Protests over Verizon deal with 1938media
Update:
Verizon has apparently dropped 1938media’s content from its Vcast service and the distribution deal is off. Some people are happy with the decision while others think it is hypocritical. What do I think? Obviously, Verizon is a private company that gets to do whatever it wants, and this kind of controversy isn’t good for business. But those who argue that this isn’t a free speech issue are making a mistake, I think. It’s easy to stand up and defend speech when we agree with it — harder to do so, but just as important, when we don’t.
Original post:
A video that controversial video-blogger Loren Feldman of 1938media did almost a year ago has come back to haunt him, it seems. Several civil-rights groups and media watchdogs are protesting a decision by telecom giant Verizon to add 1938media’s video clips to its mobile Vcast service, saying Loren’s “TechNigga” clip is demeaning to black people. Project Islamic Hope, for example, has issued a statement demanding that Verizon drop its distribution arrangement with 1938media, which was just announced about a week ago, and other groups including the National Action Network and LA Humanity Foundation are also apparently calling for people to email Verizon and protest.
The video that has Islamic Hope and other groups so upset is one called “TechNigga,” which Loren put together last August. After wondering aloud why there are no black tech bloggers, Loren reappears with a skullcap and some gaudy jewelry, and claims to be the host of a show called TechNigga. He then swigs from a bottle of booze, does a lot of tongue-kissing and face-licking with his girlfriend Michelle Oshen, and then introduces a new Web app called “Ho-Trackr,” which is a mashup with Google Maps that allows prospective johns to locate prostitutes. In a statement, Islamic Hope says that the video “sends a horrible message that Verizon seeks to partner with racists.”
The TechNigga routine (which was actually a series of videos) apparently led to Loren’s distribution deal with Podtech being dissolved, and also caused problems with The Huffington Post — which 1938media was also working with — after founder Arianna Huffington was quoted as saying she was offended by the clip. Loren also said recently that a proposed deal to make videos and write columns for CNET was on hiatus, although it wasn’t clear exactly why. Was the company concerned about possible offensive content, given the TechNigga incident and the series of videos taking shots at social-media guru Shel Israel? Possibly.
On some level, I can understand the protests against Loren. Some of his content is in pretty poor taste. That said, however, a lot of it is also pretty funny. Does it cross a line sometimes, or at least come right up to the line and stick its tongue out, or give the line the finger? Yes. Lots of good comedy does. There are plenty of people who don’t think TechNigga was funny, and for the record, I am one of them. I get the point that Loren was trying to make (or at least I think I do), but to me it just didn’t work. Loren’s friend Prince Campbell — who is black, and considers Loren a friend (as I do) — has said much the same thing.
But does that mean his content shouldn’t be allowed on Verizon’s mobile service? No. I think when it comes to comedy and critical commentary of all kinds — satire or otherwise — we have to offer a lot wider latitude than we might otherwise. Freedom of speech shouldn’t be just a flag that we wave from time to time whenever it suits us. It’s an important principle. Loren should be free to make and distribute his content, and others are free not to watch it. Somehow I doubt that a mega-corporation like Verizon is going to see it that way, however.
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I wonder how amusing he would have found "Tech Kyka"...not very considering his reaction to Guy Kawasaki for stating he learned to sell from his Jewish friends in the jewelry industry - which is actually a hat tip if you ask me. If a guy told me he learned the best restaurant management techniques from his Greek friends, I'd be fine with that. It's commerce, it's a good thing.
The good news, according to him, is that he doesn't care what anybody thinks as long as clients supposedly keep paying him to provide consulting work.
I personally doubt that. The guy thrives on attention and clearly has aspirations of grandeur that won't be fulfilled outside of the comedy circuit. The only place that might accept his brand of whatever he does.
Yes, I do agree that his content should be accessible from anywhere, at anytime. Just don't expect corporate America to help push distribution for him on their dime.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
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I don't understand how it would be a big deal if Verizon sends him along his merry way. It's not like they are preventing him from distributing his racist...uh...radical ideas elsewhere.
They have not pulled his books of the shelves or removed his CD from the record stores. If there is a huge protest against Verizon carrying his content, why would they want it anyway?
If you're music is crap and there is no demand for it, are they forced to carry it in a record store? Does a movie theater absolutely have to play your bad movie that nobody really wants to see?
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something, then I would have no problem with someone not carrying it
in their store or on their service. But I don't like the idea of
companies like Verizon removing content from someone after protests by
a couple of lobby groups, based on a single video from someone like
Loren -- a video that was designed to be satirical (whether you think
it succeeded or not).
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I have never had Verizon, so I have never experienced the beauty that is VCast. My point is that Verizon is a business, which means it's about money. Part of the fact that people give them money is their reputation. If they become associated with some guy that a large number of people feel is an ass...well, that's not good for business.
This was all over the radio this morning. Everybody and their grandma was calling in saying they would cancel their accounts. We're talking about businesses cancelling, not just individuals. It's unfortunate that this video is old, but somebody dug it up and now this dude's moment of stupidity on the internet could cast a shadow on an entire corporation.
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Karma.
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This isn't a discussion of freedom of speech but corporate responsibility and "political correctness."
Freedom of speech protects Loren (and all of us) from the government telling us what we can and can't say. Verizon, on the other hand, has every right to censor Loren. They aren't limiting Loren's freedom of speech if they decide not to pay him for his content.
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However, I thought the technigga videos were not only in bad taste, I didn't think they were even slightly funny, which is why I stopped watching his videos long before he started playing with puppets.
I guess I'm not much of a genius, because I just don't see a lot of what Loren does as funny, even though others think he's hysterical. Steve Gillmor considers him a comedic genius. I think he's inconsistent, and resorts to the easy slam to make the joke.
But that's me. I'm not a fan of humor at others' expense unless the 'other' is a willing participant.
Beyond that, I will not pay the kind of rates the cell companies want to watch video content that they decide is suitable to cross their network. The big companies are getting greedy with these 'extra charges', and I think it will come back to bite them and their content providers in the days to come.
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about it. As for your point about mobile video, I couldn't agree more
-- that isn't funny at all.
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And if this news ever goes mainstream I think that everyone outside Web 2.0 and the racial grievance industry will be wondering: Who is Loren Feldman and what is Project Islamic Hope?!?!
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i personally do not find him funny, nor do i think howard stern is entertaining, but there is a large segment of the population that does - so maybe there is a chance for loren to be appreciated by the same sort of people who like howard, in fact, the technigga video seems like it should be on howard's show, it fit s that whole unenlightened buffoonery perfectly..
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Anyone can put on a wig and gold teeth and act out a stereotype. But can you do it an not be offensive? Thats Imus' problem and that was Feldmans problem.
That said I think people are overreacting to the video. Poor taste does not mean poor talent. I enjoy the provocative videos, especially in this web world full of awkward geeks.
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Does it make him a horrible person? No, I don't think so. An err in judgment perhaps. What the Internet viewing public must understand is that history lives FOREVER on the Internet and just because the content exists and is still viewable by the public doesn't mean that we should judge the content creators each time it surfaces.
At some time or another, many of us have produced "unfortunate content". I use the term "content" loosely here. Imagine having half naked drunk cottage pics out there that your "friends" have uploaded, viewable by a prospective employer.
Maybe the Internet needs a statute of limitations...?
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