I'm not much more different than you.

Thanks Ryan for being so forth coming about your opinions.

I would place you in the category of Professional Blogger. That alone isn’t a bad thing. Your blogging is certainly a part of your professional identity. Compensated bloggers alone don’t seem to make up the category. There are plenty of business minded, or simply successful bloggers who would fit in as well. That doesn’t make them all elitists.

As far as the elitist bloggers go. They tend to be like any other snobbish clique. Making derogatory remarks towards those outside their own clique. Behaving rudely towards or simply ignoring/excluding others to the point of rudeness. In general, behaving arrogantly and with disregard for others.

Please, keep in mind, I’m talking about behavior they exhibit in-person, not necessarily on their blogs. We usually learn to ignore these types of people in grade school, high school.. and so on.

However, bloggers are now entering into the mainstream business world. They’ll shortly be as pervasive, or more so, than traditional news media. So, it’s much harder to ignore them, (us?) as so many major corporations have discovered.

At least with traditional news media, a reporter would be held to the standards of the periodical he or she wrote for. Bad behavior in person, would have consequences that could have an effect on income, employment, and for those that cared, personal image.

This isn’t the case for most bloggers, some, but not most, even the compensated bloggers. Not yet anyway.

If you think by now I’m not answering part of your question.. I actually am. More directly, I don’t know you well enough to say if you’re an elitist or not. I’m not aware of having observed you exhibiting bad behavior in person. And you’ve been quite cordial in your blog postings. So at this point, I do not have that opinion of you.

I’ll add a bit of information I haven’t previously revealed. The Professional Bloggers I mentioned in my original post on this whole issue.. were not talking about me directly. They were making wholly inappropriate comments specifically about two of Dells other guests, and the attending non-bloggers in general. I’m well aware most people assume I was personally offended by comments made about me directly. This isn’t the case. I was just disgusted by the behavior they exhibited, along with a number of other “Professional Bloggers” I had the chance to observe on the convention floor, and in other venues during the conference. I was able to recognize them either by face, or their credentials/CES badges. A few of them are from New York, and I know who they are through other events as well. Please don’t assume all New Yorkers behave the way they do.

Anyway, I’ll say it again, if you don’t think you were behaving in an offensive manner by publically speaking in a derogatory manner about other people at the roundtable (or elsewhere), if you weren’t so drunk on having media access at CES that you literally shoved other people out of the way making plainly dumb comments like “blogerati before rubberneckers”, and you didn’t perform assinine stunts like throwing food at another blogger in a crowded area (as a joke ha ha) which landed on people around you.. (and that’s just for starters), then my original post was never intended for you. Although, I am glad that you read it. Not because I think you specifically needed to, but because your response interested me in your blog, which I’ve added to my list to read!

Oops, there I go again with a long comment.

-Ryan

P.S.: The mailman left a slip yesterday, saying I have a package waiting for me at the post office. I wonder if it’s my medal…

Thanks, we all agree.

Ryan has made some interesting points about a small group of bloggers that aren’t just consumers seeking a voice, they are doing things for other reasons and he’s right in being disgusted by it.

Blogging should be about making friends, improving products and services and creating a better world for us to live in. This involves helping your friends when they need help and being humble in the actions that you take. For any blogger that doesn’t share those goals, I feel sorry for you because you are missing out on true joy.

I’m not much more different than you.

This was taken out of context, partly because you’re not clearly identifying the culprits. So it’s hard not to assume you’re not talking about me. And yes, I’m listening, I’m really trying.

I wasn’t making any stabs at Dell or anyone else for that matter, so I’m pretty sure this is not regarding me.

The greater issue still is at hand. “Elitist” bloggers need to come back to earth and be part of the people, agreed.

And no, don’t dismantle that soapbox, always speak your mind, and don’t be afraid to publicly single out folks that you feel are in error, (use best judgment) that’s part of the blog ecosystem.

You do win the award for longest comment, the medal is in the mail

Whoah, I have lots to respond to here. Ok..

I honestly couldn’t say if I was talking about you or not. I was only able to see two of the 4 bloggers I was referring to that were having a nasty little bashfest in the hallway, at the expense of Dells guests. You weren’t one of the two in my field of vision. And, it wasn’t worth starting an arguement with them at that location. I *have* privately E-mailed the two I recognized.

Also, the hallway wasn’t the only time I observed elitist and disgusting behaviour from some of the individuals who are well known in the blogosphere, while at CES. I would say they were just kids being overexcited and overflowing with their access at CES, but they weren’t all kids, and it went beyond good natured fun at the expense of the people around them, who weren’t bloggers.

So, as I said in my post, “…not all of the Professional Bloggers I am talking about were the ones at Dells rountable.”

and.. “Don’t assume I’m talking about you…”

Unless you can think of something really inappropriate that you said or did at the convention to someone else, I wouldn’t worry about it. I posted on your blog, not as a message to you personally, but because the content of your post related, in my eyes, to a portion of my message.

If you were *weren’t* someone who took vicious stabs at others at the conference, then you have MY apologies if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable in any way.

I do think that in general, the bloggers at the roundtable overlooked some pertinent information, but that’s to my benefit, as I get “the scoop.”

Also, regarding the camera, that’s cool. I completely understand. I guess I’ve just gotten used to the usual great job I see on blogs such as your own. I hope that’s not a mixed message, it’s not meant to be. And, I was a little disappointed that the family/friends couldn’t see me, so I wondered about it. Though, I didn’t take it personally at all.

Overall, I respect you even more for addressing my post.

Which leaves me with the issue of sensationalism and content generation.. or “creating the news.”

I believe sensationalism is neccessary. As a blogger, so are your opinions. Never be sorry to share them.

My issue dwells at and beyond the fine line where the urgency for catching, or creating sensationalistic video/sound bytes and quotes distracts from, well frankly.. personal consideration/politeness, accuracy of detail, more involved/important issues… and so on. The latter point being subject to personal opinion. However, based so far on the posts I can find from the bloggers at the roundtable.. certain perspectives deserved more detail, or were completely overlooked. And, even worse.. some bloggers are taking statements made at the event out of context(purposely?) and using them (sensationally) to forward their own agendas.

So again, I’m not pointing the finger at you.

I’ve done that in private to the individuals I was able to identify. I am however, hoping the Professional Bloggers “scene” realizes they’re in danger of becomming another clique, equivalent to the one that has been both bolstering your industry, while privately bashing you for threatening their jobs.

My suggestion? Perhaps the most respected Professional Bloggers will see this and consider forming a Bloggers Integrity Group?

Umm, didn’t actually mean to get that involved here. But there it is. I appreciate your directness and candor, and again, if you have nothing to apologize for, then we never had any differences in the first place.

-Ryan

P.S. I’m not against bloggers linking/promoting bloggers.. it’s the ones who go out of their way to create artificial situations and force situations that would otherwise be unrealistic, then feed off eachother to build hype about a story that they themselves created as if it were news related to a company or event they would have had nothing to do with otherwise. Vague, I know. But I’m trying not to point fingers. Eventually, someone will have it. I might, but it can wait, as long as the message of personaly responsibility gets out there.

After all, it might have been fun if a figure such as Dan Rather went around slapping key figures in news history then reporting it. But, if every reporter created their own news, we’d never learn what was going on in the world. Not that I have much faith that we do now, but bloggers seem to be getting it done. Lets not lose that.

Sorry, I need to dismantle this soapbox before I fall off it.