The AppsLab

Jake, Check out this post for a great example of how a blogger can work with a software vendor:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=436

SAP was really helpful, open, and forthcoming in my
requests for information, making senior folks available as needed. On the flip side, I committed to write a balanced story. It’s a fair trade, in my opinion.

Nothing would please me more than to get inside some of the Oracle stories, so my reporting can be more accurate and insightful. I fully recognize you are pushing this inside Oracle, so please don’t infer these comments as being critical of you.

I think Dennis Howlett’s post on ZDNet really gets at the same issue, although he expressed it in far stronger terms:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howlett/?p=201

W

Vinnie, the analyst industry and the trade press advertising industry are in the business of accepting money in exchange for ink; bloggers (ostensibly) are not. That’s the difference.

Justin,

The fundamental issue relates to integrity, honesty, and disclosing conflicts of interest and payments.

Your comment implies that bloggers are (or should be) more honest than analysts and trade reporters. Care to expand on that?

Michael Krigsman
ZDNet blogger (http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures)

Michael – it’s not a question of more/less honest; it’s a question of perception. Analysts who accept money are perceived to be credible; journalists are not–regardless of whatever the reality may be. Where should bloggers fit? With the latter, IMO.

Michael: I saw your post and am working internal channels to find someone to talk to you about ASU (as noted in comment 18), ideally at OOW, to which you are invited. I hope you’ll be able to make it.

Justin, I just declared myself an analyst again. Where’s my check?

Justin: My blog is definitely analyst-oriented — I provide analysis and advice, rather than merely report events. Therefore, I’m ready to accept payment from Oracle, and promise I will disclose the client relationship to readers, ensuring intellectual honesty. Should you think I’m joking, rest assured I’m not.

Michael/Vinnie,
You guys are too funny. Analysts get the whole package paid for but press do not as it would be a conflict of interest.

Justin, are you saying that the analysts who writes research pieces (say either Gartner or Forrester) with their “Magic Quadrant”, “Hype Wave” or whatever shows Oracle being in the “Leading Innovator and Implementor”, I should take with a grain of salt as they have been paid by Oracle to ensure their ranking whereas others who have been lumped into the lower quadrant did not forked out the required monies to buy the analyst’s “opinion and research”?

That’s a good one that my CIO is going to have to reconsider paying our subscription fees to these research services for “PAID MARKETING”. Me thinks that I have to talk to my Gartner representative regarding getting my subscription fees back.

Minor correction.

“Analysts get the whole package paid for but press do not as it would be a conflict of interest.” should be “Analysts get the whole package paid for but press do not as it would be a conflict of interest???”.

That’s for Justin not Vinnie or Michael.

Hey gadgetguy, your comments are borked, so I’m responding here.

You are wrong about intentions, as far as mine are concerned, and since you reference one of my comments, I want to clarify.

My personal intentions for inviting bloggers is to get them access to all the customers, partners, employees, executives, etc. OpenWorld is a great place to mingle and hear people’s stories, all of them, not just the case studies.

That said, I am not in charge of the program, which you should know by reading here. The principals involved in this discussion (Vinnie, Jeff, Michael, Dennis) have been critical, but fair. They understand that change takes time and want to be involved insofar as we invited them to the event/into the discussion.

I suggest you do the same, or at least jump into the discussion here. And fix your comments.

I do agree change takes time, and Oracle has taken a step in the right direction. Usually, the first step is the hardest, so we’ll see what develops in the future.

Michael/Vinnie – are you guys asking me to fix the entire multi-billion-dollar analyst industry? Sorry, that’s above my pay grade.

Sorry, I meant Peter/Vinnie.

Being one of “straight-up consultant” bloggers (as Ann Z called us) I was pleased Oracle extended its invites to us “citizen journalists”. I see it as Oracle’s attempt to encourage a broader discussion about its products and services than a small circle of professional journalists and analyst could generate.

A waived fee is nice, paid travel expenses would be even nicer. Personally, I will still be in red for the week due to lost consulting revenues. I can’t believe we are spending so much time on this issue.

A bigger question for me is what will attendees get from a mega conference like OOW in return for their investment of time and money? How efficient can 1,600 sessions in five days be to “Learn, Experience and Connect”?

Oracle speakers always emphasize that conferences are where Oracle “listens to their customers”. It is hardly a two-way discussion. If blogs can provide a constructive feedback and a forum to express opinions to whatever is being presented then the Bloggers at OpenWorld “program” would be a win for everyone. How fair and independent the coverage is is up the blog readers to decide regardless whether Oracle paid for bloggers airfare or not…

Hi Jake,

Will be the same policy kept for OOW2008?
/Paweł

@Pawel: The details are being worked out right now, but it sounds like PR will offer the same type of program to bloggers.