EPIC FAIL: How the world’s foremost authority on permission marketing censored me on Triiibes, then “invited” me to write on my own blog!
That title is not some “play” on words. It’s fact. Seth Godin sent me a personal message on Triiibes, his dying social notwork after censoring a post on the economics of the music industry that contained the word “retard.” Now, this isn’t the first time, Seth has censored me… about a year ago he censored a post on SEO (nothing controversial, just a quick tutorial for new bloggers) because he didn’t want tech mumbo jumbo cluttering the free thinking of Triiibes. He went on to augment that level of awesome with a correction of my business name from “Sacrilicious” to “Sacreligious.” But the issue at hand now, is that he doesn’t want “music industry” mumbo jumbo or “controversial language” on Triiibes. And, I get that it is his network and it has all the excitement of my grandma’s knitting circle and only about 5-6 people update their blogs each day, but who knew that censorship and status quo are the real tools of the man behind permission based marketing?
This is the post he censored: Rockstars, Retards, Helmets & Piracy
This post had a number of comments that delved into the economics of the music industry and what would save it both form a business and consumption model standpoint. The conversation was actually pretty active and it reached the featured blogs in the sidebar widget on the network… but Fun Sponge McGodin thought it was too racy (the picture used is from a modern art exhibit featured on Trendhunter), the word “retard” too politically incorrect and the economics of the music industry too outside the box for Triiibes.
So, what pray tell is allowed on invitation only network Triibes?
Your Crap and Twitter Don’t Mix – a post that gives a tutorial to Twitter Spammers on how to improve their profiles. Ummm…. They are spammers, they aren’t real people who care about improving their profiles on Twitter. They are broadcast only automated accounts. They don’t want advice… What’s the point of this, if the market you are tutoring isn’t interested in improving?
I don’t charge too much, you just can’t afford me – a post complaining that people seeking bloggers on eLance don’t want to pay more than $3/post. Ummm… they are looking for spammy content in bulk for low level SEO content creation – it’s not worth more than $3/post. You can’t talk someone into paying you more for your quality copyrighting service when they don’t want quality copy.
FRIDAYS POST (monday edition): Epilogue and Instruction – oh, this is a good one… it’s an inspirational poem by Mary Oliver on how to live life. About 5 of the last 12 posts over there that are poems or inspirational quotes. I don’t know what you define as the definition of spam on a social network is, but by mine, this qualifies.
The rest of the posts are case studies on small businesses by people that clearly do not understand business economics, rants about why hospitals suck, ideas on how to make more money working from home when you have no real skill, how going green might be expensive but it makes your customers happy so you shouldn’t raise the cost of goods to cover the cost of going green, how to use the word “bloviate” in a sentence, etc, etc, etc. Basically, the whole network is filled with ramble that no one with a real job would care about. It is no wonder why the network is stumbling – there are only about 5-10 new blog posts per week in total by members. The network is dull, does not foster community or engaged conversation and with the added censorship, it has become a place where leaders cannot be born and ideas cannot develop.
Here’s my take: Seth Godin, for all his talk of permission marketing and community building, is a hypocrite. He positioned himself as a heretic, but he doesn’t want anyone else to be one. It’s easy to be king when you chop the heads off all the other leaders. Consider that Seth doesn’t even allow comments on his own blog – he doesn’t want to engage, he wants to message which is the antithesis of permission based and tribal marketing!He is acting now like an ombudsman, governing every little move of his flock and censoring his tribe rather than embracing growth or inspiring innovation and conversation. Is there a such thing as Marketing Communism?
Godin is an advertiser and has always been one, and cannot embrace the freedoms and new conversation mechanisms social media offer marketers. He has failed to use any of the social theory models used in building a robust community and has essentially alienated portions (mostly the leadership) of his market through his own network, Triiibes.
(*Caveat: for those that don’t know Triiibes is an invite only network that was never really opened up so new blood can’t refresh or grow the “tribe”).
Seth Godin has sent you a message on Triiibes
Subject: Regarding blog posts
“Hi Mary. Hope you’ve been well.
I deleted a recent post of yours, because I (and others) found the photo offputting and distracting and the language (‘retard’) outside the tone I’m comfortable with.
The thing is, there are lots of places to write about the economics of the music industry and lots of places to be really edgy. This is not one of them.
Please don’t try to push the edges of decorum here. That’s not why I built the site. I encourage you, though, to do it as much as you like on your site!
Seth”
OK, great to hear I have permission to write on my own blog. I don’t think I need to point out the kind of pompous ass it takes to say something like that, but it is pretty ballsy to give me carte blanche to write my own words with no threat of censorship on my own website. Makes me seriously question Seth’s understanding of the Internet as it exists everywhere BUT CHINA.
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