Bloggers working for Gizmodo pulled a prank on exhibitors at CES using a TV-B-Gone remote to turn off dozens of vendor displays at booths and during presentations. The results are undoubtedly amusing as you can see in this video Gizmodo aptly titled "Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES."
Amusing yes, but the stunt has sparked an online debate with some taking the position it was a harmless joke and others suggesting it was mean spirited mischief that could get Gizmodo banned from next year's CES and possibly sued.
UPDATE
Several news outlets are reporting that the Consumer Electronics Association has officially responded to Gizmodo's prank banning a Gizmodo staffer (namely Gizmodo Editor Brian Lam) from attending future CES events.
In a blog posting at CNET staffer Rafe Needleman posts CEA's official response:
"We have been informed of inappropriate behavior on the show floor by a credentialed media attendee from the Web site Gizmodo, owned by Gawker Media. Specifically, the Gizmodo staffer interfered with the exhibitor booth operations of numerous companies, including disrupting at least one press event. The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of CES media credentials and caused harm to CES exhibitors. This Gizmodo staffer has been identified and will be barred from attending any future CES events. Additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker Media are under discussion."
It's questionable now whether Gizmodo is now enjoying all the attention its prank has brought it.
Before CEA released its statement Lam posted an apology: "It was too much fun, but watching this video, we realize it probably made some people's jobs harder, and I don't agree with that (Especially Motorola). We're sorry."
Will that be enough to sate targets of Gizmodo's prank which included Panasonic, Motorola, Dish Network, Intel, and others.
Here are some takes from around the Web on the Gizmodo stunt:
"That was very funny indeed; but I think Gizmodo is going to have a hard time getting into CES next year when this video reaches some high execs at the affected companies." ? one of 507 comments at Digg.com
"Nothing short of a kudo to Gizmodo." ? Comment posted to Gizmodo
"Funniest s*&# I've seen all day. Congratulations Gizmodo, you win thar prize!" ? Comment posted to Gizmodo
"I'm coming at this from the perspective of a videogame journalist/enthusiast who has worked at trying to garner respectability for the online blogging/website community for almost seven years. This is truly disgraceful, and as I say in my blog, this sets us back and is going to make it even more difficult to become credible." ?comment found at CNET.
"Gizmodo's poor judgment amazes me. Not only do they give bloggers in general a black eye. But they are gadget guys and this is the biggest show of the year for them. I would guess that next year, they will pay retail to get through the door and once through it, they will not be credentialed to attend events where news they should cover will unfold.
On the other hand, they probably will think up a clever ruse to get through the door anyhow." ? opinion expressed by blogger at Global Neighbourhoods.
I think the bottom line is that if it cost anyone an appreciable amount of money or business, then someone owes someone. Otherwise, a prank is a prank. If THIS industry starts getting too stuffy for a little fun, we're all in trouble, and with bloggers worried about their images (oh, my *goodness*), it may already be too late.
A prank is a prank. If people cannot accept that and are too stuffy to laugh about it, then the industry really is that pretentious...
Simple math says that Motorola probably paid $50,000 for the 5-10 minutes that were unproductive because of the prank. Not to mention lost sales from the bad impression that it gave people -- other articles have quoted people who saw it as thinking pretty badly of the company. Is this enough of a loss for y'all to care about?
The real problem here is one that so far no one has discussed, how many technicians running these shows have to get fired or replaced for next years show because of these knuckleheads. As one of those tech's who fortunately works for an understanding client who is aware of this fiasco, I'm safe. But I can't say the same for the rest of my brethren. How would they like it if I showed up as a tech one day at their office and as a "prank" erased their blog for a while.
SHAME ON YOU
Oh please lighten up. The world needs a little more laughter. This was not done maliciously. These are probably the same sort of persons who came up with the video game Grand Theft Auto. You know, the one that shows extremely violence against women and law enforcement. Oh, but they are not marketing to children, it is an adult game. Oh, I guess then that's ok.
I've had some fun with my T.V. Be Gone because some of them REALLY need to be.