Will you boycott the Huffington Post now that Ariana Huffington has exploited her workers?

[Pryderi]

Poll question: Will you boycott the Huffington Post now that Ariana Huffington has exploited her workers?

Arianna Huffington dismissed the whole idea of a strike. "Go ahead, go on strike," she said. She laughed at "the idea of going on strike when no one really notices."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7826552/strike_called_against_the_huffington_pg2.html?cat=2

[burrowowl]

1. Kick

[Pryderi]

2. If we're going to support union members in Wisconsin, we should support the writers who were

exploited by Ariana Huffington

[marions ghost]

13. absolutely

:thumbsup:

[Toucano]

3. Other

I don't read the Huffington Post because I don't like the content; its fast and loose with facts and sensationalistic.

[Lebam in LA]

4. I had been visiting less and less

over the months and quit completly when she sold out to AOL. Guess now that she is back making the big bucks she is turning back into a republican agian.

[IndyJones]

5. No one exploited those writers.

They are adults who chose to write for HP to get the exposure. I'll continue to get my daily HP email update and if I see anything interesting, I'll click on the link to read. It's not like HP has ever been my "go to" source for independent thought or breaking news.

[BillyJack]

7. vomituous n/t

[IndyJones]

11. If you're bulemic, find help. How that has anything to do with HP is a mystery.

[chillspike]

33. Do you contribute content to DU?

Then, guess what, you're a writer. So why aren't you demanding your cut from DU?

[BillyJack]

56. My writing on DU isn't that good or insightful for one thing.

:-P

[starroute]

38. They became exploited when she made a profit off their work

It's as though an appeal had gone out for help fixing up a historical old building and many people spent their weekends renovating it -- only to have the building's owner turn around and sell it for an ample profit. The people might not have felt exploited at the time, when they thought they were doing something for their community, but down the road they were certainly taken advantage of.

It's the same way with HuffPo. The bloggers weren't just looking for a free platform and some exposure. They also felt they were working to create a significant progressive presence online. And not only has Ariana profited nicely off their unpaid labor, she also looks to have sold out the progressive nature of the site.

[onehandle]

6. I've never seen, much less clicked on a single ad there thanks to Ad and Flash blockers on my Mac.

But I suppose I can find the T&A and celebrity sleaze that they provide elsewhere.

[chillspike]

19. Whoops

Replied to wrong poster.

[ReggieVeggie]

51. I never click on ads anywhere ever

[JI7]

8. i always thought HP sucked, but Arianna fooled a lot of people and made out pretty well

[Cali_Democrat]

9. I never clicked on that site very much

Always slowed down my browser for some reason.

Meh

[prairierose]

10. I have been since the sale because there was no mention...

of paying the writers.

[BlueMTexpat]

12. Other. I never clicked on the site much,

so "boycott" isn't really applicable. When I got there at all, it was usually because I wanted to read a specific piece by a specific author.
I remembered Ariana only too well from her overtly RW days. I never really believed that she had actually had a political epiphany, although I will admit that she talked a good game for awhile.

[Number_Six]

14. Don't go there anymore

Place tends to stink of DINO's....Dems In Name Only. Prefer it here, yes.

[SpiralHawk]

15. Huff already overloaded with crap and crap graphics

Don't need or want the sludge they are selling...

[CommonSensePLZ]

16. Maybe I'll just protest by spamming them with extra accounts, since they always get banned

In like a few seconds anyway. lol

[JTFrog]

17. Never bought into her bullshit to begin with. n/t

[DCKit]

24. +1 Never been. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

28. Stumbled upon it a few times, but never on purpose.

[Ikonoklast]

48. Yep. Always knew she was just working a con.

Never trusted her, never liked her, never clicked on her website.

[Hannah Bell]

18. never bought her, the site was bloated & always hung up my computer, so

i didn't go there.

she always struck me as a "society" type.

seeing her reaction to the strike, i think that was about it.

[chillspike]

20. Hey, I'm a writer here at DU

We all are. We provide free content here. Can I get paid?

The point is DU provides us a platform to speak and share our views with many people.

If I want to keep something I have written to myself I post it on my own website not at DU.

That said, I don't really know the specific agreements HP had between some writers and themselves.

[chillspike]

26. repost (nt)

[leveymg]

40. When Skinner gets $300 mil, then I'll go on strike.

Until then, he can keep the change. He and the others have earned it. Not so with Ariana.

[sendero]

59. Face it...

... you have ZERO IDEA how much money DU makes for its owners. Probably not millions, but nonetheless, you have no idea.

[leveymg]

60. They deliver good value.

Plus, there's the brand loyalty, which is HUGH! That's what really counts.

[sendero]

62. LOL..

.. well I don't begrudge the owners of DU their success, they earned it. But my point stands.

[shraby]

21. I don't find much of any interest to read there anyway.

[Codeine]

22. HuffPo is weak. Endless woo nonsense. nt

[Vinca]

23. I post on HuffPo because people read the site, whether we like it or not,

and I don't want some of the right wing bullshit to stand unchallenged.

[bemildred]

25. I bailed out on HuffPo long ago. nt

[mmonk]

27. When they started having a lot of celebrity "news", I spent less time

at Huffington Post. So no real change of habit from me. However, if they have a good post or story there, I will use it as I do anywhere.

[madmom]

29. I've always been a little leery of her, just couldn't put my finger on why. Well I

guess deep down, I know this leopard hadn't changed it's spots.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. The mutual promotion society that is Huffington Post has long

been as dull as any tavern filled with B listers telling tales of their glory.

[jp11]

31. No, they volunteered and want to get paid after the fact.

I didn't frequent HP it was/is too 'busy' with crap. The writers/artists volunteered to offer content and did so without expectation of pay AFAIK, unless they were promised something they don't 'deserve' benefits of the sale. Should they have gotten paid yes, but when people do things for free they can't then claim owed wages.

If I offer to shovel my neighbors driveway/walkway, mow their lawn, etc for free or unsolicited and they don't stop me/accept my work, I can't demand payment for services rendered whether they win the lottery or sell their house 'due to my upkeep' on it.

Volunteers don't strike they stop volunteering, and you can only 'exploit' a volunteer as much as they let you.

[chillspike]

32. Chiming in again

Come on people. Don't we liberals have bigger enemies than the Huffington Post? I think we should admit there is a gray area here. Plenty of website work by user created content, including DU, where the user doesn't get paid for their submissions. I dont know what kind of contracts Arianna had with some if her writers but I think we're being a little hard on her in this case.

[CommonSensePLZ]

34. So it's totally ok for her to make hundreds of millions on other peoples' work

And further for her to be a cheap-o and not reimburse any of the people who made her rich? I don't know what those guys are asking, but I bet she could pay them each tens of thousands without even a major dent in her wallet. Greed really makes people into dicks.

As for me, I'm not on DU or whatever to make money (partly because I'm still trying to figure out how ;)), I like the forum and exchange of opinion and news.

[chillspike]

41. Okay, fine.

As a contributor here at DU I would like my check sent to my bank account by direct deposit. I will also expect my cut of the loot if the DU is someday sold.

[whathehell]

35. Definitely unsubscribing, especially after reading what's at the link

that sneering, anti-worker prick

Mark Whittington...This guy all but spits on their action.

I spit on him and Huffpo:puke:

[superduperfarleft]

36. I already boycott HP because the majority of what they produce is garbage.

It's either celebrity news or woo nonsense. HP is about as useful a news source as the Oprah show or TMZ.

[genna]

46. Agreed. It is fluff and stuff. I feel better about myself going there than TMZ, but only slightly.

[seabeyond]

37. tabloid. i havent read her in years. i dont like all her garbage. nt

[leveymg]

39. She needs to do a revenue-sharing agreement with content providers, or no more HuffPo.

No more excuses, Arianna. You have plenty of money, now.

[SalviaBlue]

42. I haven't gone there since she sold it.

AOL? I don't think so.

[susanr516]

43. Other--I never liked the site

Seemed too much like tabloid journalism to me.

[A Simple Game]

44. Rarely thought it was worth the bother before.

Can't see how it would be any different now.

[genna]

45. Other --- I like to know what the other side does to fuel propaganda

After a read about the psychological effects students demonstrated after a group of psychologists put them in a prisoners and guards scenario, I thought we might all be a fishbowl just like that. Since then, I have tried to find different instances where the prisoner/guard paradigm might be repeated. One instance: I read the Turner Diaries and other aryan nations type of literature/propaganda pieces to see how you can change a person's sense of right and wrong to the point that a lone wolf is created. The second instant: the destruction of the liberal paradigm from the 1950s to today.

Arianna Huffington is a part of it. She convinced all these liberals that she was down with the cause. She exploited their labor and their efforts by giving them platitudes. Now, she has cashed in on their labor. What formalized agreement did she give any of her laborers? I'd like to see how it all evolves. How did Huffington go from wonderfully engaging conservative talker to liberal shill?

For those writers involved, I extend my best wishes. If the unions regulate Hollywood film and studios, maybe writers can unionize and bargain for their fair wages.

[DaisyDeedles]

47. I've already been boycotting it because it's a shite website full of bugs.

So many gewgaws and whizbangs it takes forever and a half to open an article. That's if it doesn't cause your browser to freeze.

[Brickbat]

49. I never read it in the first place. Having said that, I've never understood the attraction of

giving away one's work for free in exchange for "exposure." It's beyond stupid.

[TroglodyteScholar]

50. I might boycott HuffPo if I ever read it in the first place...

...But it seems like 90% garbage, and even the "high quality" content is pretty bogus and just reads like some half-intelligent people whining.

[Starry Messenger]

52. Bloated website.

I try not to go there or link there anyway, unless that is the single only area to find a story. Even then I'll try to wait a few days to see if it pops up somewhere else.

[krawhitham]

53. Kick

[Quantess]

54. Sure, why not. It loads too slow, anyway.

[Drew Richards]

55. Not Just Because of that but because

The entire site is a sham...She was a wealthy Republican before the blog site and now she is again and it shows in the articles being printed there and their bias in controlling comments, allowing Republican trolls unfettered access and blocking valid opposing commentators.

[lpbk2713]

57. Other -- I seldom go there.

The few times I visited her website it made my browser crash.
So I just don't go there any more.

[proud2BlibKansan]

58. Stopped reading it when it became People magazine online

[Doremus]

61. I've been boycotting it ever since they sold it.

I've never been a big fan anyway. Arianna is an opportunist sellout, always has been, always will be.

I'd be happy if no one ever linked to HP again or even mentioned it in passing.

[sendero]

63. Huffington..

... didn't "exploit" anyone. You cannot rape the willing. The people who contributed content did so under the rules that applied at the time.

That said, AOL is the kiss of death. If there is a company that can turn gold into shit, they are it. I rarely read HP before, and it will be even more rare now.

[deacon]

64. She turned into everybody else in the msm. She's a money talks dudette. n/t

[Jamastiene]

65. Well, if I went there regularly in the first place, I might boycott it.

I went there a few times, but did not like it. When I did go, I noticed that it was full of popups that distracted me from what I was trying to read and took the cursor focus off the text, so I was forced to find a spot that wasn't an ad to click just so I could scroll down. It just wasn't worth it to go back after that experience.

That is one of my biggest pet peeves on any web site. I hate any site that has so many popups, ads, and flashing graphics that take your eye off the text you are trying to read. Fuck that shit. I hate that and any other nonsense that takes away the ability to scroll with the arrow keys without having to click the text repeatedly, while hoping you don't click an ad accidentally. That is beyond annoying.