Amanda Chapel Releases StatementPosted by Amanda Chapel In an effort to quash some of the misinformation being belched by my little band of small-minded fanatics (see PR Midgets below), here I'd like to release a brief statement. Here I'll answer each of their incessant cluster-fuck jibes so as to not have to continue to respond to them intermittently on various blogs. 1. They would like to have you believe that Strumpette is in decline. No. It's not. Not at all! We've just started! Although they'd like us dead, to their deep dismay, we're growing. Last month we had 16,149 unique visitors and 35,569 visits. That comes to about 1,200 visits a day. For a new publication, we already best 98 percent of the 450 or so PR Blogs presently on line. Again, it took "celebrity" blogger Steve Rubel over a year to have that kind of following. 2. They like to repeat "a-man-duh." Funny hallucination but totally untrue. I am also NOT Brian Connolly, our webmaster. No matter how much "evidence" these knucklehead super sleuths think they might have, they have no clue as to our tech setup. We are set up purposely to protect the anonimity of our contributors. That's a fact. Also, for the record, as has been written variously, "Amanda" is comprised of a group of people, friends and colleagues, the majority of which are women. See... their dig is just an immature ad hominem attempt to discredit us. They are trying desperately to discourage readership. Like the Edelman Gang at the onset, they have a vested interest to take us off line. Their "Me2Revolution" is a load of hooey and they're afraid that we will continue to point that out. Bottom line: to quote one of our loyal friends, "Well, I don't care if Amanda is actually Bruce or Boris. I like her site and I like what she writes... And I can still fantasize!" And that's just what we intend to continue to provide. 3. Lack of transparency is not PC for Web 2.0. Nonsense. The cry for "transparency" also happens to be the war cry of the literal minded. If they can expose all things private, they're ecstatic! It has nothing to do with truth. It's about power. Well, we have no intention of giving in. Telling a "story" is what communications is all about. "Stories" require creation. That's just something they are not capable of doing. They are adamant to try to tear it down because just by doing what we are doing, it shows them to be empty-headed aggregators. What is Media Orchard, or Micropersuasion for that matter? Take away the "Pick of the Orchard" aggregation and you're left with very little. And the little original thought they might have is pretty lightweight stuff of poor quality. 4. They'd like you to believe that being dis-ed by the PR bloggers and the "Nobodies Club" matters. No. It just doesn't. They, by-an-large, are a group of self-important PR juniors and empty Shels. They are PR people whose power, and credibility for that matter, is a total fabrication and not real. We are more credible as a character than all of their resumes. Anyway, their obsession aside, the dis was totally anticipated. As an extension of the PR establishment, they carry the same hypocrisy that is the target of our jokes. Well, we intend to continue to have great fun at their expense. 5. They'd like to believe that we are bitter. Not in the slightest. We are having an absolute blast! And we know you are, too. Stay tuned. To our many fans, thank you for your continue support. Arrivederci amore, ciao. - Amanda Chapel Bookmark This
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I'm feelin' #3. The Internet, and blogs, can and should be as much creative and colorful as they are informational. Tansparency is not necessary to have some fun. No "rules" are being broken here. The Internet has no rules, blogs have no rules, no matter how insistent PR bloggers are that rules exist. They doth protest too much, or something. Degree in English, real helpful. The reason Strumpette is killin' it is because she/they have unique content, original insight, and razor-sharp wit. Aside from the needless and classless jabs at practitioners, it's a good read. Disagreement is a good thing. A little argument never hurt anyone.
"The needless and classless jabs at practitioners..."
I might argue that on a different day. Then again I must admit I sometimes write mad and that's a problem. I have a temper. It is hard not to want to kick their collective ass. Anyway, I humbly defer to your comment and apologize. Forgive me as at some point I am like to do it again. Regards, - Amanda
It's the "collective" part that perhaps chafes me the most.
Most of us, "nobodies," don't have enough in common to collect into anything. Ask 25 "Nobodies" what it means to be one, and you get 30 answers. That said, Amanda, you do apologize well in e-mail. I take back my past "a-man-duh"s, and we'll leave it at that. Given that my blog never plumbs the depths of "inside PR baseball," I doubt my readers know what or who a Strumpette might be.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, Big banana from the PR monkey (who secretly covets the Strumpette in his little monkey tree house).
Dang... I was hoping Amanda was a real person. The idea of her being around was amusing and gave me hope that the industry was less boring than it really is. As for Strumpette, I like it, but it's no SpinBunny (yet).
Catherine is right - many in the industry mourn the passing of SpinBunny, a pre-Rubel-Edelman character who used to rip the crap out of any agency that crossed its path or looked silly in PR Week. I am proud to have exposed shenanigans at Edelman's recently acquired Polish office - but enough of your favourite target.
Having been in private conversation with Ms Chapel - I can assure all the fantisizing alpha baboons out there she is a pussy cat on email. Maybe that's her equivalent of the 15 cent peep show? If so then what a fine, sharp witted slapper! If not, then I'm a complete idiot. Either way Ms Chapel wins. Cos she's had our attention. Add Comment
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Strumpette continues to rail against the PR blog establishment and their reaction to that blog's satirical, sarcastic and often biting commentary. The latest jab, Championship PR Midget Toss Sets Record, apparently hit a little close to home, prompting a critical backlash (in the limited volume only possible in the insular world of PR blogging). Among the attacks: Strumpette's volume cannot be as strong as claimed. Why do PR pros always concentrate on the size of the splash, not the duration of the ripple? I'd rather have one good hit as a feature, not a mcnugget of news in USAToday. After all, for most campaigns it's the motion of the ocean that's important, not the size of the ship. " ... See... their dig is just an immature ad hominem attempt to discredit us. They are trying desperately to discourage readership. Like the Edelman Gang at the onset, they have a vested interest to take us off line. Their "Me2Revolution" is a load of hooey and they're afraid that we will continue to point that out." (Strumpette) The blogosphere is still enough of a juvenile and amateurish playground that readers are unlikely to be dissuaded and repulsed by accusations of illegitimacy and sensationalism. If anything, public relations counsellors should have the capacity to judge for themselves how to read blog posts, interpret their meaning and evaluate their repurcussions for their clients (and maybe their own organization). It's evident that Strumpette is having a good time tilting at some windmills and knocking over some apple carts, all the while injecting some humour into a community that is rushing to adopt an increasingly doctrinaire approach to preaching the books of Long Tail, Web 2.0 and the old testament of Conversations. After all, what's a blogging practice without catchphrases, eight point action plans, the reflected glow of big agency approval and oversized ambitions for business development? Still, the sniff of righteous indignation hanging over Strumpette's retorts smells a little funky to me. The claims that "the man's trying to keep me down" ring hollow. You want a true voice for the oppressed and under-represented? I present Public Enemy's Don't Believe the Hype: Yes/ Was the start of my last jam/ So here it is again, another def jam/ But since I gave you all a little something/ That we knew you lacked/ They still consider me a new jack/All the critics you can hang'em/ I'll hold the rope/ But they hope to the pope/ And pray it ain't dope/ The follower of Farrakhan/ Don't tell me that you understand/ Until you hear the man/ The book of the new school rap game/ Writers treat me like Coltrane, insane/ Yes to them, but to me I'm a different kind/ We're brothers of the same mind, unblind/ Caught in the middle and/ Not surrenderin'/ I don't rhyme for the sake of of riddlin'/ Some claim that I'm a smuggler/ Some say I never heard of 'ya/ A rap burgler, false media/ We don't need it do we?/ It's fake that's what it be to 'ya, dig me?/ Don't believe the hype... (Don't Believe the Hype - live on YouTube) Strumpette even tries to appropriate some of the "voice of the common man" mojo: " ... They'd like you to believe that being dis-ed by the PR bloggers and the "Nobodies Club" matters. No. It just doesn't. They, by-an-large, are a group of self-important PR juniors and empty Shels. They are PR people whose power, and credibility for that matter, is a total fabrication and not real. We are more credible as a character than all of their resumes. (Strumpette) And that is really quite weak, if you consider that Public Enemy was singing about political and social empowerment in the face of continuing societal opression, and Strumpette is mad that three or four white guys are ganging up on him/her/them/the collective. Technorati: Strumpette...
Tracked: May 02, 17:54