ethics
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Movement Creates Motivation
Each year since 2021, I’ve chosen a mantra to help focus my mind for the year. In 2022, it was “I have no enemies”, inspired by a dharma talk by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. This mantra was largely inspired by the atmosphere of vitriol and tribalism in communities, the media, and the world. It…
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Mike Daisey and this American denial
Two things are really bothering me about today’s news that monolougist Mike Daisey fabricated portions of his hit performance piece “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” Let me get something out of the way out front: I’ve known Mike since about 1996. He was an advisor/supporter of my high school’s speech & debate…
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Bangor Daily News blurs the line between news and advertising
The Bangor Daily News is back at it with more ethically-questionable practices on its website, this time in the form of its new “BDN Marketplace News” section which attempts to disguise advertisements as news headlines. What’s Going On? At the bottom of article pages, the “BDN Marketplace News” appears directly under a larger “Similar Articles”…
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Why the Bangor Daily News “ad frame” is bad for you, and what to do about it
Links should be free- and users are worth more than a few cents each. Why “ad frames” are bad business for news. My local newspaper, the Bangor Daily News, has made some admirable improvements to its otherwise lackluster website over the past few months. To their credit, they’ve slowly integrated topic and people-based cross-links throughout their…
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Blogging doesn’t need- and shouldn’t have- a code of conduct
Tim O’Reilly, owner of O’Reilly Media, recently proposed a blogging code of conduct in light of recent threats against blogger Kathy Sierra and the ensuing controversy that arose around the discussion of those threats. While this is obviously a move born of positive intentions, I think that a blogging code of conduct is a terribly…
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Despite apologies, Imus critics reveal true motives
Note: This post was scheduled to be published tomorrow morning, but after learning via CNN.com that Imus has now been suspended for two weeks, I’m posting it now. Last week on his radio show, Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus made some cruel, stupid, and insensitive comments regarding the Rutgers University Women’s basketball team.…
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Adholes and the lessons of corporate indifference
The laughably awful advertising industry website Adholes, which has declined steadily in terms of reach and influence over recent years, has taken another sad step on its way to irrelevancy by publicly calling me (and by extension other customers experiencing this issue) an “idiot” on their corporate website. Not since CBS News hoisted fake documents…
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Moore is sued for dishonest footage, again
Moorelies.com is retired, and I don’t intend for this space to inherit its subject matter. That said, in checking Instapundit today, I noticed my old mark, Michael Moore, is in trouble again: A double-amputee Iraq-war vet is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out…
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Maine’s blogging community has no room for anonymous comments
It may not be well known to the rest of the country, but here in Maine, we have a reputation for sticking together and helping our fellow citizens out. It troubles me, then, to see a fellow resident- and web developer- apparently harassing another Maine web developer. I’m talking here about Rob Landry, owner of…
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Lance won…this round
Congratulations to Lance Dutson, who is free from the legal black cloud imposed on him by Warren Kremer Paino Advertising. The agency dropped their lawsuit Friday, though they made no public comment on the matter. Cowards, to the end. In his latest post on the now seven-month-long Pay-Per-Gate saga, Lance thanked his own legal council,…