DISQUS

Thanks, Karoli. And thanks for mentioning that disclosure will now have to appear in the actual post. That will help dispel at least one of Jason's criticisms of the service.

You are more than welcome for the nod, Jeneane -- and please drop by and say fucking any time you like :-)

I understand the emotion, Jason -- I know from experience that it's never fun to watch something you have put a lot of work into change in ways that you don't like. And I have nothing against you or Jeff or Scott saying that you don't like it, and listing all the reasons why -- many of which I think are valid.

I just have a problem with the overheated tone of some of the rhetoric, which I think detracts from (and arguably does harm to) your argument. If anything, it seems to be causing people to dismiss you and Jeff and others as elitist A-listers who don't give a rat's ass about the little guy, etc.

No worries, Steven. And I would agree, Rob. Good post by Jeneane.

That's a fair point, Tish -- and I for one wouldn't want companies to stop "throwing things at the wall" and experimenting, least of all Technorati. But I think there's a fine line between doing that and losing touch with your core service, and that is a risky path to go down for a company in such a competitive market.

And yet you're the one who brought it up because you said it looked like an Intel ad, Dominic :-)

I agree that it is difficult to walk that line when you're not part of a large media organization, and I'm willing to admit that I have it easy compared to Scoble -- and I also think he does a pretty good job of declaring his biases.

But I still think it's important to talk about what he's doing, and what it means.

John, I'm not saying the points system isn't working fine. I'm sure it is -- for Microsoft-owned and controlled products. My point is whether it will succeed when the company tries to extend it beyond that.

And while Passport started as an identity management system, the company has talked regularly and openly over the years about turning it into a payment scheme or adding a payment process onto it. That's a fact.

As for the 850 million Windows users, that's a red herring and you know it. Those people bought a computer that had an operating system installed on it for them, and presumably if Microsoft could think of a way to make using Microsoft Points a default selection with the OS they would use that too.

But I'm not talking about them, as I pointed out to your fellow Microsoft defender above. I'm talking about all the companies that would have to get on board to make the thing work with anything other than Microsoft-controlled services. You may have hard numbers, John, but you have a weak argument.

Thanks for the comment, Matt (you too, Rob). I'm aware that you disclosed that you were invited and had all your expenses paid -- and that's definitely better than not disclosing it. But I still think a lot of people are going to question the substance of anything you might do on GM in the future, as a result of that trip. It's a slippery slope.

'm curious -- did most of the people who responded say that they didn't think it was a big deal?

It may in fact take off, Gene -- my point was simply that Microsoft has been trying and failing to get a single Web passport/payment system going for years. There must be a reason why it hasn't worked before now. And I'm not talking about the man on the street adopting Microsoft's points as online currency -- I'm talking about all the websites and services that would have to jump on the bandwagon before it would work. It works on Xbox because Microsoft controls it.

Sorry, Robert -- my mistake. Thanks for clarifying.

Dominic, the answer to your question about whether Intel paid for the video is here:

http://scobleizer.com/2007/01/28/pissing-off-th...

I actually like the raw, unedited feel -- I loved the informal nature of the one you did with Jonathan Schwartz, for example (and said so here). I just like 'em a little shorter I guess :-)

Robert, I'm only comparing your videos to the NYT because I think that's the same kind of comparison the editors at Engadget might make when deciding whether your video was worthy of a link or not -- that's all.

I think your videos have a lot of value, and it's obvious that you put a lot of time and thought into them.

I agree, Nick -- Robert as Achilles is a stretch. Narcissus, maybe? :-)

And thanks for the comment, Robert. I can sympathize with your desire to approach a conversation holistically, but don't you think a little editing would serve your purposes better in terms of appealing to a broad audience?

And what do you think of the thesis of my post -- would I be wrong to assume that you disagree?

If anything, I think they should be shorter, Howard. And they should have more text to go along with them if Scoble wants to have more impact and get linked to more. Just my two cents.

And Dominic, I can see why you would say that about the Intel videos -- Podtech does do corporate podcasting, and as far as I know Intel has been the subject of said podcasts, which would effectively make them a sponsor.

However, Scoble's video was a pretty good introduction to Intel's new process, and that is definitely newsworthy, as the NYT story showed.

Thanks, Howard :-)

Thanks, Tony :-)

And Engtech, it's interesting that even Violent Acres seems to be tiring of Digg -- she wrote a post recently about how "not everything I write needs to be Dugg."

That's a good point, er... dingos :-)

Thanks, Edward. I guess in a nutshell, my response would be that people *may* be able to buy Macs for the same price (or even a lower price) as a regular Windows box, but why should they be forced to? What if they have a personal fondness for Dells or Acers or Toshibas? Obviously, Apple doesn't have to license its operating system to anyone if it doesn't want to, but I think it would be nice if it did.

A fair point, Eric. And for the record, I would agree about Valleywag. Not sure what it wants to be when it grows up :-)

I think that's what the discussion pages are for, Karoli -- although I wouldn't describe myself as Wikipedia expert by any means.

Stu, I didn't say that was the *only* thing he should be doing -- just that it might help, in addition to arguing his case in the approved way at Wikipedia itself. Trying to do an end-run around the process just makes Microsoft look devious.

You might be right, Jason.

Thanks, er... person. Good point :-) I guess I meant for people without the l33t haxorz sk11lz...

Me too -- I must admit I fast-forwarded through some of the boring parts :-)