It’s no secret, there are a lot of tricks of the trade when it comes to travel. Some of these “tricks” or “tips” are more widely known, and others are not.
So what happens when one person decides to share the secrets he’s learned on the open internet? You get one very heated debate.
Let’s break this down, shall we?
You attend conferences and seminars to learn valuable information that can benefit you, the other participants and then in many cases your friends or readers – if you happen to have a blog.
Most of the time, when you share information you’ve learned, the presented is thrilled that you’re spreading their message. But, in this case, the presenters are sharing so-called secrets. Secrets are being discussed openly at an event or events which are open to the public, widely attended and frequently reported on. How can you expect anything that you share at a conference to remain a secret?
The Mr. Pickles posted “Down Under Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know” and people criticize him for sharing a deal that’s known by many and say it’s likely going to get quashed by the company now.
As many people know, there was a Boarding Area Conference, called BACon that was held in May. Many non-boarding area bloggers attended (including several F2B blogger, I was not one.) Following that conference one of the bloggers I respect the most, Loyalty Traveler wrote one of the best pieces of the year, in my opinion, called Bacon Bits About Credit Card Affiliate Marketing. Why aren’t the bloggers up in arms about those secrets?
Bloggers frequently share “secret” ways to get status for “free” in their blogs. Why doesn’t anyone complain about that? Last week there was a post about how to get free Virgin Atlantic Silver Status and several blogs (even on F2B) used Virgin Atlantic in the title. If anythings going to tip off a vendor about a “secret” it’s going to be that. My opinion is that you should be more upset with the Virgin Atlantic posts than one that doesn’t call out the vendor in the title. But that’s just my opinion.
At least a few times a year there’s a post on one, or many, blogs about how to get free Hilton status, or free Accor Status. One of the most well respected bloggers out there, Gary Leff who writes View From The Wing shares the Accor status info whenever it’s available. There are threads dedicated to this on discussion boards, and if you think the powers that be at the big brands aren’t following the discussion boards, then I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
My point is this, you can’t share information in a public forum, whether a conference, a blog or forum and expect it to be kept secret. Imagine Apple saying “We’re going to share some secrets with you about the iPhone 6, but don’t tell anyone.”
If these are such big secrets, then they should be shared in private or in a place where there is some expectation of privacy.
Amen to that. Some of these bloggers need to come down from their ivory towers. I don’t know why they think this information should only be available to those who have the time to sit at conferences about travel.
All Ric wrote wasn’t a secret. So we weren’t forced to swear that we wouldn’t tell anyone. If you want you can ask me or anyone what was being talked about in BACon and there wouldn’t be an issue with me telling you or even posting what I learned during the conference.
I do think what Mr. Pickles is writing about is excellent, although I wasn’t at FTU so I don’t know what kind of agreement was in place.
Jeff, the majority of bloggers keep what they earn from Affiliate links very tight to their chest. It’s a topic that is often asked about in the forums and if it weren’t a secret, then why aren’t the bloggers openly sharing the information about how much they’re earning?
“My point is this, you can’t share information in a public forum, whether a conference, a blog or forum and expect it to be kept secret.” This is despite the fact that not one single blogger saw fit to publish the content of the session.
Just to be clear, let’s break this down further.
You’re defense is:
A) At an event where everyone was asked to keep a secret or to leave the room, it’s unreasonable to trust Mr. Pickle’s
B) Someone else did something one time so it’s okay if we do it too (AKA When it comes to integrity, we adhere to the highest of minimum standards)
Regarding Loyalty Traveler, you weren’t there so I wouldn’t expect you to know this, but there was no agreement that the content of the sessions was to be kept secret. Loyalty Traveler was free to write about BAcon however he wished. And I’m sure that if there had been an agreement, Loyalty Traveler would have kept to and not published the details of the session.
Gary Leff has been writing about Accor status long before FTU, so I’m not sure how you think that’s relevant to what was discussed at that conference.
In his posts, Mr. Pickels specifically mentions that it is his intent to disclose information that he was asked not to disclose, so he can’t claim ignorance as an excuse.
First2Board makes a point of displaying the “Blog with Integrity” badge on every page. Part of that pledge is “When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.”
Perhaps you’re not familiar with basic “Journalism Standards”, but part of the ethical code is to be both independent and impartial and to to work with honesty and respect. That includes respect for sources and subjects of coverage.
Unless Mr. Pickels got permission from the speaker at the session, he’s neither being respectful of his source or sensitive to the circumstance in which he gathered that information.
His behavior hardly represents “I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.”
Do you really believe you’re living up to that standard or is the “Blog with Integrity” badge just for display?
My question to you, are you defending Mr. Pickels because it’s in your own economic self-interest, or do you really believe that he has the high moral ground here?
Kool Beans, I am pretty clear in my post about my opinion. Don’t share things publicly If you don’t want them shared with the rest of the world.
I do blog with integrity, and that badge is an individual thing. If you look, not all F2B bloggers have the badge, only those who took the pledge, individually.
I don’t think anyone has the high-moral ground…not the people who are criticizing Mr Pickles or Mr Pickles. But, I do believe that if you’re going to share things in a public forum, you better be prepared that someone may share them, in another public forum.
I think the very notion of notion of this stuff being a “secret” is absurd as “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. No, what happens in Vegas ends up on the internet. If he didn’t post it someone else would have.
“I don’t think anyone has the high-moral ground…not the people who are criticizing Mr Pickles or Mr Pickles. But, I do believe that if you’re going to share things in a public forum, you better be prepared that someone may share them, in another public forum.”
For you to say that the speakers share the blame is (at best) to take an ethically dubious position. Granted it’s not the moral equivalent, but it’s the same logic that people use to blame a rape victim because of what she was wearing.
That you claim that you’re not defending him but at the same time offering up the excuse that Gary Leff and Loyalty Traveler have done something similar is absolutely shameful. You should apologize to Gary Leff and Loyalty Traveler for the comparison.
And Mr. Pickels should apologize to the speakers whose trust he betrayed.
As the founder of First2Board you have an obligation to either call him out for his actions or you taint you own integrity with your silence.
You did take a pledge “I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them”, right?
Kool Beans, just out of curiosity, you think its ok for the info to be shared with anyone who went to FTU and no one else? Am I missing something here? Anyone with $100 can show up right? I fail to see how this info is extremely exclusive and only meant for a select bunch. I’ve attended conferences that cost 10x as much and they broadcast the damn thing on the web live for people who can’t attend.
Nick,
I don’t have a problem with sharing information, and you won’t catch me blaming bloggers for ‘deal killing’.
I have a problem with Mr. Pickels publishing a speaker’s content when the ground rules for the conversation were that it was off the record and not for publication.
It’s unethical of him to to have shared the content under those circumstances. I have a problem with him not respecting his sources. Don’t publish without permission. Very basic journalism 101.
He sold out his ethics for pageviews and clicks. That’s disgusting and indefensible.
Moreover, I have a problem with Stacy saying that the speakers somehow share the blame for Mr. Pickels’ conduct. I have a problem with her as both a prominent member of the miles and points community and a high profile blogger defending Mr. Pickels.
it’s bad enough that she’s defending a blogger just because he’s a blogger, but it’s even more disappointing that she’s doing it when her own economic self interest is at stake. I though that First2Board was supposed to put ethics and readers ahead of economics and commissions.
I have a problem with her trying to launder Mr. Pickels reputation by grouping him with two very highly respected bloggers, Loyalty Traveler and Gary Leff,
As the founder of this site she should be especially sensitive to ethical concerns.
“How can you expect anything that you share at a conference to remain a secret?”
When everyone in the room agrees to a certain set of standards of behavior it is hard to feel any sympathy for someone who has decided those standards do not apply to themselves personally, even after they agreed to abide by them. If you already know all the secrets and want to share them then don’t participate in the session. If you sit in a room where you agree that the discussions will remain “off the record” then stand by that decision. But don’t claim you have integrity simply because you were in a room with 400 other people and it was inevitable that the secret would have leaked anyways. It is even more ridiculous to claim such as the first person to make the decision to break that promise.
Congrats on generating all the clicks. Too bad you didn’t manage to demonstrate integrity in the process.
Seth, I actually did not attend the session, I made no agreements nor did I publish anything other than my opinion of the topic. I “leaked” no secrets as you claim. Are you sure you didn’t mean to post this comment on someone else’s blog? You seem a bit confused.
Nothing about what’s I’ve written about reduces or jeopardizes by integrity, but thanks for caring.