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		<title>Who's the pot & who's the kettle?</title>
		<description>Discuss Who's the pot & who's the kettle?</description>
		<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html</link>
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			<title>Mark Twomey says:</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-602</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Tony, you have this amazing ability to make everything about you. I was replying to Curtis not to you. You'll know when I'm addressing you as I'll use your name. Until then, don't assuming or guess or think that I'm talking about or to you. I'm not. Persecution complexes? BORING!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Mark Twomey</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2009 15:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-602</guid>
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			<title>I am glad you weighed in</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-601</link>
			<description><![CDATA[@Mark - the way you write EMC should give you a raise to drop off the Internet ;-) Btw - I could stop blogging tomorrow and still get paid - so your argument doesn't hold up. Additionally, other vendors including your pals at VMware have paid-for-bloggers. One of them even reached out to me and said that he agreed with my side of the argument and told me that he is paid to blog for VMware. In fact, just about everyone is supporting me - you guys stand very alone on this issue. Given that the EMCers are on one side of the argument and I am on the other - the third-parties have all sided with me. But of course I am sure you have a rationalization for that as well, Mark. @Curtis. Actually read my comment again - the bigger issue is whether money buys your loyalty and my argument is that is subjective whether you are an employee or a consultant. Additionally employment is not a marriage and consultancy is not prostitution. I am glad you weighed in. This is a legitimate discussion on a number of levels. - Tony]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Tony Asaro</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2009 09:16:10 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-601</guid>
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			<title>I should have just stayed out of this cat fight</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-598</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I managed to tick off both groups (based on some private messages I got) &#64;Mark: Nice Dr. Phil reference. I still think you should clean up your side of the street, but you obviously have a different opinion. &#64;Tony: First, I didn't mean to suggest that you didn't say you were being paid to write. And apparently the &#34;hired gun&#34; analogy had as negative of a connotation to you as the &#34;hooker&#34; analogy. I didn't mean it negatively. Being a hired gun just means you were hired due to your gunslinging skills (or in your case, wordslinging. There can be a long term relationship and you can absolutely believe in the &#34;cause.&#34; Think Virgil Cole (Vigo Mortenson) in Apaloosa, not Ring Shelton (Lance Henriksen). (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800308/) Virgil believed in what he was doing (that is, putting the evil Randall Bragg - Jeremy Irons - in his place). But he was still a hired gun, and as such he would only keep his job if he continued fighting for the townfolk. Virgil's role was really no different than Marshall Jack Bell (Robert Jauregui) who was the &#34;employee&#34; in the story. (Of course he was killed a few minutes into the movie...) Both were different than Ring Shelton, who was just hired to do dastardly things on behalf of Randall Bragg. I just meant that you are being paid to write, and therefore, you will need to write things that are in support of the company's mission. It follows, therefore, that what you write for these companies will not contain the full breadth of your thoughts on these companies, any more than what Mark writes represents everything he thinks about EMC. You said as much in your comment. If you continue to support them, they will continue to support you with money. If you slam them in their own blog, you won't be employed very long. &#64;Mark,Chuck,Val, etc.: The same is true of you. You may not be officially be getting paid to blog, but if your blog starts saying negative things about EMC, you'll be out of a job really quick-like. I agree that in today's world that the fact that you're employed by EMC makes you no more or less &#34;sold out&#34; than Tony. &#64;All of ya': I'm NOT saying that this makes what you're saying untrue or that what you're doing is immoral, etc. I'm just saying that I when I read something written by an employee or consultant of a company, I automatically assume that I'm getting only one side of the story. So I still think you're both hired guns (again, in a Vigo, not Lance, sort of way). So I'm surprised that Tony is shocked by your attacks to him, and I'm surprised that you see him as any different than you.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>W. Curtis Preston</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2009 00:47:21 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-598</guid>
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			<title>We\'ll agree to disagree, then</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-600</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Won't be the first or the last time. ;-)]]></description>
			<dc:creator>W. Curtis Preston</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 16:08:55 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-600</guid>
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			<title>Mark Twomey says:</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-599</link>
			<description><![CDATA[These things either burn on or burn out Curtis, there's nothing but third degree burns in the middle. I will say one thing, I drop off the internet right this minute and I still get every euro I'm due at the end of the week. And on this matter I believe we have reached it's logical conclusion.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Mark Twomey</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 16:03:43 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-599</guid>
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			<title>Mark Twomey says:</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-597</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I don't see any form of apology forthcoming Curtis. Tony and I have differing opinions I think we both accept that and I am not and would not seek an apology for any slights of his which I may have found offensive regardless of if they were preemptive, self defense or what not. You've read his side, I didn't and don't feel the need to post my thoughts on the matter. It's clear neither of us are capable of backing down when we get into it and I think we both understand that. And that's pretty much that. You're like Dr. Phil without the Oprah money. ;-)]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Mark Twomey</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-597</guid>
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			<title>Silly, sick, sad, stupid and serious</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-596</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Curtis, An interesting discussion. Your message specifically to me confuses me - I made it very clear what my role was- twice in the blog and once in the comments - my role as a consultant is to help drive the mission of my clients. I have no illusions about this and I made that crystal clear. Additionally, I can write whatever I want but the right thing to do is write within the context of my responsibilities as a consultant - driving the mission of my clients forward. If I deviate from that once or twice it might raise an eyebrow - if I do it consistently then I am sure it would lead to a conversation. If I continue to do it - then I am failing in my role and the relationship would probably end. The term hired gun implies that there is no deeper commitment beyond getting paid - as does the more base &#34;hooker&#34; comparison. Perhaps there are consultants that are hired guns and hookers - perhaps there are employees that are as well. The level of commitment varies from individual to individual and is not based on your role. Does being an employee automatically make you &#34;married&#34; to your company? I don't believe that being an employee inherently provides you with a deeper commitment or higher moral standing just because you work for a company full-time. Most employees I know keep their options open if something better comes along. That doesn't sound like a marriage to me. Mmmm. Let me think of a recent example - oh yes - Dave Donatelli. Did Donatelli just leave EMC after many years of marriage to get married to HP? No, he worked for EMC and for probably a number of reasons unbeknownst to us decided to make a move. To use your word &#34;silly&#34; - making a comparison to employment as a marriage and consulting as prostitution is beyond silly - it is ridiculous and in very bad taste. And it reflects on the character of the person who said it more than anything. I believe my blog on this subject is important and not silly - even though it deviates from technology - it does talk about character, culture, behavior and communication. All of these things are relevant - because when we make purchasing decisions for products we need to also consider the culture and character of that vendor. I didn't post my blog because I felt hurt by what they were saying. I posted it because I wanted to bring to light what was occurring and to put a stake in the ground.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Tony Asaro</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-596</guid>
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		<item>
			<title>We all have our opinions</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-595</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ah, I didn't realize it was on Twitter. That explains why I didn't see it in the blog. Even if it was "just one of those things," I do think you crossed a line there and an apology is called for. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Just because "the Internet is a tough place" doesn't mean that we shouldn't be civil on it. I was also contacted privately by somebody who said, "So you're saying there's no difference between a wife and a hooker?" (He didn't want to put his name on this publicly. Go figure.) Let's just speak plainly, shall we? A hooker/prostitute/streetwalker (whatever word you want to use) commits an illegal act (in most locales) and during said act she pretends to like somebody she doesn't. My opinion is that as long as Tony (or anyone else) is doing nothing illegal and aren't pretending to like a product that they actually don't like, then there is no call to use such terms to describe what they do. It may be funny. It may make you feel better, but it's unprofessional. I'm back to attack the content, not the person.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>W. Curtis Preston</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:02:52 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-595</guid>
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			<title>Mark Twomey says:</title>
			<link>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-594</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Let me put that in context. I never said he was pimping anything out but I did call him an IT Industry streetwalker on Twitter one night when he and I got into it. It was just one of those things. He then said he was &#34;going to kick my ass&#34;, both of those put together should highlight how infantile the argument was. But you move on. The internet is a tough place, wear a helmet. His run ins with Barry over on his HDS blog and Chuck who knows where are between him and them. I've had my own run ins with a rogues gallery of industry figures, there's probably only one of them I dislike as a *person* having met them but I don't wish any of the rest of them ill. As to your analysis we do find ourselves in agreement on a number of points, this has been proven to have happened before it has now happened again. I don't get a penny for any time or effort I put into my blogging, but I do now have a skill and a level of recognition (Not all positive mind you) that other employees do not have. I started this off my own back and have kept it up, I've had kudos from and run ins with people inside the company who I'd never have cause to speak to before. When things go badly it does erase a lot of the upside from when things go well. While I will and do push it much further than most, if not anyone else, the moment you start to think of yourself as anything more than a hired hand is the split second before they fire you.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Mark Twomey</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:20:57 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/239-pot-kettle.html#comment-594</guid>
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