Monday, January 9, 2006

Good Morning

Morning, folks -- it's barely 11AM ET, and I already have a full day of entries lined up. Here's a preview of what's coming:

Star Jones Blog Update: I talked to some of the people involved in Star Jones's new AOL Journal (it's currently private right now, here's my original entry about it) -- it looks like the hardcore shock troops of the anti-Star Jones/Al Reynolds contingent found the blog early and started posting a few hundred vile comments to the blog, with all sort of obscenely biological flames; I've suggested a few ways that they can handle this, while still keeping the blog accessible.

My advice for regular bloggers (police your comments, let people defend you, etc.) won't quite work in a situation like this (with a celeb blogger), if only because "regular" bloggers typically don't have legions of "haters" (I dislike that word) waiting to pounce on every word, or just want to spew garbage because they think a lot of people will see it.

I will let you know what happens.

* My Field Trip: I have a photographic report from an event I attended last night. Here's a hint: I can't tell you about it right now, because it's a "Secret."

* Weight-Loss Blogging: I'm getting comments and e-mails who want some recognition for their weight-loss and fitness blogging -- if you want to be added to my entry, drop me a line.

* Not Geeky Enough? Following up on my Geek Test entry, if you don't feel you're quite geeky enough,  today's BoingBoing has a feature on Fuzzy 20-Sided Dice you can hang from your rearview mirror.

I have a bunch more stuff, but the more time I spend talking about it is the less time I can spending doing it, so I will get to work now. Thanks -- Joe

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I noticed she went private too and wondered why...thanks for the info.

Anonymous said...

I didn't post anything on her comments after viewing your entry about her.  It started off negative with me as it gave me too many rules for leaving a post. LOL.  I'm a nice person and wouldn't leave a mean post ever, but don't want to be told how to post, still.  I understand that there are haters out there and she felt she had to do that.  I think she expected a lot of mean comments and no doubt she got a few.
Would be hard for a celebrity to have a public journal anyway.  Impressed by Rosie as she did it.  Wonder if she still has hers?
Take care.
Sonya

Anonymous said...

I feel safe in saying that I'm disliked by more people than any non-celebrity blogger.

Anonymous said...

If she is going to make the journal private....why even do it? Oh yeah, the book promotion hehehe I get it! I personally will not refuse anyone entry to my journal....nor will I erase a negative comment. As a matter of fact, I would prefer a person be honest and say what they feel about my opinions in my journal and not just be all sweet and sugar coat responses...GAG! Being a person who does not want to hear my opinion, weather for or against theirs, made my top 5 journaling hates list.

Waiting for you to share the "secret"
Erica
Http://journals.aol.com/EricaNBiloxi/SouthernComfort?

Anonymous said...

Erica -- generally, I am in agreement with you. I rarely delete comments to this blog, though then again, I rarely have to deal with comments that involve inserting objects into bodily orifices (unless it's food -- orally-inserted of course), and other biological processes, described in very graphic and messy detail.

Pretty vile stuff. Thanks -- Joe

Anonymous said...

Oh for Pete's sake!  Really?  Thanks for saving me a trip, Joe. I don't care for SJ, but I don't hate her either...some folks are just mad, way down deep.

I figured you'd catch some more hell this weekend.  Behave yourself, and have a good afternoon, mr productive.

andi

Anonymous said...


Try again, Joe ...

The 'hardcore' -ANTI Star Jones Reynolds - shock troops <~(are you reading this, Star?), as you notably refer to them, are many of the long-term bloggers who were outraged with 'AOL', and they're wired to strike.

AOL's turned a once, huge, thriving community with incredible bonding-spirit, into an unstable post-war zone of agitated, wary consumers, through their blatant subscriber-blogger extortion.

... Hundreds (thousands) of yet-ongoing disregarded complaints about the advertising invasion of subscribers journals, -- trust in a company that people have financed and morally-supported from it's infancy, virtually destroyed overnight, -- customers leaving in droves, -- folks perpetually berating each other, -- associations and connections, tarnished, or completely ended after years of establishment, -- people who've been forced to turn away from years of time and emotional investment, or submit to AOL's unscrupulous exertion ...

Many folks are on edge, and upset. They've abandoned their belief and trust in AOL ... They've lost their faith, and WELL they should.

Why? -- Because AOL's forsaken their subscriber-base, for instant advertising-bucks, instead of focusing on the satisfaction of the people who've made them. When the AOL subscription rate began to decline, they should have turned 'toward' their most-vocal customers and asked, "What can we do to make our service more desirable, and keep you?"

... Not, fleece thousands of patrons, and turn their backs.

~Brian
http://www.xanga.com/TheLoveTrain

PS: Like I wrote in my e-mail, to you and your constituents, -- You'll need to dig deeper into the illicit funds that you're swindling from subscriber-bloggers. Everything comes at a price, and the price for AOL is going up.

Anonymous said...

Brian -- I'm afraid you are mistaken. The posts from people angry with AOL or its policies have nothing to do with the obscene posts that came from the people who purport to hate Star Jones.

The Star Jones haters' comments were filled with sexual and scatalogical obscenity and vulgarity and were deleted by the hundreds.

The comments that came from J-Landers or former J-Landers were not.

If you are indeed taking 'credit' for the obscene comments, I will revise my opinion, but in the meantime, I will continue to believe that even our most disaffected former users are more civilized than that. Thanks -- Joe (posted and mailed)

Anonymous said...

First off, I'm no fan of the woman's, and I was appalled at her opening entry.  I could care less whether she blogs on AOL or not.

However, no one -- NO ONE -- deserved the verbal assault that blog received from that organized non-AOL group.  I have read some pretty profane stuff in my life, and I'm not a prude.  But to call the comments in her blog "vile" is a understatement.  You'll have to trust me.  Or not.

So Brian, Joe is right -- this was not the work of disgruntled AOL/former AOL journalers.  It was beyond reprehensible.

~~ jennifer

Anonymous said...

Dear Joe,
I am deeply saddened by what happened to Star . I hope you will tell her that Jlanders are not a hateful lot and we truly are sorry . I hope you will tell her that we harbor deep feelings about how importnat and valuable poeple are adn we would wish that everyone who gathered here would feel the same.
n

Anonymous said...

"former JLanders"?  Who is that?  Since JLand was a term that some individuals came up with to describe themselves, NOT a marketing term developed by AOL's (lack of) creativity... who are you refering to when you say "former JLanders"?  AOL has no claim on that term.  Why do you use it as if someone JLand was synonomous with AOL journals.  Isn't that theft of intellectual property?

Virginia

Anonymous said...


http://journals.aol.com/starjrblogger/Shinetheofficialblog/

I see it's set-up now, so that AOL's swindled, antagonized, adept bloggers, can't comment (no comments allowed - blog).

I have no grievance with Star Jones, and didn't comment the first time. Though, I was informed that it was once again public, went to see what was going on, and noticed that 'minor' difference ... Thought, I'll note that, at Joe's Magic Smoke-blowing journal.

I can hear AOL/Time Warner now, "Pleeeeease, Star, we'll pay you LOTS more and you can turn your comments off. Just come back, pretty-please? You're making us look like hell (valid confirmation)."

~Brian
http://www.xanga.com/TheLoveTrain

PS: And, like Virginia wrote below (in other words). -- Tell AOL to quit stealing 'everything' in their path. I imagine that it's just a matter of time, before an eager savvy attorney with dollar-signs, for eyes, comes along to collect some of our big-time overdue, blogging income ... under one legitimate provision, or another.