5 ms·

This is literally the best thing he could have done. Would love to hear more about other people who have been black-mailed too - perhaps there is something much

by bArray 8y ago

This is literally the best thing he could have done. Would love to hear more about other people who have been black-mailed too - perhaps there is something much larger afoot. Hell, if they are this bold about taking on Bezos, potentially the other black-mail-ees are some very influential big hitters (billionaires, politicians, etc). As others have pointed out, the big story is that he's directly accusing them of political motivation (US and/or Saudi), with them threatening him almost confirming that this is correct. For them to show their hand so badly hints strongly towards some guilt. Digging further seems like the last thing they want, so I think it's what should be done. Would just like to add - regardless of how embarrassing the photos may or may not be, any "news" agency that publishes them goes straight to the top of my shit list and hopefully everybody elses too. Would be good if there was some organized way to show solidarity against black mail of this kind.

sonnyblarney 8y ago
I don't agree. He's taking an ostensibly 'strong stand' - but he's also furthering the public furor. Before he was a 'somewhat well known person' but now he's really, really going to be famous, and probably not for the right reasons. And by the way, most people probably don't know how he is yet. That's hard to grasp because we certainly do - but if you walk out your door right now, take a stroll and ask people if they know how 'Jeff Bezos' is, surprisingly fewer people will know who is is than you'd imagine. You know Maroon 5? They were a 'famous' band with hit albums and singles. But since the lead singers role on 'the Voice' - their popularity has skyrocketed into mainstream. Listen to Zuck's sister Randy talk about the history of 'The Social Network' film - apparently the film caused a huge upsurge in FB accounts so it was a blessing. But who among us hadn't heard of Maroon 5 before 'The Voice'? Or Facebook before 'The Social Network'. 'We' are not normal folks. Normal folks have a variety of interests that may not include hearing about Maroon 5, or Facebook in it's early years, or Jeff Bezos. Bezos is entering a new realm of pop culture, the news cycle in a very ugly landscape, and he's opening himself up for trouble. 'The truth' is the first thing lost in the fog of war, and certainly in pop culture war as well. It might have been a better move to simply shut up about it, or at least be low key. Newsrooms work on the fuel of tidbits of facts, actions, and create narratives - without fuel, these issues just fade in the background because other , more clickworthy stuff is always happening. Personally, I would have made a public statement through a rep. which possibly included the extortion notes, just for public record, but I wouldn't for a second make it personal or do things in my name, give interviews etc. etc.. Finally, and something that people have not denoted - but this 'scandal' has it's essence partly in sneaky photos - but mostly in the notion that 'Bezos, supposedly family man, was caught cheating on his wife'. I don't know the details of what happened, but this perception can actually be damaging. Even among those who are more liberal on such issues ... the idea of a rich billionaire guy, philandering around with some woman while his wife and kids are at home ... this is a bad image irrespective of what reality is. The only winners in media storms are those for whom it's a way of life, i.e. 'their only value' - like newsrooms and media creations like Donald Trump. I feel Bezos might be getting sucked into a storm he may not be able to get out of. There are very few things that could risk his tenure as CEO of Amazon, but a wrong turn in the public eye is surprisingly easy, and it could cause trouble. People lose their CEO jobs often not because the board things some real wrongdoing has happened, but because public opinion is just up in a fuss about something. Edit: If he is making ostensible claims that the US or Saudi's are actively spying on him, this could hurt him. True or not, it just sounds wildly conspicuous and conspiratorial, and it could easily turn into fodder for those who might not want to treat him well. It could also hurt his position among regular business people who might see it as a wild claim, irrespective of what the truth is.
- kumarvvr 8y ago
  I am curious, if you were in Jeff Bezos place what would you do? I mean, what would you do after you get that email from NE lawyer?
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    I said in my post I would probably make a carefully worded statement through a spokesperson for the public record, possibly including the email, and avoid in any way creating something the press or anyone else could buy into as clickbait narrative. Stay out of the public eye entirely, no photos, personal quotes, attacks etc.. Bezos will not win if this blows up. He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record. Think of the legacy of Bill and Melinda Gates. It's relatively unscathed.
    - kumarvvr 8y ago
      >He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record. This will happen even if he does what you said. > Think of the legacy of Bill and Melinda Gates. It's relatively unscathed. Yeah, that's because they did not do anything wrong. Here, Jeff cheated on his wife and he is facing the consequences. BTW, Bill gates was very much reviled during the early Microsoft days. People tend to see beyond his past actions due to his tremendously useful social work he has undertaken since he left MS.
    - rsynnott 8y ago
      > He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record I think fewer people than you think are still willing to defend Pecker.

by bArray 8y ago

sonnyblarney 8y ago

I don't agree. He's taking an ostensibly 'strong stand' - but he's also furthering the public furor. Before he was a 'somewhat well known person' but now he's really, really going to be famous, and probably not for the right reasons. And by the way, most people probably don't know how he is yet. That's hard to grasp because we certainly do - but if you walk out your door right now, take a stroll and ask people if they know how 'Jeff Bezos' is, surprisingly fewer people will know who is is than you'd imagine. You know Maroon 5? They were a 'famous' band with hit albums and singles. But since the lead singers role on 'the Voice' - their popularity has skyrocketed into mainstream. Listen to Zuck's sister Randy talk about the history of 'The Social Network' film - apparently the film caused a huge upsurge in FB accounts so it was a blessing. But who among us hadn't heard of Maroon 5 before 'The Voice'? Or Facebook before 'The Social Network'. 'We' are not normal folks. Normal folks have a variety of interests that may not include hearing about Maroon 5, or Facebook in it's early years, or Jeff Bezos. Bezos is entering a new realm of pop culture, the news cycle in a very ugly landscape, and he's opening himself up for trouble. 'The truth' is the first thing lost in the fog of war, and certainly in pop culture war as well. It might have been a better move to simply shut up about it, or at least be low key. Newsrooms work on the fuel of tidbits of facts, actions, and create narratives - without fuel, these issues just fade in the background because other , more clickworthy stuff is always happening. Personally, I would have made a public statement through a rep. which possibly included the extortion notes, just for public record, but I wouldn't for a second make it personal or do things in my name, give interviews etc. etc.. Finally, and something that people have not denoted - but this 'scandal' has it's essence partly in sneaky photos - but mostly in the notion that 'Bezos, supposedly family man, was caught cheating on his wife'. I don't know the details of what happened, but this perception can actually be damaging. Even among those who are more liberal on such issues ... the idea of a rich billionaire guy, philandering around with some woman while his wife and kids are at home ... this is a bad image irrespective of what reality is. The only winners in media storms are those for whom it's a way of life, i.e. 'their only value' - like newsrooms and media creations like Donald Trump. I feel Bezos might be getting sucked into a storm he may not be able to get out of. There are very few things that could risk his tenure as CEO of Amazon, but a wrong turn in the public eye is surprisingly easy, and it could cause trouble. People lose their CEO jobs often not because the board things some real wrongdoing has happened, but because public opinion is just up in a fuss about something. Edit: If he is making ostensible claims that the US or Saudi's are actively spying on him, this could hurt him. True or not, it just sounds wildly conspicuous and conspiratorial, and it could easily turn into fodder for those who might not want to treat him well. It could also hurt his position among regular business people who might see it as a wild claim, irrespective of what the truth is.

kumarvvr 8y ago
I am curious, if you were in Jeff Bezos place what would you do? I mean, what would you do after you get that email from NE lawyer?
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  I said in my post I would probably make a carefully worded statement through a spokesperson for the public record, possibly including the email, and avoid in any way creating something the press or anyone else could buy into as clickbait narrative. Stay out of the public eye entirely, no photos, personal quotes, attacks etc.. Bezos will not win if this blows up. He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record. Think of the legacy of Bill and Melinda Gates. It's relatively unscathed.
  - kumarvvr 8y ago
    >He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record. This will happen even if he does what you said. > Think of the legacy of Bill and Melinda Gates. It's relatively unscathed. Yeah, that's because they did not do anything wrong. Here, Jeff cheated on his wife and he is facing the consequences. BTW, Bill gates was very much reviled during the early Microsoft days. People tend to see beyond his past actions due to his tremendously useful social work he has undertaken since he left MS.
  - rsynnott 8y ago
    > He'll win in the eyes of a few people, and lose in others, and it will only create a stain on his record I think fewer people than you think are still willing to defend Pecker.