have been reported in these hallowed web-pages in the past.
To be fair, there's been something of a change of attitude at ElReg of late.
It's a good thing.
Vic.
IANAL - so why waste time on research
All the Latin mumbo jumbo is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola
This topic is closed for new posts.
