"One where you have to go on hints and gut feeling some times in order to be of any use to your readers. And let the chips fall where they may. You WILL make mistakes, but no one will question your motives. Or the mission of your blog."
Depends. You might not be 100% right, which can greatly damage your ability to provide future information on the idea. I'm with you in spirit, though.
Topic: Ian deMartino on Paycoin and other important matters (Read 542 times)
http://cointelegraph.com/news/113256/concerning-garza-tnabc-and-bitcoin-media-down-with-everything-associated-with-anyone-op-ed-
I agree with 95% of the content of that Op-Ed.
The other 5% is where he contends -and furthermore in the comments- that the effects of the Paycoin scandal may have gone too far. I fully disagree and counter that, in my opinion, not nearly far enough.
First of all, in this surreal altcoin world, the lines between "legitimate" journalism and plain PR are as blurred as they can be... in favor of PR disguised as journalism. Everyone who has been in crypto for a few months know by know what I am referring to: All those websites that beg for the coins they "cover" in the kiss-ass blog entries at the end. That's kissing ass for crumbs, not even remotely journalism. Lets make that distinction clear before anything else. Then there's Twitter. Twitter is a network where anyone can post anything -much like BTCT, but in snippets 140 words or less at a time-. It's "free-for-all". And, guaranteed, the opposite of journalism. And then there's Reddit, which is the domain of the particular bunch of greedy "groupies" who will stop at absolutely nothing if they feel they can help the coins they support and are invested in. And please pay some mind to the term absolutely in my previous phrase: No ethical considerations of ANY kind.
And then we have CoinTelegraph, for which deMartino writes, some times very nice, detailed, researched pieces, like the one linked, and... some other times, pretty bland, quite outdated ones, such as the one covering the BitBay scam which was published WEEKS after it had been admitted to, here, by their main protagonists. Talk about exercise in futility!
Ian, your blog is in the interesting position of being a big influence in the development of cryptocurrencies, especially, as it should, in the protection of your readers. But you cannot achieve that without taking the bull by the horns and make public, at the very least, the very clear red lights when there's still time to provide some caution, if not full protection, of your readers. The ethics of journalism, I'm afraid, don't quite serve the purpose of journalism when it comes to this wild west of cryptoland: They play -the scammers, the crooks- with too many advantages, anonymity being one of them. And then the burden of proof... I am NOT advocating for irresponsible journalism, but for risky, cutting edge one. One where you have to go on hints and gut feeling some times in order to be of any use to your readers. And let the chips fall where they may. You WILL make mistakes, but no one will question your motives. Or the mission of your blog.
What use is to report the BitBay scam -and then not particularly accurately- weeks after it unfolded here with the main protagonists admitting to their role in it? What purpose will it serve to even timely report on the Paycoin scandal, many days after the investors have been duped? Wasn't the pretension of Amazon, Target and Walmart involvement, along with the $20 "warranty", plus the supposed $300 million "fund" red flags enough to warrant an investigation? Just three calls in maybe 3 minutes would have given you the gist that the whole thing was just vapor. Yet you did not make even one of those calls, let alone on time. How about a call to Garza himself to provide proof of the $300 million "fund"? Poor, very poor and lazy "journalism" there, Ian.
And now your claims that the "standard may be impossibly high". Sorry but no. There are already several projects out there (which ones you ask? I'm not a paid reporter here but I will give you two off the top of my mind... all are here one way or another: SIFTRCOIN, BLOCKNET... many more of lesser means). What are you doing about those which is not going deep into their claims, the evidence against some of their "developers" (Dan Metcalf sounds familiar?). How about an op-ed on the inevitable damages to the digital currencies community when the big money comes in and performs its deadly manipulations in absence of Johnny Law? People whose acts would have them thrown in jail in Johnny Lawland, need to be EXPOSED by legitimate outlets, such as yours, preferably when it matters, BEFORE the damage happens. Talking about crooks, when would you think an expose is due on the likes of Surplus, Pr0metheus, Fontas, and so many others. When another on the irresponsible -and crooked- "devs" from Metcalf to Carlos Ferguson to about 100 others? How about that "Proof od Dev" thingy issued at the whim of a guy with no relevance prior whatsoever? I'm not your desk editor, nor you should need one ... if you are to be of any use to your readers. Otherwise, just stick to sit on your butt and peruse these forums looking for a "safe" time to print useless rants. And then when the controversy gets you and your publication in hot waters only.
May the New Year provide you a sense of real purpose: That of being a real journalist. Direly needed in the space.
I agree with 95% of the content of that Op-Ed.
The other 5% is where he contends -and furthermore in the comments- that the effects of the Paycoin scandal may have gone too far. I fully disagree and counter that, in my opinion, not nearly far enough.
First of all, in this surreal altcoin world, the lines between "legitimate" journalism and plain PR are as blurred as they can be... in favor of PR disguised as journalism. Everyone who has been in crypto for a few months know by know what I am referring to: All those websites that beg for the coins they "cover" in the kiss-ass blog entries at the end. That's kissing ass for crumbs, not even remotely journalism. Lets make that distinction clear before anything else. Then there's Twitter. Twitter is a network where anyone can post anything -much like BTCT, but in snippets 140 words or less at a time-. It's "free-for-all". And, guaranteed, the opposite of journalism. And then there's Reddit, which is the domain of the particular bunch of greedy "groupies" who will stop at absolutely nothing if they feel they can help the coins they support and are invested in. And please pay some mind to the term absolutely in my previous phrase: No ethical considerations of ANY kind.
And then we have CoinTelegraph, for which deMartino writes, some times very nice, detailed, researched pieces, like the one linked, and... some other times, pretty bland, quite outdated ones, such as the one covering the BitBay scam which was published WEEKS after it had been admitted to, here, by their main protagonists. Talk about exercise in futility!
Ian, your blog is in the interesting position of being a big influence in the development of cryptocurrencies, especially, as it should, in the protection of your readers. But you cannot achieve that without taking the bull by the horns and make public, at the very least, the very clear red lights when there's still time to provide some caution, if not full protection, of your readers. The ethics of journalism, I'm afraid, don't quite serve the purpose of journalism when it comes to this wild west of cryptoland: They play -the scammers, the crooks- with too many advantages, anonymity being one of them. And then the burden of proof... I am NOT advocating for irresponsible journalism, but for risky, cutting edge one. One where you have to go on hints and gut feeling some times in order to be of any use to your readers. And let the chips fall where they may. You WILL make mistakes, but no one will question your motives. Or the mission of your blog.
What use is to report the BitBay scam -and then not particularly accurately- weeks after it unfolded here with the main protagonists admitting to their role in it? What purpose will it serve to even timely report on the Paycoin scandal, many days after the investors have been duped? Wasn't the pretension of Amazon, Target and Walmart involvement, along with the $20 "warranty", plus the supposed $300 million "fund" red flags enough to warrant an investigation? Just three calls in maybe 3 minutes would have given you the gist that the whole thing was just vapor. Yet you did not make even one of those calls, let alone on time. How about a call to Garza himself to provide proof of the $300 million "fund"? Poor, very poor and lazy "journalism" there, Ian.
And now your claims that the "standard may be impossibly high". Sorry but no. There are already several projects out there (which ones you ask? I'm not a paid reporter here but I will give you two off the top of my mind... all are here one way or another: SIFTRCOIN, BLOCKNET... many more of lesser means). What are you doing about those which is not going deep into their claims, the evidence against some of their "developers" (Dan Metcalf sounds familiar?). How about an op-ed on the inevitable damages to the digital currencies community when the big money comes in and performs its deadly manipulations in absence of Johnny Law? People whose acts would have them thrown in jail in Johnny Lawland, need to be EXPOSED by legitimate outlets, such as yours, preferably when it matters, BEFORE the damage happens. Talking about crooks, when would you think an expose is due on the likes of Surplus, Pr0metheus, Fontas, and so many others. When another on the irresponsible -and crooked- "devs" from Metcalf to Carlos Ferguson to about 100 others? How about that "Proof od Dev" thingy issued at the whim of a guy with no relevance prior whatsoever? I'm not your desk editor, nor you should need one ... if you are to be of any use to your readers. Otherwise, just stick to sit on your butt and peruse these forums looking for a "safe" time to print useless rants. And then when the controversy gets you and your publication in hot waters only.
May the New Year provide you a sense of real purpose: That of being a real journalist. Direly needed in the space.
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