I am featured this week in the City Room’s Taking Questions column. Heck, there’s a lively conversation about last night’s Blogfest. Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report asked this question and I will respond today on the NY Times site and here. But not yet because I’m tired from last night’s fabulous Blogfest. This is just one voice of many points of view that is showing up at City Room today.
Louise, I understand that it takes money and energy to put on the Blogfest.
But I and others thought that the sponsorship by Absolut hijacked the event this year.
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2010/06/blogfest-meets-shillfest-as-spike-lee.htmlDo you have any second thoughts about that?
Also, Absolut recruited bloggers–people who work “closely with you on Blogfest”– to join them in “a viral, underground effort” to spread the news about the Absolut Brooklyn campaign, offering them:
· A feature as our “Blogger of the Week” on ABSOLUT VODKA’s Facebook page
· VIP access to a celebrity event in Brooklyn
· Special call-out as a key collaborator during the Blogfest
· Gift of a Flip camera
· Gift of product that has yet to hit store shelves
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2010/06/so-how-did-absolut-recruit-bloggers-to.html
Note added June 10, 1010: There was no special call out of “key collaborators” during the event. Maybe that was a fantasy on the part of Absolut but it never happened. The shout-out at the end of the program was a random list of bloggers who registered for the event. I think the writing in the letter quoted above from Absolut is a bit overzealous and hopeful.
“this watchdog blog…” Haha! Good Lord!
The Times is editing the comments/questions that are being posed to you, particularly about your pimping of your children for use in your column. Since you are just like Kate Gosselin, and put your family’s issues open to the public (even if your daughter now grudgingly accepts your actions), why not address the issue?