In Response to That Casey Jones Dell Probation Thing
It's clear, Enfatico is the industry's current whipping boy, whether or not anything for which we are whipping the boy is true or not. This industry can't live without a continual dose of ego-boosting schadenfreude and the security it offers allowing us to say, "At least we aren't as screwed up as those fuckers over at Enfatico!" As long as someone else is screwing up, it's all good.
AgencySpy is having a field day on this one lambasting Dell VP Casey Jones and claiming he's on probation for "lackluster performance" in his creation of the Enfatico machine. Unsurprisingly, there's bound to be some strife when a giant brand attempts to consolidate its work from 800 agencies to one. It's to be expected.
In response to a recent piece on AgencySpy in which Matt, who is just figuring out who @richardatdell (Richard Binhammer) is, I wrote, "It's great fun to crap on this business and those who seem to be flailing aimlessly within it such as, some would say, Enfatico. I've done it myself but I've also worked in the business long enough to know that, in most cases, everything is usually blown out of proportion.
Richard at Dell has been active in the world of social media on behalf of Dell for a long time. If you recall Dell Hell (the Jeff Jarvis thing), a while after that Dell realized they might as well join what they can't control and at least empower someone to engage (omg...I'm using buzzwords!) with the various communities out there so as to monitor, learn and participate in what's being said about Dell.
It's easy to crap on Dell. They're not the religion known as Apple. But when was the last time Apple actually gave a shit about what people say? Dell, at least, is in the conversation.
Richard is not just 'a blogger.' He's a representative of Dell charged with joining the conversation (you're welcome Joe Jaffe) and making sure Dell gets heard."
Certainly, Enfatico will be in the news many more times before we all go back to viewing it and Dell as an unsexy combination charged with selling computers but, for now, it seems Enfatico will remain the industry's favorite whipping boy because, if for no other reason, when the industry needs to take a shit, it also needs a place to dump it.
Comments
And I can think of no better receptacle to dump that shit than Agency Spy—the premier toilet of ad blogs. Sure, we’re all quick to criticize Enfatico. But it’s somewhat silly for the primary critic to be a kid who barely understands blogging, let alone the ad business. Take a close look at the blog. It’s essentially a post board for layoffs. A company downsizes and the disgruntled downsizees email Agency Spy. Why do we even give a shit about others’ layoffs? At one point, it appeared the ever-lame Mediabistro was attempting to change the ad blog into something besides what it was in its gossipy heyday. Now it’s much worse. Two inexperienced writers pushing innuendo as news. Agency Spy is the Enfatico of ad blogs. The main difference being Enfatico at least features a few professionals on staff.
Hi Steve
Thanks for helping mediabistro understand who I am and what I have been doing since August 2006. You raise some very important considerations here about consolidation, time to get rolling challenges and more. Fair game. To rumor monger and besmirch personal reputations is uncalled for and tacky
In an attempt to be fair, just checked out Agency Spy (a painful experience, as always). Here’s a direct quote from the writer-poseur:
“Although he is right about the matter of Jones’ probation being speculative, we would like to note that because of the WPP/Dell relationship, and the unique nature of the situation, Jones has become a notable public figure. In other words, he’s not ‘the little guy.’
The most interesting thing to note here is that so far we haven’t heard from an official Dell rep. — save for Binhammer’s comments. We ponder; is Binhammer speaking out of turn, or is he being propped up as the company’s representation on the issue? Is Dell attempting to fight blog with blogger? Is Binhammer a blogola sponsored rep? The situation confounds.”
Well, if “the situation confounds,” perhaps it’s because the Agency Spy writer is naïve and possibly retarded.
First, he admits his accusations are completely speculative. Then he wonders why no one from Dell has responded.
The child fails to grasp that professionals do not respond to douchebags. If he chooses to publish innuendos and lies, that’s his right. But if he expects professionals to waste time from their days to correct his inaccuracies and intellectual shortcomings, well, he needs to grow up. There is a big, gaping difference between this cretin and other bloggers like George Parker. Parker has worked in the trenches and commands an understanding of the business and even the world. Agency Spy’s representative, on the other hand, can’t even command the English language. He wouldn’t last a minute on Enfatico’s custodial staff, yet he feels comfortable commenting on the company’s executives.
Is this the best you can do, Agency Spy and Mediabistro? Don’t bother to answer. A visit to any Mediabistro enterprise delivers the complete response.
Also, Steve, I disagree with your opening remark that Enfatico is the current industry whipping boy. That title still belongs to Draftfcb, and the enterprise has worked long and hard to secure the distinction. I would imagine the people running Draftfcb are relieved to have some of the shitstorm temporarily raining on another joint. But let’s not give Enfatico so much credit. They have a long way to descend before clanking hulls with the Titanic called Draftfcb.