Comments on: To those who try to pimp me their wares… http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/ Invisible people have invisible rights Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:41:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Lal http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-194718 Lal Sat, 24 Mar 2007 03:07:32 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-194718 So what have u got against "PinkWidgets"? come on... u need have more concrete evidence than that! ye geekie guys (and I'm saying that in Cork accent) don't know what its like in the real world where we have 2 convince the public 2 buy these things. U think I like having 10,000 of these stuff in my crummy little office and the company phoning me every 1/2 hr saying how is the "campaign" doing... help me out here ...man U're leaving me no resort.... hello - anyone out there? This is a private forum - right? .... Lal So what have u got against “PinkWidgets”?

come on… u need have more concrete evidence than that!

ye geekie guys (and I’m saying that in Cork accent) don’t know what its like in the real world where we have 2 convince the public 2 buy these things. U think I like having 10,000 of these stuff in my crummy little office and the company phoning me every 1/2 hr saying how is the “campaign” doing…
help me out here …man
U’re leaving me no resort….

hello - anyone out there?

This is a private forum - right?
….

Lal

]]> By: John McCormac http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-182512 John McCormac Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:26:51 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-182512 Just to put matters in perspective, to PR companies you are just a gadget geek in a rapidly shrinking business section of a third rate newspaper. A gadget geek is just a technology journalist who "reviews" products to fill space and hopefully get advertising. For a product company, getting a gadget geek to review their product is often cheaper than taking an advert in a publication. So to them, you are no different to the other gadget geeks in Computers In Business, Siliconrepublic, ENN or the Irish Times technology section. PR companies do not care what way your name is spelled. To them, you are just another press release recycler like most of the other Irish "technology" journalists. The PR companies' job is to get favourable coverage for their clients. And judging by the way that product reviews and press releases outnumber real journalism in the Irish technology press, they are very good at that job. The quality of what passes for the Irish technology press has traditionally been poor. As a result, most PR companies can easily game the system and get their press releases run almost verbatim. It is no surprise that the IIA's technology journalist of the year award was sponsored by a PR company for quite a few years. And this is the harshest part: you don't matter. To any real journalist, the most important thing is the story. If you start worrying about how PR people get your name right rather than concentrating on the story then you are at risk of becoming a glorified nobody that merely fills space between adverts. The question is: do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Do you do real tech journalism that enlightens and informs people? Or do you wallow in the the mediocrity of irrelevant opinion columns, press release recycling and gadget geekery that passes for the Irish technology press? Just to put matters in perspective, to PR companies you are just a gadget geek in a rapidly shrinking business section of a third rate newspaper. A gadget geek is just a technology journalist who “reviews” products to fill space and hopefully get advertising. For a product company, getting a gadget geek to review their product is often cheaper than taking an advert in a publication.

So to them, you are no different to the other gadget geeks in Computers In Business, Siliconrepublic, ENN or the Irish Times technology section. PR companies do not care what way your name is spelled. To them, you are just another press release recycler like most of the other Irish “technology” journalists. The PR companies’ job is to get favourable coverage for their clients. And judging by the way that product reviews and press releases outnumber real journalism in the Irish technology press, they are very good at that job.

The quality of what passes for the Irish technology press has traditionally been poor. As a result, most PR companies can easily game the system and get their press releases run almost verbatim. It is no surprise that the IIA’s technology journalist of the year award was sponsored by a PR company for quite a few years.

And this is the harshest part: you don’t matter. To any real journalist, the most important thing is the story. If you start worrying about how PR people get your name right rather than concentrating on the story then you are at risk of becoming a glorified nobody that merely fills space between adverts. The question is: do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Do you do real tech journalism that enlightens and informs people? Or do you wallow in the the mediocrity of irrelevant opinion columns, press release recycling and gadget geekery that passes for the Irish technology press?

]]> By: Thomas Holmes http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-181849 Thomas Holmes Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:23:58 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-181849 congrats on the column damien - don't suppose it's available online? congrats on the column damien - don’t suppose it’s available online?

]]> By: Darren http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-181417 Darren Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:13:50 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-181417 That's shocking--I thought Ireland was this hallowed Starbucks free zone. Mind you, you did have those green sandwich shops everywhere. O'Dowels? O'Donnell's? That’s shocking–I thought Ireland was this hallowed Starbucks free zone. Mind you, you did have those green sandwich shops everywhere. O’Dowels? O’Donnell’s?

]]> By: Damien http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-181228 Damien Tue, 13 Mar 2007 17:44:40 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-181228 Darren, yup there's one on Dame Street now. One in Cork Airport too. Darren, yup there’s one on Dame Street now. One in Cork Airport too.

]]> By: Darren http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-181048 Darren Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:31:30 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-181048 Hang on, is there a Starbucks on Dame Street? Or was that part of the joke? I ask because Starbucks were notably absent from Dublin when I lived in there from 2001 to 2003. Have things changed? I'm curious, coming from a city which features Starbucks on opposing corners of the same intersection. Hang on, is there a Starbucks on Dame Street? Or was that part of the joke?

I ask because Starbucks were notably absent from Dublin when I lived in there from 2001 to 2003. Have things changed? I’m curious, coming from a city which features Starbucks on opposing corners of the same intersection.

]]> By: Des Traynor http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-180292 Des Traynor Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:02:56 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-180292 Journalists can be pretty bad for that stuff too. After we launched Bigulo, I was referred to by one newspaper as "Mr. Des Trainer, a college drop out who started Jigalow.ie after quitting his job", which was wrong on so many levels. There are errors & mistakes, and there is just plain "I'm not bothered typing his name into Google, I'll make it up" Journalists can be pretty bad for that stuff too. After we launched Bigulo, I was referred to by one newspaper as “Mr. Des Trainer, a college drop out who started Jigalow.ie after quitting his job”, which was wrong on so many levels. There are errors & mistakes, and there is just plain “I’m not bothered typing his name into Google, I’ll make it up”

]]> By: Paul Sweeney http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-180163 Paul Sweeney Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:08:01 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-180163 Bernie, that's a pretty good idea. Just a FYI for people, the InterTradeIreland private equity conference is on tomorrow, and has a few VC types floating around.... and no doubt some interesting start ups. Bernie, that’s a pretty good idea. Just a FYI for people, the InterTradeIreland private equity conference is on tomorrow, and has a few VC types floating around…. and no doubt some interesting start ups.

]]> By: Bernie Goldbach http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-179836 Bernie Goldbach Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:11:41 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-179836 1. Why not become damienmulley.ie if only to lock in the spelling of the name? 2. Why not insist the first approach for broadsheet coverage comes via twitter? Distilling the msg to 140 characters would be a clever test of relevance. 1. Why not become damienmulley.ie if only to lock in the spelling of the name?

2. Why not insist the first approach for broadsheet coverage comes via twitter? Distilling the msg to 140 characters would be a clever test of relevance.

]]> By: Pat Phelan http://www.mulley.net/2007/03/10/to-those-who-try-to-pimp-me-their-wares/#comment-179215 Pat Phelan Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:18:47 +0000 http://www.mulley.net/?p=1971#comment-179215 and nice articles they are thank you and nice articles they are
thank you

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