All sorts of awesome: The Ocean Marketing customer service debacle

[hepcat]

I sit on the fence between Grue and everyone else.  I can understand both sides of the discussion. 

...this must be what it's like to be an independent in a world of democrats and republicans.   

[notrich]

A press release from N-Control:

http://gamerfront.net/2011/12/n-control-responds-to-ocean-marketing-fiasco/15260


Seem like this Kotkin guy was really bad in choosing people to work with. A 38 years old asshole as marketing consultant and maybe business partner that now get thrown under the bus for screwing up badly? A teenage kid as a social media consultant?

a press release with MORE EYEBALLS than ever before imagined possible for that company... congratulations for the greatest free marketing campaign evar!


(also... how many people NEVER heard of this game controller company before?  how many will (almost) NEVER forget the name of the company and product?  Or at least until the product is proven worthy/unworthy)

[Mr. Fed]

Looking for the link where he apparently admits that no one ever threatened his wife or child, he's just worried they might.

As for the Kotaku think-piece:  I'm inherently skeptical of any "it's disproportionate to publicize bad behavior" argument.  It might be disproportionate to fire, prosecute, sue, etc. based on bad behavior.  But I hate, hate, hate "other people are too angry/dumb/shallow to interpret this proportionately, so don't make a scene" thinking.

[Mr. Fed]

With respect to the belief that a quiet, subtle, merciful, non-confrontational, non-public response would have been effective, I'll just leave this here.

[Morgul]

With respect to the belief that a quiet, subtle, merciful, non-confrontational, non-public response would have been effective, I'll just leave this here.

Umm, I seen enough when he said something along the lines of..

It is like sucker punching someone at the bar who you thought was weaker, who then beats your ass.. 
If he would have told me he was a cage fighter I would have never hit him...

Was some pretty funny stuff that someone...  thinks like that.

[TiLT]

This guy no longer just needs a public shaming. His career needs to burn.

[Biyobi]

I think debacle is the wrong word. Hoopla.

Hoopla seems off too. Perhaps a ruckus?

[PR_GMR]

I think debacle is the wrong word. Hoopla.

Hoopla seems off too. Perhaps a ruckus?

I would go with the word clusterfuck. Fits the situation dead on.

[gellar]

With respect to the belief that a quiet, subtle, merciful, non-confrontational, non-public response would have been effective, I'll just leave this here.

Well clearly public shaming as not worked.  Douchebag is still douchebag.

Because douchebag.

[hepcat]

With respect to the belief that a quiet, subtle, merciful, non-confrontational, non-public response would have been effective, I'll just leave this here.

Wow.  There has to be something wrong with the man to take it that far.  That's just irrational.

[Purge]

I think Kotaku is milking a dead cow with this article, and it seems like he's trying to divvy up equal blame.

Provocation is provocation. How we handle ourselves when mad is not the same as how we handle ourselves. I've torn a strip off a plumber a mile wide when he tried to run roughshod over my bankbook - compared to my normal composure I was a raving lunatic (with a point, mind you - and that is exactly the point in this scenario).

Dave dropped 90bux on a product promised to him, and then, when following up on it (so this isn't a single instance scenario), he was being jerked around.

Paul rode high on a short pony, and started name-dropping like it was going out of style (too late, it has!).

Mike gave him perspective. Beyond that, there isn't much more to this than comeuppance for a forgettable douche.

[leo8877]

With respect to the belief that a quiet, subtle, merciful, non-confrontational, non-public response would have been effective, I'll just leave this here.

Wow. This guy is unreal.

[CeeKay]

and the awesomeness continues.

The founders of Penny Arcade pulled a fast one on one of their most notorious foes this weekend, hitting Paul "Ocean Marketing" Christoforo with a prank they say has been in the works for the past three weeks.

Christoforo, who set off an Internet firestorm several months ago when he sent a series of inflammatory e-mails to address a customer complaint, was apparently caught this weekend pretending he was at Penny Arcade's PAX East, a convention he was banned from. On Sunday, he tweeted photos from the show floor as if he was there. But he never took those photos. Penny Arcade co-founders Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins texted them to him.

On Twitter, Christoforo has admitted he did not take the photos but maintains he was at the convention.

As in previous incidents with Christoforo, there's a bit of a back-and-forth to this one.