Local Vibe

Echo writes for The Vibe? The Wonderful Velvet Invasion and Spinnerette Spin-Off!!

by on Feb.02, 2009, under Concerts, Info, Other, Reviews, Velvet Lounge

Well, it sure has been an interesting week. Sorry for the hiatus but when your birthday falls this close to Super Bowl Weekend, it is cause for celebration. Anyways, between the Velvet Invasion and Spinnerette stories we sure seemed to strike a chord with some critics and fans, yet it remains to be seen who is really victorious in this first of many pissing contests that are sure to erupt when things get laid on the table.

In Velvet Invasion, Scot clearly was critical of the way that he felt that the other local entertainment resources handled the promotion of an event that he felt deserved paying attention to. I really don’t see what is wrong with that, as it remains a fact that the only two other local blogs mentioned this event prior to it happening. “Something had to change with this approach” is what we consistently heard as we were in the process of starting this venture. The current sources that we rely on are not providing the information in a way that satisfies the masses, thus something else must come along and offer something satisfying. So cometh the Local Vibe!

In this example Scot clearly thought that it deserved mention in the daily and weekly prints, that admittedly hold the largest audiences for now. Perhaps he was a little bolder than most would have been, however we can all agree that his stirring of the pot has brought light to a situation that deserves to be addressed. If the worst thing that comes from this is a couple of people being reminded of what might better serve their own interests as well as that of their readers, then I find it hard to see the bad in it as the events and venues are bound to get better promotion out of the deal.

On to the Spinnerette surprise. I decided to write about bands promoting themselves through social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook and decided to use a band that I had just had the pleasure of being introduced to, The Spinnerettes, as they had over 25 thousand friends on their MySpace. I have been corrected on several levels on this article and been reminded that research is needed to responsibly write these articles. So research I did.

First I decided to look at some of the messages that were trapped in my spam catcher to determine if they were relevant enough to be included on the site and where they had come from, as every message is stamped with the IP of the computer that sent it. For those of you that aren’t sure what an IP is, it is the shortform for Internet Protocol, which described in its easiest form is a specific address for your computer when you are online. Every IP is unique, to ensure that everyone can be identified seperately. I was quite surprised to notice that the comments from several email addresses were originating from the same IP. I was even further shocked to see that included in the list of email addresses that originated from this IP was Ryan Farkas, Editor-In Chief at Echo.

So as this person(s) has decided to post many times from two IP’s, and under two names and using four different email addresses; I have decided to take the advice directed to me and further research just who is making these posts, as it would seem as though it is either two people posing as one or one person is posing as two. More to come on this topic as we continue to lay things on the table.

Where these comments came from are of specific interest to me as it may bring some clarity to the issue that I have noted in the first part of the story. If some of the things mentioned in these comments accurately reflect the opinion of people behind the scenes at our weekly offering, then we understand why the output is less than desirable. This makes me feel good about our early decision to not have any interest in hiring “writers” from our competition, as we didn’t want to adopt any of their negative qualities.

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8 comments for this entry:
  1. Scot
    February 2nd, 2009 on 3:37 pm

    Actually, Ryan, aka “Alec Baldwin” offered to write for us. I’d like to see it. Still up for it “Alec?”

  2. Scot
    February 4th, 2009 on 10:24 am

    I doubt we are going to hear any more Echoes. I sent Ryan a nice Email yesterday and I’m filing suit against Echo for money they owe me for columns I wrote last year.

  3. Greg
    March 10th, 2009 on 5:42 pm

    WTF- is the Echo really going down? Damn, let’s make a better model and keep it local.

  4. Scot
    March 10th, 2009 on 7:57 pm

    Greg, in my 30 years of writing for local publications they are easily the worst and most unprofessional.

  5. Ernest
    March 19th, 2009 on 11:16 am

    Good grief. Is this were the 911 conspiracy theory started. Grow up.

  6. IanR
    March 19th, 2009 on 11:43 am

    Wow, Echo still paying attention 6 weeks after the fact, or is it that you are just catching on? Well Ernest, conspiracy theory or not, we have the technical savvy to back this up or we wouldn’t have written it. We were challenged regarding research, so research we did. Perhaps you should stick to trying to satisfy your advertisers and let us take care of the readers. We don’t mind.

    Thanks for stopping by, we value all of our visitors.

  7. Sean
    March 19th, 2009 on 2:00 pm

    If any of you want to meet me face to face, you know how to find me. As for Scot, he’s accomplished nothing to merit credibility on anything of actual importance. I of course realize by even lowering myself to this forum I’m giving it credibility, but at least that’s something somebody can get excited about.

    For the record, Echo will keep having fun like it has for the last 13 years. By the way, it’s part of a larger chain of newspapers and they are all having fun as well.

    For those who thrive on nonsense, here’s a few more:

    - George Bush is a criminal.
    - The World is Flat.
    - Society owes you something.
    - Emotion matters
    - Drunks Matter
    - The Twin Towers were blown up.
    - There’s an “evil” group at the top holding all of us down.

    etc………

  8. IanR
    March 19th, 2009 on 11:12 pm

    Welcome to the Vibe Sean. The opening to your comment comes off as very confrontational, and yet according to your sales manager we are the ones needing to “grow up”. As a fellow publisher, I honestly expected better from you. I am not even sure of what need there would be to find you as you mentioned. Sounds like something from a schoolyard scenario.

    I am sure you are already aware of this, but perhaps someone in your chain can explain why you aren’t supposed to take anything personal that hasn’t been directed at you personally. This is the new form of media, where people can voice their opinions and the point of this story in the first place is that we are just trying to keep some people honest about their motives for voicing opinions here. Nothing personal, really! We are just laying things on the table.

    This topic on the forum as you have coined it has been 100% left alone until today when all of a sudden multiple comments come along from your side of the fence. Somehow we don’t seem like the people worried or concerned about anything here. Perhaps greater control over the organization as a whole would have prevented this from happening in the first place, or at the very least from going any further.

    I am not sure what exactly has prompted these latest comments over 6 weeks after the fact, but as I said earlier…We value all of our readers and I appreciate you stopping by. However, for future reference perhaps some guidance to your “professionals” may be in order as to why it is usually best to let a sleeping dog lie.

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