Is Tello Astroturfing Arrington?

Over at TechCrunch, Mike Arrington is getting hammered with nasty comments from people who disagree with his recent comments on Tello, a company and product getting lots of traditional ink, even though they have not yet launched.  Mike's criticism is twofold: (1) Tello seems to have turned about the PR spigot before the product launched, something that used to be called "vaporware," back when I was doing PR, and (2) ignoring some of the most influential Web 2.0 people in their press credential listings along with not blogging themselves.

I thought Mike's comments were moderate and constructive. Tello would be wise to participate in a commentary that indisputably can help early adoption of new and potentially controversial technology. I am more than a little surprised and the strength of criticism being hurled at Mike and I am also very suspicious of it.

I think, Mike is being astroturfed. Astroturfing.  Astroturfing is at least as old as vaporware launches.  We discuss it in Naked Conversations.  It was allegedly started by Charles Colson a hatchet man for former President Richard Nixon.  Whenever Nixon was criticized, even mildly, by the press or a public speaker.  The critic would be inundated by scores of scornful people defending Nixon.  It turned out that these scornful people were a small group of paid professionals sitting next to each other in a political boiler room, making calls, sending angry letters and doing it all anonymously.

Astroturfing lasted longer than Colson who went to jail for Watergate complicity.  It was pervasive when online forums and chatrooms came into being, create false perceptions that cold products were hot and that sincere critics were lunatics.

I notice that Mike's harshest critics all have first names only.  You can't click on any of them and find a blog yet they seem to fall blogs by topic with great vigilance. They also sound more than a little bit alike.

Mike, I think someone is astroturfing you and I'm sorry to see this lowlife tactic slithering its way into the blogosphere.

I can't wait to see what comments come in over here now that I have written this.

Comments

[Dave Taylor]

Interesting comment, Shel. I don't know much about this particular incident, but it reminds me of the much-criticized Fortune article about how "bloggers are a lynch mob". Are we then seeing astroturfing as a primed mob ready to do its master's bidding? Definitely sounds like the old west!

[Michael Arrington]

Shel, I am finding the whole thing fascinating. Yes, something funny is going on and I suspect you might be right. Also, and more interesting, the central thesis of your new book is being debated real time by the masses - should companies blog and engage with bloggers? I am going to write about all of this on crunchnotes soon.

[Robert Scoble]

Michael and Shel,

I also note that the most virulent assh**es on my blog are usually anonymous too. Interesting.

[Alec Saunders]

I actually had a chance to chat with someone I trust from Tello tonight, and he assured me they weren't behind the critical commentary. It seems as if Tello is as mystified as anyone about how to handle these situations.

FWIW!