11.05.2009

Why I Hate DC is jealous of the Prince of Petworth

This just in, I envy the Prince of Petworth! Bring your combs and brylcreem, West Side Story-esque rumble in Columbia Heights at dusk! Are you a shark or a jet?
From: Prince of Petworth
To: Dave Stroup
Subject: Hey Buddy!

Hi Dave,

Thanks for all your comments and concerns about my posts. I really appreciate the attention. I am sorry you have not been able to convert Stroup Media into a full time job. I am sorry that you are a bit jealous that I have been able to do so. I really look forward to meeting you in person one of these days. I think we'd actually get along quite nicely. I'm not one to wage public wars, so again I just wanted to say thanks for the attention you've been giving me and your concerned comments in PoP. I will not let you down my friend.

Best,
Dan Silverman
In all seriousness folks, part of doing business on the Internet is opening yourself up to criticism. The key is knowing how to respond in a constructive manner.

20 comments:

  1. I haven't lived here very long, only since August, and a lot of people pointed to the PoP, but to tell you the truth, with the exception of live blogging events about something that just went down in Petworth, like the Safeway shooting, I find the blog lacks substance.

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  2. I enjoy reading both blogs - they (and other local blogs) all have a place in my reading about the various goings on here in town - no one can or should claim to be a one stop shop for local news and comment - and as such, since everyone is doing their own thing and adding their own piece to the overall picture, I don't quite understand the need for the criticism and the pissing match because you may or may not like the way someone is writing his blog.
    I'd like to admire people rather than be embarassed by them - and this little dustup is getting embarassing.

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  3. This was pretty petty on your part.

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  4. I generally agree with Andy - particularly since this blog is the only one making it public, it seems kind of petty.

    That said, I do generally agree that PoP is a pretty worthless blog - occasionally he scoops a good rumor (or "scuttlebutt", as he likes to call it, argh...), but I've never gotten solid information from the guy. And there's something to be said for the idea that if the dude's gonna be full-time blogger, he could do something to add value (and you know. earn his living) beyond wandering around town with a camera to take a picture of every house/door/window that catches his fancy... There are plenty of people that do that sort of thing for free on Flickr. I'm a bit baffled that he maintains a readership (and sponsors, as a result). There are plenty of places to get rumors about new restaurants and the like - and I've learned to avoid the comments altogether, since there's so much (very thinly veiled) racism on anything that touches on actual neighborhood news (which he fails to seem to care about) that I get too angry to do much of anything else if I scroll down.

    Whew. PoP rant is over, for now.

    Oh. And I'd love to see a WWE style cage match between Stroup and Silverman. And have DCist post video.

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  5. I agree. I have PoP's blog in my google reader, along with why.i.hate.dc. As I do prefer this blog, I do find an entry or two from time to time of interest (i.e. Stealth Pear tag)@PoP. I do however find that PoP does lack substance and most of the time the voice of the entry, just doesn't speak to me. It's pro-DC. I, on the other hand, am indifferent and just a tad bit anti-DC (another blog I followed). Oh and I hate the the word "scuttlebutt". It just seems unnecessary. It's like when Rachel Raye always says e.v.o.o or delish...those words (or acronyms) are unnecessary as well...just say the damn word already. That is all.

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  6. PoP is okay.

    Some blame him for a lack of substance but there are a lot of discussions about crime on that blog.

    I have always been treated well by Dave on this blog (the one time we have conversed on the comments page) so I have no reason to doubt him, but I am very surprised about the e-mail. Dan has always seemed liked a really nice guy.

    PoP has sort of a kool-aid drinkers following, though.

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  7. Time to have it out the old fashion way, "two man enter, one man leave."

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  8. This is the stupidest post I have read all day.

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  9. I think your comments about 'the PoP' struck to the heart of what has bothered me the most about this individual supposedly representing my neighborhood. He is wildly out of touch with the issues within the small community his blog claims to chronicle, let alone the city-wide issues.

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  10. All.Bloggers.Suck

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  11. Internet. Serious Business.

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  12. what's this about? I don't have time to keep up with something like this.

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  13. I didn't have a problem with your criticism of his blog, that's your right. But I do have a problem with your posting a private email he sent you.

    That was a private message to you. He did not publish it on his blog. Posting that email here is lame.

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  14. I wrestled with that a bit. Ultimately I decided to post it. I figured there might be some backlash, but it does speak to his personality. I always honor explicit requests to not publish messages sent to me via this site. Anything else is fair game, though, in my opinion. If I send him an email I fully expect whatever I write to be shown to others.

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  15. So I guess we've come to a time when we all should add a footer to our emails which says "republication explicitly prohibited without permission?" That really sucks. I wouldn't think that necessary except when dealing with corporations and law firms.

    I know Dan personally. He's a nice guy. Sounds like your post irritated him, and maybe he wasn't on his best foot when he wrote you back. There's nothing at stake here, so why make this a public airing of dirty laundry? I just think it's low class.

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  16. I don't think that's necessary but when sending an email via a web site regarding the content on said web site, I think it's fair game. It's a bit petty, I'll admit.

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  17. Well, I guess we just disagree. If he wanted it to be public he would have commented publicly on your blog. Isn't that the point of him emailing you directly? That seems obvious to me.

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  18. I see your point. I suppose what I was saying is that I have no expectation of privacy when sending an email to the owner of a blog regarding their blog. I choose my words carefully when/if I do that.

    The sad thing is that this post ends up being far more popular than anything else. 10X more people like to read about some beef between bloggers than they do most other topics. If I were basing my reaction only on the popularity of this post, I would have to say it was the best course of action as it gets plenty of pageviews and links from other places (DCist, Wonkette, etc). So yeah, in a way I'm doing the same thing he does, pandering to an audience.

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  19. Hey, give the people what they want. And everyone looooves a good fight... witness reality TV. God I hate that crap... but sometimes you just can't resist...

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  20. Dave, you got it right that this is the most popular posting on your site to comment on. You got the reason wrong though. It is simply becuase PoP has a following (for good reasons) and you do not(for good reasons.)

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