EMC Anti-Social Media Gang
By Tony Asaro on Apr 26, 2009 | In Business Issues for IT, Storage | 27 feedbacks »
My old boss Steve Duplessie wrote a blog called "Transparency and Me" basically setting the record straight on some negative feedback he received from an industry blogger that goes by the name of StorageMonkeys. I like Steve and StorageMonkeys and have been watching their thumb wrestling on their blogs and in Twitter. At first I didn't feel that Steve should have even written the blog - he really didn't need to but then after some thought I changed my mind. I have a similar problem - I am being personally attacked by three EMC bloggers and I want to set the record straight and provide my perspective on the situation.
(Update - I do not compare the situation between StorageMonkeys and Steve D to how the EMC bloggers attacked me. My only point is that Steve felt compelled to explain himself and what he does.)
I started my own company back in October of 2008 in one of the worst economic climates in our history. I had thought long and hard about what I wanted to do and then jumped in with both feet. I didn't want to go back to being an analyst although there was a big pull for me to do so. I was very successful at it but there were two things stopping me - I didn't want to compete with my former employer and friends at ESG - and it ultimately was not what I wanted to do with the hours in my day. I also didn't want to go work for a vendor - although there were offers there too. I realized that I NEEDED to do my own thing.
One of the first things I decided was that one part of my business would be consulting. Part of the services I would provide would include blogging. I am a pretty good writer and blogger and felt that I could help the mission of my clients by performing this service. The three clients I blog for include Data Domain, Digital Reef and Hitachi Data Systems. I picked these three clients because I like the companies, the products and the people. I could have picked more - because there are other vendors that fit within this criteria but I just didn't have the cycles. I did a bunch of research on being a professional blogger - and the general consensus was that this was fine and that there are now many professional bloggers. The key was to be up front about it - which I have been.
The anti-social media gang at EMC - three individual bloggers - Chuck Hollis and Barry Burke and the other guy that calls himself Storagezilla - have all attacked me personally. They have done this in a number of obvious and non-obvious ways - the most crude among these are accusations of me "pimping my services" and of being an "industry streetwalker". Yes - they actually said these things.
It would have been fine if they challenged my opinions and ideas and statements but they were not content to stick with that. Instead they have attacked me personally. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't stand for that kind of crap. And I warn all three that if they ever see me in person I am going to challenge them to say these things to my face and then we will let the chips fall where they may. Well - except for Barry - I don't want AARP coming after me in defense of one of their members.
On some level you might interpret their vitriol as a way to quash my voice - to discredit me as a credible contributor to the "opinion" and "analysis" of the storage world. I know they feel threatened that my voice added in support of their competitors can hurt them - so instead of actually debating me they prefer to try and discredit me. These are known tactics that are well worn and predictable.
Let me make it easy to understand so even these three morons at EMC can comprehend: I am a consultant and I work for my clients in order to drive forward their missions. I provide them insight, ideas, feedback, information and an outbound voice. I decided not to write reports but felt that I would blog for them - using a more modern and accessible method to communicate my views and opinions. Yes, these are my views and opinions and no one edits them.
EMC hires consultants and industry analysts to do the same for them - so EMC's hypocrisy isn't subtle in any way, shape or form. But it goes even further than this...
The EMC bloggers will tell you that they write their blogs in their "spare" time and aren't paid to do it. Which is of course a load of crap. If EMC wasn't giving them a paycheck would they spend hours and hours a week writing all their positive bullshit about EMC? There is zero balance in their content and it is clearly a part of the EMC marketing and PR machine.
All three spend hours and hours not only on their blogs but writing comments on other blogs, Twitter and message boards. Even if we still worked within a 40 hour work week - they would already be lying about using just their "spare" time. However, in this day and age - there is no work clock - you are always on the clock. To say that they are not getting paid to blog is disingenuous and hypocritical. They are either lying or are too stupid to know that they are getting paid by EMC to blog for EMC. Let me make it clear to you three - all you are is corporate hacks that will say anything to promote your company because they give you a paycheck.
If you look at the "dialog" that Chuck and Barry have with other industry players - you see how petty and ridiculous both these men are. This is their legacy - and it is full of ugliness and pettiness. What are the marketing people at EMC thinking? What is Joe Tucci thinking? This is the kinder, less arrogant EMC? These guys epitomize the "old" EMC. Arrogant. Greedy. Self-serving. Is this the kind of culture that Tucci wants the world to know that EMC has? Meet the "new" culture - same as the "old" culture.
The powers that be at EMC should spank these three. Picking a fight with me is a "no win" situation for EMC. They can't hurt me - their attacks just make me more attractive to every single one of their competitors. Don't get me wrong - I didn't have an issue with EMC - until these three attacked me more than once personally. Their treatment fuels my fire and I am a fiery guy. And I hold EMC accountable for everything these three have said to personally discredit me and harm my business.
There is no dishonor in being a consultant. In fact I am writing a book on how to be a successful consultant. In these economic times there are probably a bunch of unemployed professionals out there that could use a little advice on how to be a successful consultant.
And I must humbly profess that I am proud of this little company I started. In these bad times I started with nothing and in just a few months my business is doing very well.
I am doing a bunch of exciting things - I recently created a new service called Voice of the Customer that is doing very well. I have hired some outsourced engineers to do some software development for one of the product ideas that I have. I am working with a friend and colleague of mine on another software application I want to develop - we are in the early stages of designing it right now. I am on the advisory board of three emerging vendors. I hope to publish my book on consulting this year. I am working on an exciting business development project. And there are a couple of very stealthy things I am doing that I think are very compelling. And I am happy with the work I am doing for my clients as a consultant and blogger.
Additionally, I am using my spare time to train and raise money for the Avon Walk To Fight Breast Cancer. It is a 39.3 mile walk - 26 miles the first day and 13.3 miles the second day. If you are interested in donating please go to this link - My Avon Walk Page.
I remain undeterred and actually am now more driven than ever to fight back against these industry bullies.
27 comments
I can relate. Up to a certain point. You can say that the guys from EMC started it all. Might be so, might not be so. That isn't even relevant.
No company should write something like that. It just makes you look silly to potential and already existing customers. Nothing more, nothing less, regardless of who started it.
Regards,
Bas
Another perspective may be......
I half wonder if Barry Chuck and Mark really like you. Honestly. As you know there is a lot of banter out there between the vendors and the likes but at the end of the day its mainly good fun. Occasionally people overstep the mark. I have noticed terms like "blogger for hire" and one of the ones you mentioned but I didnt read too much in to it - may be thats because they were not directed at me though.
Seriously though I would hope it is just banter may be unintentionally gone a little too far.
This world thrives on intense competition and at the end of the day you are doing a job for their competitors. As an example, if competition for the Symmetrix didnt exist Barry would probably be looking for another job.
We all need to eat and we all need each other to keep us on our toes etc.
Keep up the good work. Attention like that generally means you're doing something right!
Nigel
You're upfront and honest about your consulting clients, especially HDS. You even write on an HDS domain, something not everyone can claim. And I've got no problem with what you've written for them.
Guys: Tony does not deserve to be personally attacked. It's just too far.
I take your meaning and I respect your perspective. Thank you.
- Tony
- Tony
BTW, folks should read this if they want to see EMC's V-Max green story de-bunked. http://blogs.hds.com/asim/2009/04/im-max-ed-out.html
- Tony
thanks for the reply. Actually, by "you" I was referring to all of the people who say/write stuff like that.
Even on the HDS blogs I found that some of the remarks were a little over the edge. While I don't mind having a good and sharp discussion, that was not what was seen most of the time in the entire EMC/HDS story.
Posts like the one Barry posted were not ok, but I was also hoping for a more adult response from HDS, then stating that the Tigon was a bad name (everyone knows that code-names for a product can be downright ridiculous ;-)).
Sharp discussions keep everyone on the edge and make sure that people get a clear understanding of the pros and cons of a product or technology. That is one of the reasons why I read blogs and spend time on the web. And say what you want about the various blogs, but you can learn from them all. Well... Most of the time anyway...
Bas
- Tony
It saddens me that vendors can't let the technology do the talking. Let's face it, EMC is probably the easiest company to pick fault with.I could write an entire blog dedicated to just that. Irrespective of whether EMC bloggers claim their blogs are personal or not, they are overtly business orientated and explicitly promote EMC.
However what should be remembered is that the Internet is a permanent public record that will stand as a testament. Customers and potential customers will read what's written. Many of them will have distaste for personal attacks when the message should be about (alleged) superior technology.
It wasn't that long ago Chuck talked about leaving only courteous comments (to quote Robin Harris) on his blog. Perhaps there are some short memories in the industry.
Your blog could never be strong enough in the face of the diatribe. The real EMC marketeers must stand up and be counted.
You make us think, question and engage. And while we may not always agree, importantly we will always exchange views with respect. More than can be said for some.
The irony is that their consistent attacks have encouraged your own and Steve D's recent blog. Both responses just cement our support for what you guys do and how you do it, so long live the Consultant!
Something is amiss IMHO when a 'leading' industry player allows such repeated and transparent folly to continue under its own roof. My personal views for what it's worth.
Remember ...
"The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honor you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself." Anonymous
Felt compelled to respond,
Seamus
You hit the nail right on the head. The best thing that vendors should do is educate. When they bash all they do is insult a potential customer who picked their competitor's products.
That doesn't mean that they should not challenge the competition but do it in a way that is credible and educational.
- Tony
One on hand - this discussion might seem off the point. Why not talk about technology and products? But the culture of any company you work with must be a part of the discussion. I think that this is a valid thing to talk about.
- Tony
Banter is only banter if people find it funny; you can't read body language on the Internet, so it is easy to step over someone's line in the sand. I am not sure that anyone especially meant to offend although Zilla's response to you on Twitter leaves me wondering!
Now, the issues of integrity, payment to blog etc; now even if the EMC social-media gang do not get officially paid to blog, you can bet your bottom dollar that when it comes round to appraisal/review time that the fact that they do blog will come into play. So indirectly their blogging activities will have an impact on the perception of them internally. And they all declare their allegiance to the company that they work for; open and above board. That's fine! You, however are an independent contractor who blogs for money; your blogs are a direct income stream for yourself but you declare that you are blogging for pay; that's also fine. I hope that you wouldn't deliberately blog an untruth because you were getting paid but it's fine to put your 'employers' spin on your posts. For example, your post on V-MAX, I found pretty laughable and it fit in to the story being spun by HDS but I don't think it damaged your integrity because you posted it on your HDS blog.
You have as much integrity as anyone else as long as you are open about your affiliations and whose shilling you are taking.
As for my affiliation; I really don't get paid to blog! I do it for love, really I do! Okay, I do it for the fame and adulation it brings! Okay, I look at it as an investment....in me!
As one of the parties you have an issue with (e.g. one of the morons), let me share our collective, non-corporate perspective.
Simply put, it looks to us like you get paid by the highest bidder to attack EMC's products, strategy and reputation.
We all find that personally distasteful and repugnant on multiple levels. We said as much on our personal blogs.
You don't like what we said. You're taking it personally. You feel the need to share your frustration with everyone. It's interesting reading, to say the least.
Sorry it has to be that way, but it's completely driven by your choice of business model and behavior.
There are plenty of consultants we know and discuss things with with out there.
Sure, they keep us sharp -- that's part of the fun.
But they haven't made a business model of hiring out their services to publicly attack EMC.
Best of luck, Tony
-- Chuck
I appreciate you point of view. A few things - these so-called personal blogs by EMCers aren't about their views of the world or science or sports or even the IT industry in a general sense. All of these blogs are about EMC. All of their blogs have one goal in mind - to promote EMC and their business.
Your blog is not about your company but about storage and other topics of interest to you. Your blog does not in any way promote the company that gives you a paycheck. That is the difference.
I don't think there is anything wrong with corporate blogs but they certainly should not get on a high horse about a consultant. Like I said - they are fooling themselves at best.
As far as my blog on V-Max - as Stephen Foskett says - everyone has bias - including end users. You've invested heavily in EMC solutions and have a positive bias towards them - and for that reason you have invested millions into their solutions. I used to consult for EMC - and these would have been the questions I asked them. Maybe they are stupid - but I still believe that they are legitimate questions. I will also add that there were a number of others that found my questions to be very good. So it is all subjective.
You also bring up another point about fame, adulation and an investment in you as a professional - all legitimate reasons to blog. You even made an entry about this on your blog as Storagebod. There is nothing wrong with using your strengths to build the kind of career that makes sense to you.
Your recollection of the past is convenient but you started the personal attacks in a viscous and disrespectful way. You crossed a line. That isn’t an issue of being a professional but of being a decent human being. You failed on both accounts.
Again, the idea of a consultant seems to be beyond your mental grasp – for all intents and purposes I am an employee for my clients – just as you are for EMC in this regard.
Your condescension is expected but still disappointing. I do not need to go to the highest bidder to do anything. I am fortunate enough to have a very large and diverse network of friends and colleagues in the industry that actually respect, like and value my contribution. You have no idea who I am or what I do or why I do it. However, it appears that your mind quickly goes to the worst in people versus the best. And yes - when you personally attack me - I take it personally.
I do not regret my choice of business model. Interestingly I have a choice with whom I work with. And I would never choose to work with someone like you or a company foolish enough to employ you. And you can lie to yourself and to others that EMC would never work with me – when in fact EMC worked with me quite extensively in the past. Have I burned a bridge with EMC? Are you kidding – because of you and your ilk – I have put a blowtorch to it. And I also have the balls to start my own company and denigrate it all you like because all it does is highlight your ignorance and arrogance.
Yes I probably should have expected the worst kind of behavior from you – my mistake thinking you would not have crossed the line of decency. Please forgive me if I don’t take my moral queues from you but your reputation precedes you.
- Tony
Consider this: EMC is a big customer of IDC. Interestingly, IDC states that EMC is the market share leader in NAS. Anyone that is really in this industry knows that this is absurd - NetApp is the NAS leader. I find this to be extremely curious. Meanwhile Gartner has NetApp as the NAS leader by a mile.
Just leaving a comment in full support of your position here. Sadly, it seems to be standard operating procedure in EMC's blogging playbook to immediately personalize any debate about the company and their technology.
As Martin G astutely points out - this type of Bullying would not be tolerated inside EMC, so why is it acceptable out in the public domain? Perhaps it is actually an unintended direct reflection of EMC that Bullying truly *is* tolerated within EMC?
The EMC anti-social-media-gang's lack of ability to debate the merits of an argument is as clear an indicator as any that their targeted "victims" have already won the debate. Selective comment censorship on their blogs is another hallmark along these same lines.
Other noted industry experts such as Curtis Preston have also endured these shameful attacks, yet come out of the experience with even stronger credibility due to the merits of their arguments.
As a direct competitor, I fully anticipate EMC to immediately personalize every criticism I publish. But that's OK, because I relish outing this very common inappropriate behavior on their part - which would otherwise remain invisible to the public at large behind closed doors.
Chris Evans’ point that “the Internet is a permanent public record” ensures that this ugly behavior will become EMC’s ultimate social media legacy.
-Val.
I know that some people would prefer that we just talk about products and technology but I think that this is a legitimate topic - customers should not just base their buying decisions on products or services but also on the culture and character of a company. What does it say about EMC that they would allow and probably even encourage this type of behavior?
There are some really good people at EMC - so I don't mean to throw them all under the bus. However, as a corporate entity they do control how they interact with the ecosystem - both internally and externally.
I didn't write this blog because my feelings were hurt. I was actually startled by the stupidity. I left storage for six months and you guys let these three EMC bloggers set the tone of the conversation for the storage blogosphere? Here is a three letter acronym for you - NFW.
So let's put it all out there - that is what social media is all about. I'm not afraid of a fight - a part of me thrives on it.
Unfortunately, I feel pretty strongly that these three EMCers will never see the light. They still have self-righteous indignation. It is often the case that the greatest offenders are quick to judge others but never see the fault within themselves.
· http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideSystemStorage
Keep up the good fight. Please let me know when your book comes out. I think it would be an interesting read even for those of us who are fully employed.
At the defense of your targets claim they are not corporate bloggers, however, I can say that I was paid to blog for IBM from August 2006 to September 2007, then went a year where blogging was not listed in my "official duties" but did it anyway, and then recently got it back added so that I am now, once again, a professional blogger.
-- Tony Pearson (IBM)
aka "The other Tony in storage"
Interestingly a professional blogger from VMware supported me privately and said he was paid to blog for his company - EMC's sister company.
The EMC guys think that they are ahead of the curve and understand social media. I contend that they do not. Professional blogging is of course acceptable but like anything else you must be honest and up front about it. Actually EMC should pay them to stop blogging.
This is interesting reading, but would you mind adding links to the offending attacks so we can judge for themselves?
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