DISQUS

michael silverton · 11 months ago

Yep, yep, and more yep. We can haz mitigation techniques 4 2 try queshtun self-ez. Not purrfikt, but bettr then nuffinz. We can be keepz tryin'. http://overcomingbias.com/

AlliWorthington_fussypants · 11 months ago

Refreshing honesty mixed with common sense. Great article.

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart · 11 months ago

Agreed, Louis. I often evangelize products and services, and especially companies, that do things well. I don't expect or ask for compensation. However, I do often get nods or introductions via these relationships, which some might equate to payment.

I make no bones about what I like and what I don't like. I offer fair reviews of those things I do and do not like (see my many posts on WatchGuard), and only expect honesty in return. Whether I get that or not shows the character of those I deal with in that company - and whether my patronage to them is deserved.

We are all only human, and as such have bias in our hearts and minds. There is no way around that. It is in how we communicate our affinity towards one thing or another that sets us apart - and whether we choose to allow that affinity to curve our decisions away from our character.

Phil Glockner · 11 months ago

Nicely said! I would go so far as to say that being biased and presenting a carefully-selected mix of topics and products that you do like makes your opinion more valuable, at least to those who are looking for an authority on those topics or products.

Mitch · 11 months ago

Louis:
Some follow-up discussion on how your biases change over time and how that affects the things you talked about here would be appreciated.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Mitch, is your idea that it would be a separate post, or just one that
checks in to see if I've changed my mind?

I would say it's a lot easier to swing bias toward or away people, as
that can run emotionally hot, while services are more consistent. You
either love MySpace, or you hate it for example, but with an
individual (say Scoble, or Gabe Rivera, or Duncan Riley), you can run
hot/cold depending on the day or week. :-)

Mitch · 11 months ago

Well just a few things struck me as dynamic variables which should affect your affinity to a bias (but perhaps wouldn't if you developed a unique/special/slanted relationship). I think a follow-up examination of how you feel regarding a list of say 5-10 companies or brands sometime down the road would be interesting.

There's always something to learn out of a little self-examination.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

No I don't. I have favorites. ;)

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Mona, you are one of my favorites ;-)

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Screenshot moment! WOOHOO! And LG - you're one my very very favorites too. (but I think you already knew that)

anna · 11 months ago

I have bias... tape. Sorry, had to. Also want a bias tape maker.

AdamSinger · 11 months ago

Bias is far different from taking cold hard cash for writing something. At first it didn't bother me but the more I thought about it, the more I realized directly paying cash for a blog post is so incredibly unartful and a terrible move.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

I am not a fan of paid blog posts in general. My feeling is that a
blog is personal. It reflects personal opinion and should not be
influenced by things as simple as money. If you want to be paid for
your writing and biased opinion, you should be an analyst instead.

Eric Berlin · 11 months ago

A lot of great points here. One of the keys to credibility is honesty and transparency... but there's a limit there. If a site that promotes e-commerce sites and covers marketing promotions runs the $500 KMart sponsored post, that's one thing. But if that kind of article doesn't fall in line with the site's typical content, it runs risk of rubbing loyal readers raw on a few different levels. Ethical concerns aside, for most bloggers in the tech/web space, it's simply a bad idea.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Eric, your comment regarding something being completely out of place
is right. If I write about technology all day and then give you a gift
card for KMart, it looks very strange. At that point, you've bumped up
against the readers' trust line in terms of what they can expect from
you.

John L. Evans · 11 months ago

And you point is what? OK - so you're an Angel and it's Christmas... Get the tree from up ......... ;-)

My Birthday is tomorrow, 7th January, the 13th day of Christmas!! 13 has always been an extremely unlucky number for me - let's hope it changes this year.

¤ø„¸’’¨°º¤ø„¸ ¸„ø¤º°¨’’¸„ø¤º°¨’’
¨°º¤ø„¸ HaPpY ¸„ø¤º°¨’’’
¸„ø¤º°¨’’’ NeW yEaR``°º¤ø„¸
¸„ø¤º ``°º¤ø„¸... ‘’
‘ ‘’

Cheers John