DISQUS

itsinsider · 9 months ago

This is a great post, Louis. I find your humility and honesty refreshing. Quality and trust are earned; I think you've set a new high bar for integrity in tech blogging. Kudos.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Susan, appreciate your comments. There are many different reasons people choose to blog and I think it's important to tell readers why I do what I do - as well as let potential future sources know I can be trusted.

faryl · 9 months ago

I love this post on so many levels. My blog is very young and I'm still discovering some of the gray areas that are part of putting yourself out there online.

At the core, I strive to remain true to myself when thinking about what to share there - letting myself get caught up in seeking page views means a compromise in sincerity that I'm simply not willing to make. There's still a self-consciousness though: being a new blogger, I feel I'm still earning the respect and trust of my readers (granted, I realize this will be an ongoing process).

Your four bullet points echo my values as well. Particularly, as I ventured into writing site and product reviews, I struggled a bit weighing a desire to provide balanced information against my hesitance to fill my pages with negative feedback (I look to Ellen DeGeneres as an example of this - she rarely says anything bad about people or products on the air).

I came to a similar conclusion - review fairly and honestly, but avoid writing pieces where that honesty means being negative. As with anything in life, that's not black and white - but my hope is that by making prevalent tone positive, it will outshine any negativity born from the shades of gray.

Thank you for an excellent post!

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Faryl, if our values overlap, then you probably have a blog I should be getting to know better. Thanks for the comments.

Scobleizer · 9 months ago

Thanks Louis, I appreciate people who keep their word. When I haven't in the past I've felt dirty and it's hurt relationships, so I now keep to these values too. Great post and I always learn a lot from you, don't undersell yourself.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Robert, I think you understand where I am coming from as much as anyone.

As for underselling myself, let's just say that once I feel like I expect to be invited or "deserve" to be there, that's a line I don't want to cross. I'd rather be scrappy, even if not starstruck.

sarahintampa · 9 months ago

Louis, you deserved to be in that room! And it's your honesty and humility that makes you an excellent tech blogger, in my opinion.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Sarah - thanks. If geography weren't an issue, I am sure you too could have been participating. You are very much respected by all I know.

AdamSinger · 9 months ago

Sounds like a lot of fun. I want to be wined and dined with the tech elite sometime (of which you certainly are a well-earned member along with all the rest of those people).

Great pics as well - I bet it was a solid conversation at that table.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Brian does take great pictures, doesn't he? As for being wined and dined, I didn't venture beyond my constant stream of Diet Cokes. But if you want to get sloshed, I'll take the pictures myself.

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart · 9 months ago

Louis, this is why I continue to be honored by the opportunity write with you and read what you put out. You are congruent and ethical... choosing what is right over what might get a surge of page views and be wrong. You also exhibit a clear vision of what it is you stand for, and don't deviate from that course regardless because in your heart you are right. For these reasons, you are someone to be admired. In a sea of turmoil and gossip, you - your brand - stands out like a lighthouse on the rocky crags.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Ken, I am delighted you want to be part of the story, and your pieces are very strong, which is why I was drawn to you in the first place. You very poetically gave me praise that will be hard to live up to.

GrowMap · 9 months ago

You are a role model for what I insist DOES exist: ethical bloggers whose opinions are not and will never be for sale. That is the reason you are on my very short list of MUST READ blogs and also why I never pass up an opportunity to share your posts and recommend you wherever I travel online.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

InternetStrategist, appreciate your comments as always. I think there are a lot of very good, ethical, bloggers out there - and those that go against the grain are the exception rather than the rule.

Edwin Khodabakchian · 9 months ago

I think that you are doing it the right way: you patience and focus on quality will pay off.

Edwin Khodabakchian · 9 months ago

Note: This does not mean that I agree with all your predictions :-)

NickLeung · 9 months ago

"...a venerable who's who in the tech blogging space, including Jeremiah Owyang, Harry McCracken, Robert Scoble and Loic Le Meur - making me feel very small indeed"

Really? I would rank you among the same status as those guys.

Loic Lemeur · 9 months ago

good post Louis, glad we connect more closely.

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Loic, it was a lot of fun talking with you and exchanging ideas. It was a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you again at SXSW and at other events, big and small.

Scott Pantall · 9 months ago

The currency of social media is trust. I subscribe to the blogs and podcasts that I do because I trust and respect the creators of those blogs and podcasts.

No one wants to interact with someone who betrays that trust. Anyone who wants to have a good pool of subscibers and news sources for their blogs should know and follow this.

You're right on in working to keep that trust. Thanks for the good posts!

Nigel Walsh · 9 months ago

great post Louis, its nice to see and read these. Building trust and integrity like this both in public and private is key to long lasting relationships no matter who you are are or what we do. Your personal opinion counts a lot too - for example with reviews on products/services - your use and more importantly needs versus mine may and are likely to be very different - and I think its OK to share that things wont always work for you. I always compare this to movie watching, its down to individual taste... for now and for me, I always enjoy your movies.

carloslorenzo · 9 months ago

I am not qualified to estimate if you deserved or not to be in that meeting. I do know that up to now you've been leaving behind a wake of good signals, good vibrations that say a lot about your honesty and code of honor as a blogger and person. I wouldn't care if you used ads or you promoted a product as long as you keep being same old Louis Gray. Some others have been there and got rotten. I don't see you are one of those and that's why I'm here reading what you have to say.

paul · 9 months ago

If you truly are being honest and forthcoming, why didn't you mention who paid for the meal?

Louis Gray · 9 months ago

Paul, I didn't mention who paid for the meal not be evasive but because the post wasn't necessarily about them in my mind. Brian's client, who was hosting us, was My6Sense (www.my6sense.com). The link to the photos on Brian's Flickr labels them as the host and shows you the CEO, who was in the photos and gave the demo of the product.

ZuDfunck · 9 months ago

You come across as a Stand up kind of Guy

Glad to have made you acquaintance albeit electronically

Look forward to your thoughts and information

ZuD

Bob DeMarco · 9 months ago

Louis, you have an excellent blog. I have learned quite a bit here. This blog is an excellent resource.

Are you short? Don't know. Small, no way.

Mark Hendy · 9 months ago

It's called integrity and not everyone has it, but those of us who do, understand it's value. Without integrity we're no-one. That's why when people like you and I make commitments we keep them, we live and die by them. Respect.

abrudtkuhl · 9 months ago

Great post Louis. I'd rather see quality than quantity too. That's why I subscribe to your blog and not to TechCrunch. There's a difference between writing about everything possible in hopes it will become a big story and writing about what you like and are passionate about.

Not only does quantity take value from your readers - it's a lot more work with little ROI. Keep up the great work Louis!

laurent · 9 months ago

great post - certainly wise-words around your personal brand/identify but also thoughts more marketers should pay attention to in their business... building relationships and trust feels so undervalued in this do-whatever-it-takes, traffic/transaction focused environment... is it just that it's harder to measure or is it truly pandering to the lowest common denominator in society? it's no secret that in hard times, people flock to quality/security/trust and (staying positive) I'd love your thoughs on where you see companies doing this particularly well (or those of other thought-leaders commenting on this)

coachpalmer · 9 months ago

Great Post Louis! This is the very reason I have been following you for the past couple of months. Your information is useful, relevant and trustworthy.

Thanks for creating the content.

Michael