Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
So on a recent Twit (linked here) the four of us were lamenting the ridiculous Web Top 25 list put together by Forbes. I described this choosing process as laughable since I have been on similar Top X list meetings on various publications. Apparently a couple of off-handed remarks upset the blogger cum SFgate writer, Violet Blue, since she was mentioned as someone who probably shouldn’t be on the list. I said I never heard of her. Leo said she wrote about sex or something and I thought about it and said ,”yeah I ran into her” meaning I ran into her site sometime back and did indeed recall who she was.
But my point was that I thought that people left off this list such as Arianna Huffington and Michele Malkin, who each have huge online numbers, were more deserving. There are, in fact, a number of other women who should have been on the list as they are essentially more important than half the people on that list.
The fact is the list stunk and was an obvious poorly thought-out throw-away quickie kind of thing. I’ve decided to put together a list by the Editors of Dvorak Uncensored that will be well-thought-out and definitive. But I digress.
Violet was not the only dubious choice on the list (in my opinion) and I made that clear. The number one pick, in fact, is totally laughable – LonelyGirl, the actress who posted a YouTube vid. What about the guys with the Coke and Mentos? Cripes.
Anyway, Violet got personally bent out of shape, called us a bunch of pigs in a long-winded rant in SFGate (cited here) and I want to personally apologize for being too glib about her on TWiT. She does good work and I never said she was a bad person. So I’m sorry. That said, she still shouldn’t be on the list. Let’s be real.
Well, it seems my points have already been made. I don’t think an apology was necessary, i agree with everyone on the proportion. It’s ridiculous. This wasn’t the first time John commented against these lists, and seeing how Kevin Rose was absent, and most of us haven’t heard of this violet, i’ll have to side with dvorak. They’re bogus. But this is beside the point. I’m not even positive on why this woman is upset. Because the TWiTs couldn’t recall who she is and said she was, what was it, that porn girl? Close enough, as far as i can tell. I could rant for hours…
Way to be classy, John. Always enjoy your writing. Keep it up.
Someone who deceived everyone by pretending in a to be someone else in a Pod/webcast doesn’t have much room to talk about “credibility”.
You didn’t need to apologized, but showed class that you did. This gal is at 14:59 anyway.
I definitely think this women read a little too much into John D.’s comments.Didn’t seem like any was sexism intended,It was obviously just a criticism of the lack of serious thought behind this
Web Top 25 list.
On the other hand I too got a good laugh out of that “Moose Lodge” crack (See comment 23). Funny stuff..See ya at the next meeting guys!!!!!
It’s the general trend of things today, people miss read your intent and are willingly and easily butt hurt!
To reverse the effect you end up walking on shells and apologizing, which of course is typically ineffective.
I agree with #11 #2,#5 and #7 DON’T APOLOGIZE! Like lawyers they will use the apology to justify themselves.
They aren’t honest with themselves, they won’t be honest with you. DON’T APOLOGIZE!
Seriously, get over it. Its not the end of the world. In the least.
One word: BAGGAGE.
Maybe Leo can ad her to his podcast line up.
TWIP; This Week In Porn (or PrOn for the leet, haha)
All kidding aside, I listened to her posdcast a few times before this list came out, and I have no idea why it’s on the list. It wasn’t very informative or educational. Just her reading erotic stories over a PowerPoint show with pictures of herself. I don’t know how she can call herself a sex educator just doing that, but whatever. My girlfriend even thought that was boring, and she likes erotic stories. A better one for the list would have been the “Sex is fun” podcast. Anyways, the good side to this is maybe it will give her more to talk about on her PowerPoint Show.
*I’M* female, and count myself as a reasonable feminist . I love TWiT, and I love Cranky Geeks. I didn’t hear anything that I found offensive in the slightest – how disappointing;) You give men and women equal serves – nothing biased about you;) She needs to lighten up somewhat. Damn, I am sick of feminism being given a bad name by such puerile responses.
She needs to get layed.
(or is it laid? Never quite sure)
It still doesn’t change the fact that she shouldn’t be included in the list.
Apologize?
For what?
This gratuitous “apologize” thing is spreading like a bad rash.
Doesn’t fit with the cranky pants, curmudgeonly role you’ve been cultivating for the past 30 years.
People will think you’re a paper tiger, start messing with you, call you bitch and next thing you know you’ll be working as a towel boy at a glory hole.
Better take it back while there’s time, John.
Say you “misspoke”, and apologize for the apology.
One more pissed off liberal cunt doesn’t mean shit to the TwiT audience.
If it did, most who post here would have abandoned TwiT a long time ago.
Towel boy at a glory hole? Exactly what is your background Rance? Cripes.
And times change. I have to decided to be amenable, non-argumentative and non-cantankerous — in short, Mr. Nice Guy. Someone has to do it!
#44 – Do you write your 4/1 column on Groundhog Day every year?
She needs to get layed.
(or is it laid? Never quite sure)
Comment by Dwright #40
Grammar aside –
Laid would be a mutual enjoyment situation
Layed would be the opposite
You were right the first time, I doubt she’d enjoy mutual sex.
J/P=?
Of the names on the list, I’m only familiar with six. Violet Blue happens to be one of them. Two others are TWiTS, and one is Drudge. I’ve been to the TWiT sites, Violet’s site once, and on Drudge’s site once,The others I know by name only, and didn’t know they had sites.
I had no idea who the guy was that started Wikipedia, and had never heard his name before this article. I’ve been to AintItCool, but didn’t know who owned that site.
So much for fame on the Web.
TWiT is a mere shadow of its former self anyway. With Leo shitting on ziff like a pathetic dumpee every time it gets mentioned, it’s a wonder the key players ever show up anymore. When he wrangles a sqaud of substitutes the show is barely worth the bother.
Who the hell is Violet Blue? a hack writer with a web browser and a print deadline is like a stick of dynamite.
Not the first time she’s gone on a rant-page. This one was a lot of fun to watch…
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/50838
Pedro, the seventh annual Weblog Awards?
http://2007.bloggies.com/
Hmm, she isn’t listed. Not in 2006 either, yet I’m sure I saw her there once….reread the 25 list…
Darn, Pedro, you’ve got me curious. What is the trend?
Wow. For fans of a technology, web-oriented podcast, most of you are woefully uninformed and clearly too damn lazy to inform yourselves before you spout off. Here’s a few details about Violet Blue, since you can’t seem to remember how to Google:
1. Violet Blue is her real name, not a pseudonym. She’s gone on at length several times about how bothered she is that a porn actress co-opted that name. She’s expressed her concerns to Vivid Video, the actress’ contract company, over the issue. That, and the fact that Vivid and other entities take advantage of the confusion to further the actress’ notoriety.
2. She’s published numerous books, all under that name, and many of them long before the porn actress came onto the scene. At least two of her books remain within the top 1500 in Amazon rankings, despite being nearly 5 years old.
3. Her podcasts and blogging are about considerably more than just reading a piece or two of erotica. But, since none of you could be bothered to Google, I shouldn’t be surprised than none of you looked past the first few sentences of what bits you did manage to stumble across.
4. Making personal attacks based on your opinion of her looks, saying things like “she should get laid”, pretty much demonstrate that you have no argument at all to back your points up. That’s called “ad hominem” attacking. For example, if I made a snide remark about your defense of a show called “TWIT”.
Randy
It amazes me how off-handed, mis-informed, and silly comments on TWIT have evoked such childish responses from both Violet Blue and company, and, Laporte and company, with Patrick being the notable exception. Violet Blue needs to get over it because the self-aggrandizing is painful to read and it weakens her case. Laporte needs to allow himself to accept that one can talk about sex without being a porn star and also stop the knee-jerk, old fart attitude he takes at times. Its like watching 12 year olds flame each other in a myspace forum.
To the people who think that Violet Blue (the podcaster) uses a pseudonym, do your research.
As for those who say she shouldn’t be on the list, were you aware that Forbes used real numbers (traffic, etc.) for their list, and eliminated anyone who had a significant amount of fame from non-net sources? (For example, John Edwards) Given Leo’s pre-TWiT career, he’s lucky HE is on the list.
#58 — If anyone believes that nonsense about “real numbers” (which includes Alexa — a lost cause since its numbers include no Firefox users or people who scan for Spyware — AKA people with half a brain) then you are living in a fools paradise. And, yes, Leo should not have been included because of his level of pre-Twit fame. But neither should Om Malik (he’s actually been a notable writer at FORBES!! HELLO!!!) or Violet Blue herself with all her books. So this is crap.
By the way, I was unaware that someone stole the Violet Blue name and became a porn star. Who keeps up with porn stars?
I like listening to TWiT. I don’t think they are a bunch of sexist pigs. I like Dvorak’s blog and I hope he doesn’t lose his sense of humour.
The list is “web celebs,” not the most important, powerful, respected people on the web. Unfortunately, talent, skill, and brains are not always requirements for “celebrity” status in North America. People are taking this list WAY too seriously.
I find it strange that more people aren’t picking up on the irony here. She felt disrespected and got defensive. Her article is an overreaction but she begins by talking about checking her email in her edible rainbow flag bikini and ends it with saying she still looks prettier in a dress than Dvorak and LaPorte. She’s not taking herself too seriously, you guys are.
And talk about being hypersensitive and overly defensive, the bulk of the angry comments here are from men calling her names or saying irrelevant things about her looks. Just because her work is of no interest to you doesn’t mean that others don’t appreciate it. How can you slam a girl for overreacting when some of you guys are overreacting too? Nobody should take things so personally.
#53
Its not about whether the TWiTs can google or not. TWiT is obviously an unrehearsed show. If Ms. Blue has complained to Vivid about the porn actress then she is well aware that there is confusion out there between herself and a porn actress.
Even with this knowledge she decides to rant anyways and accuse Mr Dvorak and the others of feeling “obligated to relegate women who are openly sexual to the status of sex work, despite reality?” Ok, the reality is that there is a porn actress using her name, and she knows that, she doesn’t have to be happy about it, but it doesn’t make people who confuse the two of them into cavemen. It makes them confused.
As for googling her, well if she needs to be googled in order to tell the difference between herself and a porn star, then she’s not that notable/recognizable. Again, she doesn’t have to like the fact that porn star is more recognizable than her, but it’s not part of an anti-feminist bias on TWiT.