It looks to me like she's got some program that generates that document and she just left the "because" field blank. Or, given ICE's understanding of computers, the program just ate the reason and spit out a blank.
I didn't realize Starbucks owned that word. I thought it was the generic term for "sh***y high-calorie milkshake that may contain coffee-like flavoring".
I didn't read her email as entitled. A bit slimy, and undoubtedly exaggerating how good her offer is, but that's pretty standard marketing. She said, "I'll give you X in exchange for Y". It may be a good deal, it may not be, but she sent it to multiple restaurants when only one could take the offer, so clearly she expected some to turn her down. That doesn't seem entitled, that seems like she was covering her bases.
I really do appreciate the work you do towards sustainable business models on the internet, both for other industries and yourselves. It's one of the main things that's made me a regular reader for five plus years, and why I continue to be a regular reader. Techdirt was a huge inspiration for me in trying to start my own business.
And I don't dislike them for no other reason than they're sponsored. After reading some number of sponsored posts and noticing that I didn't like any of them, I came to the conclusion that it was not worth my time to read any more of them.
Don't remember a specific post. It's normally not a post about batteries, just thrown in along the way. Something along the lines of "I depend on batteries for my laptop/phone/whatever, and these are really good and relatively inexpensive".
So the real difference is the blogger is the one asking, while in the case of sponsored posts it's the company coming to the blog? I don't see that as a really meaningful distinction.
I used to read every article here. Now as soon as I see "sponsored", I move on. I have not yet read one that I enjoyed or found interesting. The one you linked is better than average, but I still would have skipped it.
And I won't argue that you don't do a better job of this than other sites. But is that really the goal? To do something better than all the people who do it really badly?
How is this different from the "Sponsored Posts" on Techdirt? They're usually unreadable crap, a marketing flyer thinly-disguised as a blog post. It's nice that you make it really clear that they're sponsored so I can skip over them and save the six seconds of reading time it would otherwise take me to realize they were garbage.
Her email maybe could have been worded a with a little less slime, but for how many marketing emails is that NOT true?
It is generally obvious when someone is being paid vs honestly cares about the products. Like when Mike talks about batteries - he might be getting free ones, I don't know, but he's built up a level of trust so that I believe him when he says they're great.
I had a bad experience with them, too, though luckily they only had $2 of my money. I signed up for a business account, was verified in all of a few minutes, set up the website, then did a test transaction. They instantly locked my account. I tried to get it unlocked, and they told me my business model violated their terms of service.
It sure appeared to me that they set things up to get that first month's payment out of everyone without any sort of verification, but the moment you actually USE the account they would do an actual review. I gave them an overview of the business model from the beginning, but they clearly didn't look at it until I did the test transaction.
To make it even better, they told me the only way to close the account was to unlock it. To unlock it, I would have to change my business model and then they'd reconsider.
Paypal is great for paying people on eBay. Beyond that, stay away.
Isn't it only "way, way beyond what's appropriate" if you assume the opposite of the position that the FBI/DOJ have taken?
That is, if you don't treat Wikileaks as a media organization (and I agree with your reasoning that it is, but that's not the point), then paying an informant to get insider information is just something that the FBI does.
There are a ton of hidden costs that most people won't see. The NSA may be different, but a certain government agency that I happen to work for has some ridiculous IT security policies that prevent anyone from using any technology that might be considered modern, efficient, or useful.
The difference between "the cost to store and manage the data" and "the cost for a dozen Oracle licenses because we're inherently terrified of open source" is many millions of dollars.
I don't want to tell you how to run your site (well, okay, maybe a little), but stuff like this is not why I come to Techdirt. The fact that there's essentially no discussion on this post suggests that I'm not alone. I read this post expecting it to make a point eventually, but it never did.
The United States Sentencing Commission’s website was destroyed when activists attacked the site to protect the federal prosecution of Bart Swartz which eventually led to Mr. Swartz committing suicide.
If you take "protect" as a typo for "protest", substitute "Aaron" for "Bart", let him say that the prosecution caused the suicide, which may be false but certainly isn't an absurd position to take, and wave away "destroyed" as coming from someone who doesn't understand websites, that sentence makes sense.
The United States Sentencing Commission’s website was hacked when activists attacked the site to protest the federal prosecution of Aaron Swartz which eventually led to Mr. Swartz committing suicide.
On the post: ICE Rejects My Request To Waive FOIA Fees 'Because .' Yes, 'Because .'
Incompetence over malice?
On the post: CIA: We Only Spied On Senate Intelligence Committee Because They Took Classified Documents That Prove We're Liars
On the post: Former NSA Official Claims Snowden Set Agency Back A Decade, Tells Putin To 'Return' Whistleblower
Nice SEO
bs-ed-nsa-israel-20140303,0,1683316.story
On the post: U2 Manager Paul McGuinness: Google Should 'Take Down' Sites And 'Keep Them Down'
On the post: South Carolina Senator Aims To Criminalize The Recording Of Criminal Activity
Is that covered under "conspire to produce or create"? Because I wouldn't read it that way, though I'm not a lawyer.
On the post: The Greatest Response To A Cease And Desist Letter, Probably Written While Drunk
Trademark?
On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks
Re: Re: Re: Re: Hello, pot?
I really do appreciate the work you do towards sustainable business models on the internet, both for other industries and yourselves. It's one of the main things that's made me a regular reader for five plus years, and why I continue to be a regular reader. Techdirt was a huge inspiration for me in trying to start my own business.
And I don't dislike them for no other reason than they're sponsored. After reading some number of sponsored posts and noticing that I didn't like any of them, I came to the conclusion that it was not worth my time to read any more of them.
On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks
Re: Re: Hello, pot?
On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks
Re: Re: Hello, pot?
I used to read every article here. Now as soon as I see "sponsored", I move on. I have not yet read one that I enjoyed or found interesting. The one you linked is better than average, but I still would have skipped it.
And I won't argue that you don't do a better job of this than other sites. But is that really the goal? To do something better than all the people who do it really badly?
On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks
Hello, pot?
Her email maybe could have been worded a with a little less slime, but for how many marketing emails is that NOT true?
It is generally obvious when someone is being paid vs honestly cares about the products. Like when Mike talks about batteries - he might be getting free ones, I don't know, but he's built up a level of trust so that I believe him when he says they're great.
On the post: Insanity: PayPal Freezes Mailpile's Account, Demands Excessive Info To Get Access
Paypal for business is terrible
It sure appeared to me that they set things up to get that first month's payment out of everyone without any sort of verification, but the moment you actually USE the account they would do an actual review. I gave them an overview of the business model from the beginning, but they clearly didn't look at it until I did the test transaction.
To make it even better, they told me the only way to close the account was to unlock it. To unlock it, I would have to change my business model and then they'd reconsider.
Paypal is great for paying people on eBay. Beyond that, stay away.
On the post: Once Again, Media Jumps On Violent Video Games Before Knowing The Facts
This is why we should all carry guns!
Oh, wait...
On the post: FBI Paid Off Wikileaks Insider To Be An Informant: Imagine If It Was The NY Times
Making assumptions
That is, if you don't treat Wikileaks as a media organization (and I agree with your reasoning that it is, but that's not the point), then paying an informant to get insider information is just something that the FBI does.
On the post: How Much Would It Cost To Store All US Phone Calls Made In A Year?
This is government, remember
The difference between "the cost to store and manage the data" and "the cost for a dozen Oracle licenses because we're inherently terrified of open source" is many millions of dollars.
On the post: Maybe E*Trade Should Stop Giving Four-Year Contracts To Its CEOs
Cross back, please
On the post: The Worst Article You Might Ever Read About 'Cybersecurity'
Re: Re: Typos and stuff
Maybe I'm giving him too much credit...
On the post: The Worst Article You Might Ever Read About 'Cybersecurity'
Re: Re: Typos and stuff
On the post: The Worst Article You Might Ever Read About 'Cybersecurity'
Typos and stuff
On the post: Is Using A Single Lyric From A Musician You're A Fan Of 'Theft' Or 'An Homage'?
Wait. Who is Matt Nathanson?
On the post: UN: The Problem With The Internet Today Is It's Just Too Open & Terrorists Might Use It
Buy the UN a dictionary
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