tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post4241077048564188035..comments2024-02-02T05:45:33.724-06:00Comments on Incoming: John Phippshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03245790061133614986noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-44468722985725326342008-04-09T17:54:00.000-06:002008-04-09T17:54:00.000-06:00Correction:In my previous post I left our an impor...Correction:<BR/><BR/>In my previous post I left our an important word: <BR/><BR/>In paragraph 6, please insert "no" before "valid" to read:<BR/>"but simply to avoid topics you have no valid counterarguments for".<BR/><BR/>Sorry.John Phippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03245790061133614986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-11106470206343698852008-04-09T16:03:00.000-06:002008-04-09T16:03:00.000-06:00mlam:I was struck by your phrases - they could be ...mlam:<BR/><BR/>I was struck by your phrases - they could be mine talking about your side of this debate.<BR/><BR/>Ethanol proponents are unwilling to address facts too. I have blogged about some:<BR/><BR/>- the lack of substantiation of Mideast oil replacement (energy independence!) as ethanol ramps up. I have posted twice on how we are more dependent on Mideast oil than ever.<BR/><BR/>- the growing foreign fertilizer dependence to boot.<BR/><BR/>- addressing the complaints from the livestock industry who are competing without subsidy against mandates. Hardly the Eastern press there.<BR/><BR/>My point is modern communications strategy is not to engage in dialog, but to simply avoid topics you have valid counterargument for.<BR/><BR/>Why shouldn't ethanol opponents be allowed similar tactics if corn growers use them?<BR/><BR/>This is the way we talk in public now. Never concede even in the fact of overwhelming evidence. Stay on message. Above all, don't listen.<BR/><BR/>When there is no belief in compromise my guess it it will make for crushing wins and losses.John Phippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03245790061133614986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-3908090085607085112008-04-09T14:02:00.000-06:002008-04-09T14:02:00.000-06:00Much of "ethanol's case" has indeed been shared wi...Much of "ethanol's case" has indeed been shared with mainstream media but they have chosen to ignore most of the information. The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune are prime examples. Ethanol offers a perfect case in point of the agenda driven media coverage today. If an opinion or even documented data doesn't fit an editor/reporters preconceived notion of the story they want, it must be incorrect information. As a person who spent over a decade as a working journalist it pains me to point this out, but this trend is exactly what convinced me to find another career path. In the final analysis oil interests are just much better at peddling their stories to the East Coast media outlets which drive media messages nationwide. If you look at the increasing investment by Saudi Arabia in the aforementioned East Coast media you can also make some scary assumptions. Gotta go, I think I hear a black helicopter circling my house.mlamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09282788774294087528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-14037026839834796832008-04-08T11:35:00.000-06:002008-04-08T11:35:00.000-06:00m:The Clinton reference was clearly a poor choice ...m:<BR/><BR/>The Clinton reference was clearly a poor choice of metaphor. I am sorry. The atmosphere is too politicized to take chances. It refers to using the laudable ends to justify questionable tactics - and is being increasingly applied to her campaign.<BR/><BR/>In this case, for the reasons I have mentioned above, using forwarding is a means which, as you mentioned achieved some desirable results, but I wonder why organizations such as corn growers do not send such information straight to the media, as opposed to the chain-letter approach.<BR/><BR/>My e-mail address is of course totally over-exposed, and I get the junk mail I deserve. But other members may be less willing to have their addresses wandering around on all those FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD messages.<BR/><BR/>To be sure, the email in question is not offensive or a hoax, but you really can't tell looking at your inbox entry. I almost ignored this one. <BR/><BR/>It strikes me as a poor medium for such an important debate.John Phippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03245790061133614986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-7091688345132186682008-04-08T09:16:00.000-06:002008-04-08T09:16:00.000-06:00As the original sender of the offending email I ha...As the original sender of the offending email I have to marvel at the effectiveness of this mailing. Apparently effective at ticking you off...which in my experience is no easy task, but a goal still worthy of due diligence...but I have also received positive feedback from several mainstream media outlets as well as an executive in the automotive industry who sent this information piece to untold car dealers. So hopefully it did some good other than exercising your spam filter. The Clinton reference hurt me more than you know. I may sell my laptop and never email again! Ok, I'm kidding about selling the computer. The Clinton comment may keep me from sleeping tonight. Keep up the good work John.mlamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09282788774294087528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-78735919081346931622008-04-06T18:49:00.000-06:002008-04-06T18:49:00.000-06:00BRAVO Mr. John, Bravo...if I see fwd., fwd., I ins...BRAVO Mr. John, Bravo...if I see fwd., fwd., I instantly delete if my filter didn't do it already. Bad thing about it is..they come mostly from kinfolk. and I like a few of them...just the one's I can tolerate.<BR/> Old saying goes..".. beware looking for the truth..it might find you."<BR/> If you don't froward this to 100 of your friends in the next 15 seconds you will get older by your next birthday.Ol Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104714377087960892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-83054468507266520862008-04-06T14:38:00.000-06:002008-04-06T14:38:00.000-06:00Anon:Gosh, I didn't know people still got "hip". ...Anon:<BR/><BR/>Gosh, I didn't know people still got "hip". I am a slow learner, but I have figured this out:<BR/><BR/>My inbox - especially at work - gets 200+ messages like this. If it is a forwarded message, I will never see it, and I filter anything from that sender as junk mail.<BR/><BR/>Viral communications are now targeted aggressively by e-mail filters, in order to preserve the value of e-mail. That's one reason many hi-tech businesses have heavier use of texting and IM.<BR/><BR/>I will look for some hard data, but my impression is from my tiny corner of the media, e-mails like this don't get seen by opinion-shapers. <BR/><BR/>Worse, with friends who are compulsive forwarders, I now occasionally miss real messages from them due to the low signal/noise ratio.<BR/><BR/>In this case, I think the the best content cannot overcome a suspect communications vehicle, and the effectiveness is actually negative, as it lowers the reputation of the sender - hence the "Clinton" reference.<BR/><BR/>Like we have learned from identical letters/faxes to Congress, the marginal return diminishes quickly. I would suggest viral e-mails have long since past the point of any benefit since they are so easy and hence represent little effort.<BR/><BR/>YouTube may be approaching this point (hence the popularity of video aggregators/screeners like Arbroath), but blogging is definitely not a push medium. John's World doesn't show up unbidden in your Inbox - you have to surf to it. <BR/><BR/>E-mail is powerful aid to rural America. Playing fast and loose with the addresses of your friends via multiple forwards will only get all our spam loads ramped up faster. Remember those e-mail address go along wherever with the virus. <BR/><BR/>However, I am grateful there wasn't a "if you fail to send this on, you are not a real patriot" or "you'll have 18 years of bad luck" at the bottom. Those chain e-mails really depress me.John Phippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03245790061133614986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27951078.post-40922221760253715602008-04-06T12:36:00.000-06:002008-04-06T12:36:00.000-06:00It’s time you got hip, to this new media called th...It’s time you got hip, to this new media called the Internet, John. The corn growers email on soaring gas prices and big oil isn’t spam, but part of today’s wired communications, along with blogging and U-Tube videos. The email isn’t selling replica watches, cheap Viagra or porn. It’s using our newest media to reach target audiences with bona fide messages effectively and economically. If every corn grower in the country were to send that message to every TV commentator, newspaper editor, radio talk show host and politician in their area, imagine the impressions we’d make!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com