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So the author just replied below claiming that it wasn't PR hit. I don't actually believe that, but on the off chance that this isn't a PR hit then it has to be
by jonstokes 11y ago
So the author just replied below claiming that it wasn't PR hit. I don't actually believe that, but on the off chance that this isn't a PR hit then it has to be something worse: he did a bunch of googling, saw a spate of news stories about the death of AV (thanks, PR guys!), and was like "hey, the story here is the death of AV... I have a news hook!"
In other words, it was self-pwnage. He did the PR firm's work for them, and nobody at that firm even owes him one.
Also, whatever I might speculate, I do know this for a fact: a screenshot of that article is going on a PowerPoint slide and will be victoriously displayed in a meeting at some point soon.
Edit: Also, I wanted to stab myself in the eye when I read this howler:
"Because Netflix, a well-known innovator in the tech sphere, is the first major web firm to openly dump its anti-virus, FORBES has learned. And where Netflix goes, others often follow; just look at the massive uptick of public cloud usage in recent years, following the company’s major investment in Amazon Web Services."
So everyone uses "the cloud" (whatever that is) because Netflix uses AWS. I don't remember the last time I saw a reach like that on a site like Forbes.
- TFoxBrewster 11y agoHere's a timeline: journalist speaks to Netflix, Netflix says it's ditching anti-virus, journalist gets further comment, reports. Don't be mad Jon. It'll all be OK.
- criddell 11y agoWhy did the journalist speak to Netflix in the first place?
- OJFord 11y ago[Comment above](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10135598 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10135598) says journalist met Netflix guy at Black Hat.
- criddell 11y agoOk, fair enough. If the writer insists this is a legitimate piece, I'll believe him. You have to admit though, this certainly reads like a native content article. In the current business climate, you can't fault people for assuming this was paid for.
- OJFord 11y agoOh, I certainly do. I wasn't arguing it was a well-thought-through and genuine article, and that the company it talks about is genuinely doing something new and better.
- jonstokes 11y agoI wasn't actually mad until you called yourself a "journalist" just now. That's over the line :p
- jonstokes 11y agoOK, I'm sorry. The above was mean. You have hard, thankless job. I know, I used to do it. Good luck out there.