I’m very fond of Fleshbot. It’s a true blog, i.e. a links list not a source of vanity editorial. I read it daily and avoid posting anything they’ve already covered (I know many of you read them too and try not to waste your time).
Recently they’ve taken on a few new writers and seem to be posting increasingly ‘advertorial’ posts. Today things hit bottom with this, a puff-piece devoid of any critical objective opinion. Bad advertorial (good advertorial is invisible).
I know the writer of the post, the company mentioned, the director and star of the movie discussed and while liking them all (Jana more than the rest obviously) can say this post is a waste of my time. In fact, a couple of these a day will have me reconsidering my feed-reading priorities and consigning Fleshbot to maybe/sometimes/never pile.
Am I over-reacting? Anyone else sense a change of tone and quality at the bot? Are they losing money and desperate to make more or just trying to exploit their success and missing the mark?
god, the last time i read flesh bot, carley was still porn blogging…
Most/all of DCypher’s posts there seem more like adverts than anything else (see Ponante’s posts there, for instance, which don’t come off as press releases). In general, though… yeah, it’s not quite the same Fleshbot that it was when I first stumbled upon it a few years ago.
Rich - you’re so old skool.
Chris - Yes. I’ve seen that too. Today saw a little more snark. It’s hard to balance being an insider, being critical and being popular. See Luke Ford for an example of how not to do it.
In response to reader demand, we’re trying to publish more gallery posts (= more skin!) and cover more new releases that we often don’t have time to look at as critically as we do other ones. So excuse us if things seem a little more “advertorialish” lately - though to be fair, these new posts of the type you’re criticizing are pretty much limited to one per day out of a couple of dozen. We’ll definitely be keeping the puff pieces to a minimum, promise.
Jonnobot - (The editor of Fleshbot for those who don’t know). Point taken. Said out of love. Feel free to publish an expose of my apostrophe abuse, recycled humor or chronic halitosis.