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Plantronics Helps Make Remote Workers' Lives Easier (Video)
If you're working at home or from a coffee shop or, really, anyplace outside your company's offices, they need to hear you when you talk, and you need to hear them. The same goes for dealing with clients via VOIP or video, the two communications techologies that seem to be driving POTS into obsolescence faster than we thought possible just a few years ago. In this video, Plantronics PR person Karen Auby -- who works remotely most of the time herself -- explains how Plantronics products help make work easier in a world of "unified communications."
So... half the "stories" today are just bloody slashvertisements?!?
I was raised on the command line, bitch
"Nemo me impune lacesset"
We had one ad yesterday, two today, three tomorrow?
Also the first one for instance was much better disguised, this is glaring obvious, is the obvious version cheaper?
I wouldn’t expect that form slashdot 5 years ago, now I'm surprised it took so long...
Really? Are we this blatant about advertising now? Pull your fucking head in Slashdot editors...
Slashdot has been an enormous factor in making me the nerd I am. That sounds cheesy, but I seriously started reading when I was 14. It was a big deal to me to find a huge community of other people who really saw the world like I did, unlike anyone else in my (small) high school.
But I really can't justify sticking around if the "stories" are just "Isn't Plantronics great?" videos. This is nonsense. I understand that Slashdot needs to make money, but if you guys can't keep doing that off of (normal) ads, then just shut it down. It's not worth this painful death.
I put up with trolls. I put up with Idle. I put up with the shitty Ajax. I didn't much mind the "itwbenett" stuff, where people were just submitting their online articles, as long as they were interesting. I even put up with the sponsored "ask slashdot", since it was clearly marked and had the potential to be somewhat interesting. I wasn't that guy bitching about every little thing- things change, but it's not a big deal.
We all know about Plantronics. They even make a decent product. But I don't go to Slashdot to read paid-for content posted by companies about what companies say about their products.
This is too much. If you're seriously going to have a half-dozen "stories" a day that are just ads for some gadget or service or so on, then I won't be here.
In case this wasn't clear enough, you known that line that companies cross that pisses their users off and sends them into a death spiral, a la Digg? You just crossed it. Step back very quickly or you'll have big problems.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
Please?
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
Seriously. I'm not one to reminisce about the "good old days" (see my UID) but this is serious ridiculous. This really reminds me of when Digg cratered out, just checked Digg, 15 stories on the front page and 77 comments, in total. I remember when they had hundreds of comments, per story. So I'm guessing if this continues Slashdot will crater out by the end of the year. Well it was nice while it lasted.
I agree this is pretty blatant. But what can we do about it? Slashdot is owned by thinkgeek which trades on nasdaq. That means they eventually have to answer to shareholders who care about one thing. Like it or not, advertising makes the internet go round (although how this is economically sustainable, I have absolutely no idea). Is there some way we can avoid it? There are several million UIDs now. If everyone bought a few shares, slashdot users could dominate think geek's $95mil market capital. Would that even do anything? Is that better than a subscription model? In the end the guys running the servers gotta get their hot pockets from somewhere...
I agree this is pretty blatant. But what can we do about it? Slashdot is owned by thinkgeek which trades on nasdaq. That means they eventually have to answer to shareholders who care about one thing. Like it or not, advertising makes the internet go round (although how this is economically sustainable, I have absolutely no idea). Is there some way we can avoid it? There are several million UIDs now. If everyone bought a few shares, slashdot users could dominate think geek's $95mil market capital. Would that even do anything? Is that better than a subscription model? In the end the guys running the servers gotta get their hot pockets from somewhere...
Well I suppose that trying to buy up a controlling interest in Slashdot's parent company and then pressuring the board to stop hiding blatant ads as stories on is one option, the option I'll take is to just stop reading Slashdot if these ads keep up.
It's not like I can't find many many other ways to waste time online.
My karma here has been excellent for well over 10 years. I'd like to turn off advertising, please.
Or, maybe let's change the moderation system to allow moderation of stories, not just comments, and add '-1 slashvertisement" mod option.
Or maybe, it's simply time for a slahdot clone -- just the same only having editors with both integrity and a brain.
Slashdot editors: I understand you need ads. I understand you need sponsors, but if you are going to post them, please mark them as paid content. Seriously. If you don't you will loose your core readership, and maybe you already are, but this isn't going to help things. Was Rob Malda the only person keeping this from happening? Yes, Slashdot readers have valuable eyeballs, but treat us with respect, otherwise you will loose us. One of the key reasons geeks still defend Google and Gmail is that they set a precedent for tasteful and obvious ads with Adwords. Please hold yourselves to the same standards.
What can we do? Nothing. Nothing except watch Slashdot die. And given this kind of bullshit, I'm going to be chuckling and nodded my head in satisfaction.
It is exactly this kind of idiocy that has fucked up the US economy beyond repair: Let's never look beyond next quarter's financial statements. That seems like an awesome strategy to people who can't be bothered to give two shits about whether the property exists the quarter after; who only care if their wallet is slightly fatter and they can justify moving on to destroying the next property.
Tell me, oh great Slashdot editors: How do those financial statements look when nobody is left to consume your bullshit?
My search for a replacement begins today.
So we should all be happy because blatant advertising is the same as informational content, as they often come from teh same sort of source, bad is good, good is bad, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria...
No, this is blatantly advertising by and for one firm, not even 'here look at this breakthrough we made' that might be technologically interesting, just 'buy our stuff'.
If that's the slashdot you want to read, good for you. To me this represents a new low on a site that had already driven away most of the interesting technical discussion of a few years ago.
It's simple really... pan the product!
Everyone post their negative experiences with the company, in gory detail.
Even if you've never used the product, some well-placed negative innuendo or skeptical comparison (use this open source alternative instead!) will serve to disadvertize the product.
After awhile, a short while (I'm hoping), the editors will realize that the readers don't want this, the sponsors will realize that they don't want this, and the practice will stop.
People keep moaning about apathy in the face of an unlikeable situation, well here's our chance. Let's change the system.
All together now, one... two... three...
Don't you see that by mixing advertisement with content you are casting doubt on *every single* story posted? You had a great thing but you're killing it.
Who thought this would a good idea? How dumb are the corporate owners?
If this goes on, I'm going to start using those threads to list as many slashdot alternatives as possible. There many good sites out there looking for active commenters.
Watch how mods are going to help your audience leave your site.
I recommend ArsTechnica, it seems a lot of /. posts are coming from them anyway, so you might as well go direct.
Their comments section needs threading though, but if you're after articles rather than discussion, it's way better then here.