Comments on 12814

I'm trying to decide whether or not to post a particular FPP. Would the following be a case of PepsiBlue?

Audible.com has recently lowered the price of several of its radio shows, including the popular-among-MeFites This American Life, to $.95 an episode. I know that TAL episodes can be acquired via - *ahem* - other - methods, but TAL's high cost on Audible (used to be $4 a show?) have been griped about around here before, and it seems like people would be interested in seeing the news about the reduction in cost.

I don't work for Audible, and I have had my complaints about them in the past, but I think this is pretty cool and don't know how many other folks know about it. On the other hand, I don't want to be an annoying pain in the ass.
posted by rossination to etiquette/policy at 4:26 PM (57 comments total)

If you were to post it, I would comment that I was surprised they cost anything since most stuff on NPR is freely available.
posted by smackfu at 4:42 PM on October 4, 2006

Seems to me you just posted it.

And if you have no connection to the product, ergo it's not PepsiBlue. But then again, I'm no expert.
posted by turducken at 4:45 PM on October 4, 2006

"I don't want to be an annoying pain in the ass."

Too late!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:49 PM on October 4, 2006

I don't hate Ira Glass, but for some reason I want to.
posted by orthogonality at 4:54 PM on October 4, 2006

orthogonality: dont worry, i hate him for you.
posted by keswick at 5:04 PM on October 4, 2006

From WBEZ in Chicago distributed via Public Radio International it's This American Life, I'm Ira Glass. Our show today is in three acts: act one, Seeing Pepsi Blue, a Metafilter user wants to make a post and makes a startling discovery in the process; act two, Snark to the Angels, in which a rabid band of online hounds prey on their own fellow man for the petty sake of snarkery; act three, Profit.

I'd say it's fine.

When. Our. Programme. Continues.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:10 PM on October 4, 2006 [14 favorites]

And if you have no connection to the product, ergo it's not PepsiBlue

Huh? No, PepsiBlue is promotion of a product with an FPP. It doesn't necessarily have to do with self-linking or working for the company (though it can).

And yes, the post would be PepsiBlue because the OP is linking to a commercial product. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done, but that's what PepsiBlue is.

Though I'm not an expert either. I just play one on the internet.
posted by dobbs at 5:13 PM on October 4, 2006

keswick writes "orthogonality: dont worry, i hate him for you."

Walking on Ira Glass

Walking on, walking on Ira Glass
Walking on, walking on Ira Glass
Walking on, walking on Ira Glass
Walking on, walking on Ira Glass
Walking on, walking on Ira Glass . . .
posted by orthogonality at 5:14 PM on October 4, 2006

I think a lot of people understand PepsiBlue to be a fake netroots campaign to promote a product.

I also think that this would make a crummy FPP.
posted by mzurer at 5:20 PM on October 4, 2006

They are also .95 on iTunes. And I think they've found the price point at which I'll be willing to pay, rather than steal...or um...you know, record.

Do yourself a favor: buy This American Life: Special Ed or This American Life: Prom.

Both are golden.
posted by ColdChef at 5:26 PM on October 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

OK. Well, since it seems to be within the guidelines of Metafilter but well received by this sample audience, it will go unposted.

But goodnewsfortheinsane, that's a fantastic comment. Kudos.
posted by rossination at 5:27 PM on October 4, 2006

As much as I like TAL, this isn't really very interesting. You could craft an interesting post around this, maybe talk about how technology is changing the market for radio shows or something. But "low, low prices!" is lame.
posted by scottreynen at 5:28 PM on October 4, 2006

*Pointless and annoying music for 20 seconds*
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:02 PM on October 4, 2006

if you have no connection to the product, ergo it's not PepsiBlue

I don't think the original Pepsi Blue poster had actually worked on the soft drink product. The "pepsiblue!" thing is more about making a post which exists just to showcase a commercial product. I tend to object to those since commercial products have their own advertising, etc.

However, I think this post could be pulled off. You mention several angles in relation to this. The previous price. Past reaction to this on MeFi. The other methods of acquiring. Id's say if your post encapsulated links to all that and you put everything in context, this could be interesting.
posted by scarabic at 6:22 PM on October 4, 2006

I'm pretty bipolar when it comes to TAL. Sometimes I think it's great and witty and open-minded. Sometimes I think, man, David Sedaris is kind of funny, but he's an extremely self-obsessed asshole. As is that woman who wrote the book about presidents being assasinated. As is Ira Glass. It's really just Seinfeld with fewer laughs. And far too much TMBG.

Or something.
posted by bardic at 6:23 PM on October 4, 2006

bardic is my polar opposite.
posted by ColdChef at 6:45 PM on October 4, 2006

I use Audible, no complaints, really, but most every book can be gotten from torrents. Audible has some pretty tight DRM, and why pay for a book if the author is dead?
posted by four panels at 6:48 PM on October 4, 2006

I like everything about TAL except Ira Glass. His style bugs me and I end up quitting any show before it is over.
posted by mathowie at 6:58 PM on October 4, 2006

WE CAN'T TRUST THE SWORD OF A THOUSAND TRUTHS TO A N00B!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:27 PM on October 4, 2006

Here's a good rule:

If you have to wonder whether posting something will make you an annoying pain in the ass, and not merely annoy the small and vocal hyperproprietous minority, don't post it because it's not a good FPP.
posted by kosem at 7:36 PM on October 4, 2006

This was sortof already in AskMe and very interesting to a small group of people and highly snarkworthy to a much larger group of people. You've already gotten your answer, but I'd say, again "yeah, no"
posted by jessamyn at 7:36 PM on October 4, 2006

I'd say "no, yeah" but that really wouldn't help matters much, would it?
posted by Item at 7:58 PM on October 4, 2006

WE CAN'T TRUST THE SWORD OF A THOUSAND TRUTHS TO A N00B!

That's one of the best lines in the world of Warcraft.
posted by brain_drain at 8:34 PM on October 4, 2006

why pay for a book if the author is dead?

Seriously?
posted by mzurer at 8:37 PM on October 4, 2006

dobbs: "Pepsi Blue has become a sort of catch-all cat-call for something that's a possible shill posting on MetaFilter - that is, an ad or product endorsement for reasons other than just overall consumer joy."

Seems this fits the "overall consumer joy" criteria. But then again, I'm not a consumer, nor have I ever felt joy.
posted by turducken at 6:09 PM PST on October 4

But dobbs didn't say that, at least in this thread. You appear to be willfully misquoting him.

And I think the original Pepsi Blue post was all about consumer joy. That's what Pepsi Blue" mocks. No commercial involvement required.
posted by timeistight at 8:50 PM on October 4, 2006

Ahhh... it was crunchland, not dobbs, with the joy quote.

Disagree, but I guess it's now part of MetaFilter received wisdom.
posted by timeistight at 8:56 PM on October 4, 2006

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my Tivo?
posted by crunchland at 9:02 PM on October 4, 2006

You know who else loved his TiVo?

.

Well, a lot of people. It's quite popular.
posted by brain_drain at 9:06 PM on October 4, 2006

"Would the following be a case of PepsiBlue?"

Hardly a case. Maybe a forty.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:20 PM on October 4, 2006

follow your dreams. post.
posted by punishinglemur at 11:26 PM on October 4, 2006

PepsiBlue definition came from the link in the original post. But I could just be willfully misquoting it.
posted by turducken at 11:55 PM on October 4, 2006

"vocal hyperproprietous minority". Sounds good, where do I sign up?
posted by patricio at 1:44 AM on October 5, 2006

You can read books on the internet now?
posted by liquorice at 1:47 AM on October 5, 2006

Two words: Radio Time. Tivo-like app for online radio.
posted by jbickers at 5:13 AM on October 5, 2006

Two more words: Radio Shark. All the radio you could ever hope to listen to.
posted by unixrat at 5:38 AM on October 5, 2006

dobbs : "No, PepsiBlue is promotion of a product with an FPP."

My understanding is that PepsiBlue is the MeFi term for astroturfing, but that there are so many people crying wolf (er, crying "PepsiBlue") when it's not the actual case, that after a while it seems like PepsiBlue means any promotion of a product with an FPP.

It's like the "single link is bad" meme: in reality, the problem is "single link op-ed is bad", but so many people cry "single link is bad!" in non-op-ed pieces that after a while, it seems like single links themselves are frowned on.

The FAQ also takes that approach.

So, to answer the stated question: according to the FAQ, your post would not be Pepsi Blue. To answer an unasked question, yes, you would be frequently accused of Pepsi Blue.
posted by bugbread at 5:47 AM on October 5, 2006

If you have to wonder whether posting something will make you an annoying pain in the ass, and not merely annoy the small and vocal hyperproprietous minority, don't post it because it's not a good FPP.

What a crappy rule. Just post whatever you feel like.
posted by cillit bang at 6:28 AM on October 5, 2006

Isn't every episode already available for free on the show's website? I know I've listened to many an episode there and used some sort of streaming audio recorder to save the shows. It looks like they changed their player, but it's probably still possible.
posted by stopgap at 6:44 AM on October 5, 2006

It doesn't even matter if it was a free torrent, people would still complain and flag you with the blue syrup. Horses, gifts, mouths, etc.
posted by prostyle at 7:13 AM on October 5, 2006

I know I'll regret saying this, but I think you should post it anyway. The very worst that will happen is the cow-havers will have their cow; the hand-wringers will wring their hands; the naysayers may say nay. And Matt or Jess may or may not delete the post.
posted by crunchland at 7:35 AM on October 5, 2006

you know, I dislike those padded posts where people try to avoid the one-link-ness that they think everyone hates so much but you could probably talk about how TAL *used* to be free on a fan site, was removed due to complaints from TAL, was put up on the TAL site and was too damned expensive and then in some cluetrain move, they at least tried to address the problem. Maybe some conext would keep the wolves away?
posted by jessamyn at 7:46 AM on October 5, 2006

Personally, I don't think it's pepsi-blue as much as a general bad post. How is the fact that something is cheaper "The Best of The Web?"

Jessamyn has a good point about how it might work.

We're still going for best of the web, right?
posted by drezdn at 7:57 AM on October 5, 2006

You should post it.
You should then get accused of PepsiBlue.
Return here to MetaTalk.
Start a thread.
Flame-on.
Flame-out.
I eat popcorn.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:31 AM on October 5, 2006

mmmmm... popcorn.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:04 AM on October 5, 2006

How is the fact that something is cheaper "The Best of The Web?"

Yeah, if this is OK, why not link to a sale at Coliseum Books?
posted by languagehat at 9:35 AM on October 5, 2006

A sale at Coliseum books where they're selling downloads of popular books for 25% of what used to sell them for? That might be not so bad.
posted by dersins at 10:51 AM on October 5, 2006

I think Best Buy is running some kind of special on electronic goods this week. I could scan the circular and post that, if anyone's interested.
posted by jefbla at 11:01 AM on October 5, 2006

I got a copy of Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years at Coliseum for a buck; list is $49.00, so that's 2%. If only that sale were still on, I could make a post out of it!
posted by languagehat at 11:17 AM on October 5, 2006

[snarky comment about our consumer culture]

*sits back, waits for praise from the cool kids*
posted by keswick at 11:23 AM on October 5, 2006

And we wonder why people are too afraid to even attempt to make a front page post.
posted by crunchland at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2006

Well this thread is Exhibit A in why you should just do it.
posted by smackfu at 11:37 AM on October 5, 2006

Yeah, I agree. Fuck the snarkers. Post away.
posted by graventy at 12:05 PM on October 5, 2006

MetaFilter: Waits for Praise from the Cool Kids
posted by Mister_A at 12:45 PM on October 5, 2006

Complaining about Pepsi Blue on the intartubes has jumped the shark.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:15 PM on October 5, 2006

"Jumping the shark" has become one of those phrases that was once cool but became trite and uncool at a certain point.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:19 PM on October 5, 2006 [1 favorite]

More like it was once obscure which made it cool, and now it's just a phrase that means what it means, and no one even notices when people use it.

With some exceptions.
posted by smackfu at 4:06 PM on October 5, 2006

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