I wrote a thousand words today about why I think guys like Dan Zarella are frauds. It was a writing exercise. I had no intention of printing it.
That post won’t be necessary.
In the span of a few hours Dan presented a comment I left on his blog as “proof” I am wrong in my opinion of his work. I reminded him we have the right to change our opinion, and I changed mine since I left that comment. I’ve learned a lot about the myth of social media in the time between that comment and today.
He said, if I don’t like his stuff, I shouldn’t read it. I don’t. But I think it’s important to identify folks I think are providing false information to social publishers.
Dan then said he comes up with data using his own methods, which is exactly my problem.
For data to be valid it needs to be subject to peer review or verified by an objective third party. If you don’t do those things or show people your information (sample size, data gathering methods) your information is suspect.
Personally, I think it’s deceptive to call yourself a scientist and charge people, through speaking fees and other methods, for potentially suspect information.
And then my favorite, Dan assumed my opinion of his work was fueled by something he wrote about the Suggested User List. I don’t read his stuff anymore, so I have no idea what he’s talking about.
This guy is making accusations and assumptions with no proof. If this is how he collects his information, I’m right to be concerned.
Why Does This Matter?
Because Dan Zarella is a bully. Dan instigated all this over a flip comment I left on a blog post about … you guessed it, Dan Zarella starting a fight with another blogger,
Until that point, Dan was grouped with people like Jeremiah Owyang in my mind. They might be nice people, but based on what I read, I decided they’re full of shit. People like that are better left ignored.
But I have no tolerance for bullies, so I decided to share my experience with Dan here with you.
*As an update, I blocked Dan on Twitter. Since he deleted most of his comments, I deleted mine.
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