Comments on: The Political Sisters

By: Marc g

Marc g — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 14:59:08 +0000

I can't believe people flew so off the handle about this. Your blog is unusually focused, but jeez.

Anyway, you can also get the speech from iTunes (no video), they spoke with their mom. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=21854344&selectedItemId=21854344

Also you can find any of the DNC or RNC speeches there for free by using those search terms.

By: Wm.Clark Drew II

Wm.Clark Drew II — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:56:50 +0000

Hey Teresa…Shove This!!!!!!!!!!!
Laura Bush will still be First Lady after the November Election. as Gov.Schwarzenegger would say”Hasta La Vista Baby”

By: aaron wall

aaron wall — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 23:43:47 +0000

I actually just decided to say the hell with it and throw something political in the blog every few months…just to keep my readership pure. (There are certain people I would rather not help anyway)

I would rather have honest and interesting over politically correct and muted any day. Part of what makes blogging awesome is that a person can express themselves in it.

When the word “fuckers” appeared in this blog
http://battellemedia.com/archives/000668.php
it was no big deal, but to state an obvious fact about the president is sinful. Why?

If people are so closed off that they can not accept that the president is not good at speaking then that is their own problem. Bet those offended same people watch Fox “News”

By: Scott Rafer

Scott Rafer — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 17:38:23 +0000

Andy,

As Feedster works to build ever-better relevancy algorithms, I find myself disagreeing with your point. We get lots of requests for figuring out how consistent the subject matter is across the life of a blog. Just because the publishing format being used is a blog doesn't mean that its readers expect it to be a personal journal where anything goes. In a way that benefits each of us commercially and societally, blogging has matured beyond that expectation and entered the commercial publishing world.

John can clearly write anything he darn well pleases, but I tend to take a "the customer is always right" perspective. John has quickly built this outlet into a well respected trade publication focused on high-level analysis of the search industry. That focus has built up his readership and can be a great tool to later sell his upcoming book. Spreading out the subject matter this way is commercially risky and is why so many professional writers have multiple blogs - personal vs. professional, by topic, etc.

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 15:57:22 +0000

I made a similar mistake a few days ago and posted somthing political. You should have seen the scandal it caused. I think some readers need to realize that this is a blog and consequently, you’re going to inject your personal opinions. To do so is not “off topic”.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 15:18:02 +0000

RE:(sorry Yahoofolk, but it’s a good word) – No, i disagree – it’s not a good word to use if the masses can’t spell or pronounce it correctly. (heh) – mike

By: John Battelle

John Battelle — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 15:03:12 +0000

Holy cr*p! Who woulda thought an offhand remark would have drawn so much commentary. Thanks to those who defended my Bush aside, after all, stating (or in my case, implying) that Bush is speech-challenged is simply not political opinion, it's objective fact. As is the fact that his daughters gave a terrible speech, apparently.

Now, misspelling "zeitgeist" is unacceptable, and I'll correct that one.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 14:24:26 +0000

>zietgiest (sorry Yahoofolk, but it's a good word)

But it's even better if you spell it right: Zeitgeist.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 13:58:39 +0000

This is the man's personal blog. He makes some great points, and I use this blog everyday for search engine and online marketing updates. I agree with the person that said this was a JOKE, not a political statement. A statement like "Bush is a horrible president" would be political. Everyone makes fun of Bush's speech-making skills. So no offense, get over yourself.

BTW, John, if I see a video clip I'll let you know.

By: jr

jr — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 13:25:12 +0000

Huh.

I considered that post to be one stating that regardless of how you may feel about President Bush's leadership capability, he is not a particularly good "off-the-cuff" speaker. (e.g. NASA scientists being "Spacial Entrepeneurs")

Still, some folks are just sensitive to that sort of thing and feel the need to be protective, I prefer to simply ignore them.