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I’ve been misquoted in Business Week. That is, to say the least, very distressing, especially given Business Week’s circulation.
And now, like Mark Cuban and Fred Wilson before me, I’d like to set the record straight.
I’ve disagreed with bloggers who want to see the entire content of interviews published by mainstream media so that their bias will be obvious. But now I wish I had followed Mark Cuban’s lead and insisted that the interviews I did with Stephen Baker be done in emails. Wilson will only respond to reporters through his blog. I’m not fantastically wealthy like Wilson and Cuban, nor powerful. But I do intend to be heard.
I Tell Clients Who Blog to Be Honest
Quoting me saying that Purdue should “create a scandal” with his blog was entirely out of context and absolutely not true.
What I actually said to Baker: I told Paul that a prominent blogger jokingly told me that the best way to build a blog audience quickly was to “pick a fight with someone.” I did not use the word scandal.
A scandal is what Paul created, not what I advised!
I Coach Clients on Blogging, I Don’t Dictate to Them
I coach my clients on how to blog, but I don’t dictate to them. My advice to Paul Purdue was that he needed to blog truthfully, openly and honestly about the issues he faced in building his business. If I’d known of the business issues he was hiding, I still would have given him the same advice.
I told Paul not to be afraid to be honest and say that he disagrees strongly with another blogger, journalist, or reader. Like many mainstream journalists, numerous bloggers have made their reputations by being controversial.
One more thing: I did strongly advise that Paul post three times a week on his blog, but I certainly *never* screamed at him. By definition blogs are frequently updated with fresh content. I told Paul, and I tell all of my clients who blog, that if they are not prepared to blog regularly, don’t blog.
I’m am considering requesting that reporters who want to interview me — and I am very open to being interviewed — do it via email, or let me tape the interviews. I haven’t made a final decision and am open to opinions about how to handle media interviews.
Related: Misquoted in the Press, Fred Wilson Proposes a Dangerous Alternative: The Stealth Interview