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Rumors, Conspiracies, etc.

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Mar 9th 2005 12:55am





Why Is CNET Trying To Invent A Google VoIP Story?

from the give-it-a-rest dept

Earlier this year, almost single-handedly, CNET took a Google job posting and jumped to all sorts of conclusions about how Google was planning a VoIP offering -- without one shred of actual evidence. Other news sites went even further, but it was CNET that started the rumor with very little to go on. While that rumor finally died out, it looks like CNET can't get enough of the silly speculation business, and has resurrected the rumor based on nothing more than the fact that there were some Google employees at VON -- including the fact that one Google employee is (gasp!) a personal friend of Jeff Pulver, who created and runs VON. I'm fairly friendly with Jeff myself (we have some close friends in common, and I tend to stop by his office when I'm in NY) and while I'm not at this VON, I've certainly gone to VONs in the past. Does this mean that Techdirt is starting a VoIP play? Of course not. So why does CNET think that because Google (a major company with lots of interests) sends some folks to VON (a major conference with plenty of interesting things happening) that they're obviously getting into the VoIP business? Jeff is calling CNET the National Enquirer of VoIP for this story, and notes that much of it seems to be based on the fact that, at the conference, he sat at the same lunch table as his friend who works at Google.

4 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    google's new clothes!

    identicon
    pheloxi, Mar 9th, 2005 @ 3:35am


    techdirt,

    you do know it is not yet 1 of april!

    e-greetings,
    pheloxi

    p.s. remember introduction of gmail

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Shameful Journalism

    identicon
    Ian Bell, Mar 9th, 2005 @ 9:48am

    It just goes to show the fierce race to get a news story out there first. Some Apple fan sites are getting sued by Apple because they did not realize the consequences of posting unreleased information. Half the blogs out there post rumors and speculations calling it news.

    Forget real journalism and research, its all about getting that web traffic. What a shame.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Another Opinion

    identicon
    Another Opinion, Mar 11th, 2005 @ 11:47am

    Actually, it shows CNet's continuing turn toward irrelevance. How many stories in the last few months have they pumped (pimped?) which turned to be full of hot air and have no basis in fact? The cycle is also self-defeating. The more FUD they put out the fewer real interviews and scoops they get, forcing them to resort to yet more FUD.

    Nothing to see here, sadly. Move along to a real news portal.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Why is Techdirt helping?

    identicon
    ?, Mar 11th, 2005 @ 11:52am

    So why is Techdirt helping to keep the story alive?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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