So, some guy named Jarvis Coffin wrote this rather ridiculous post a week ago on Huffington Post titled “Reports of the Death of Advertising Are Exaggerated.” (They aren’t, by the way.) I was directed to it by a friend, so I read it word for word. Then I dashed off a comment because the web is all about interaction, right? So I interacted.
HuffPo warns you that it moderates all comments to prevent “ad hominem” attacks and abusive comments and off-topic nonsense and other crimes against nature or humanity. So I tried to keep it clean and impersonal, clicked “submit” and waited patiently. And waited. And checked back after a bit. And waited. And so on. Ten hours passed. Then about 144 more.
Like I said, the web is about interaction, not interminable delay. Interminable delay is the core of traditional media, not digital. Finally, with nothing of my comment yet in sight, I have decided to take action and do what good netizens are supposed to do: Publish the comment myself. So here it is:
One potential problem with HuffPo is that anyone, apparently, can shoot off his mouth with any or no justification. There is not a single fact in this meandering post. And the offending language — which is the traditional media exec’s verbal equivalent of a jerking knee or a facial tic — can be found here:
“As an industry we have discussed that changes may have to be made by some… For the most part this means specialization, or enhanced relevancy. Newspapers don’t have to disappear, but they may have to stop trying to be all things to all people. Ditto most every media business.”
See? He did it. He just changed the subject. In the middle of talking about advertising, he suggests that traditional media’s all-too-evident problems with tumbling ad revenue (down roughly 30% across print properties in Q1) can be solved by changing journalism or somehow fixing other content.
Now tell me: How exactly does that work? That’s like having your plumber tell you he’s going to fix that clogged toilet by repainting the bathroom. But when he’s done, you’ll just wind up with a pretty pink bathroom knee-deep in excrement instead of a blue one.
If you think that comment is ad hominem, abusive or off topic, please let me know. Otherwise, please let HuffPo know that their moderators should move a little quicker in the 21st century. And also let them know that reports of the death of advertising have been understated, if anything, except by Jarvis Coffin.
