You can’t get there from here.
Ad Agency Sues Maine Blogger Over Search Accusations — The blog is called the Maine Web Report and looks to be an interesting showdown between bloggers as newsmen and the people or companies they cover. This could get ugly.
An ad agency promoting tourism for the state of Maine suing a Maine-based blogger for defamation. The search connection? The blogger, Lance Dutson, had highlighted out broad matched search ads were hurting his own clients or not perhaps attracting the audience the state wanted. And a further search connection. The ad agency, WKPA, is concerned that searches on its name will now bring up Dutson’s criticisms.
Dutson has a variety of posts on the subject on his blog, most in this category. WKPA lacks its own blog. Expect that to change when it discovers that search marketing has two components — the ads you buy and the PR you get from natural organic results (which aren’t helped by its all-Flash site).
related links
Here’s the Maine Bloggers Site and Update — FYI
One of many Maine Tourism sites
Simply amazing! I’ve run into small-minded bureacrats before; but, it always stands you straight up when you see that simple explanations of simple problems — don’t result in either understanding or correction of the problem.
When that happens, it’s usually rooted in the gold standard of politics: corruption, cronyism and greed. Of course, it used to be you could call on someone higher up the ladder for an investigation and possible remedy. Nowadays, with corruption becoming the new national sport, I’m not so certain.
All that leaves us is the press and blogs, folks.
actually ed, that leaves us with blogs……and some of them are corrupted, or bought and paid for by the same people who we complain about to start with.
(May 05, 2006)
http://www.mediabloggers.org/archives/2006/05/mba_legal_alert_1.php
Moments ago, lawyers for the advertising agency suing MBA Member Lance Dutson filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal in U.S. District Court in Maine.
The notice reads simply:
“Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1), Plaintiff Warren Kremer Paino Advertising, L.L.C. hereby dismisses the above-captioned action without prejudice.”
The decision to withdraw the lawsuit comes on the heels of a withering media campaign orchestrated by the Media Bloggers Association on behalf of MBA Member Lance Dutson. Hundreds of bloggers responded to the MBA’s call to arms and were joined by media outlets around the world in highlighting the heavy-handed tactics of the state contractor.
“As it should be, the story of ‘Warren Kremer Paino and the Maine Blogger’ is now a cautionary tale”, said MBA President Robert Cox, “future potential plaintiffs would do well to consider WKP’s experience in attempting to silence a blog critic through the Federal courts. Our message is simple: ‘Don’t Mess with the Bloggers'”
A big round of thanks is in order for the lawyers who volunteered their time on Lance’s behalf including MBA General Counsel, Ronald Coleman of the Coleman Law Firm, Greg Herbert of Greenberg Traurig and private attorney Jon Stanley.
“This demonstrates precisely what we have said all along,” said Coleman, “Suits like this are premised solely on the anticpation that there will be no push back from the little guy. Â Here, there was.”
“The plaintiff failed to understand it’s a new world”, said Stanley, “This is a textbook case of how blogs work. This result could not have come about without the blogosphere. Lance’s defense team was put together through the blogs and pressure was brought to bear on WKP through the blogs.”
“This is a great victory for the First Amendment and bloggers’ rights, and Exhibit A in a future case study of ‘How Not to Handle an Internet Critic””, said Herbert. “We are extremely gratified that Mr. Dutson will no longer have the threat of litigation hanging over his head and censoring his speech.”
Thanks, H.
I’m actually surprised to see the a-holes got a clue so fast.