Insofar as my points, you clearly stated you are friends (and working with) Cowboy. To me, being discharged from the network was inevitable: whether you were The Duce, whether The Duce said nasty things about 9rules, or whether you save kittens in trees in your free time. Your friends are your friends, and you must beware the consequences of associating with some people. That was (and still is) the entire point of this post. From the title to the last sentence.

The end result is that you guys know what you’re doing. Your company tries to manipulate the public into thinking you’re doing something different by arguing pointless “facts” across blogs (you’ve done it many times before) in order to obscure what’s really going on. You guys were desperately looking for PR, you found a way, and you got it. No amount of arguing will convince me otherwise. It’s like the bully arguing that it really wasn’t his fault, with blood on his hands standing over the unconscious kid.

I do, however, think it’s inappropriate to state things as you’ve done here. I understand you backing an organization that’s been very good to you, but seriously, to call out Ben and me like that…And really mostly Ben, given that you admitted to being a reader of his site. If you have a problem with Cowboy, that’s fine, but don’t attempt to drag Ben (or me) through the mud as a result.

Coffee?

Matt

Matt

Then again, maybe I’m dreaming and this whole erati thing doesn’t exist. And maybe I’m just making shit up when Cowboy says he’s launching a blog network called erati.

But then again, the details of who started what are meaningless to the content in this post. For all I care, Mandy Moore could have sole propritorship over BlogMedia/Erati/Whatever. My points would remain the same.

• there is no company called erati
• cowboy does not own equity in blogmedia
• Ben was doing contract work for me long before Cowboy was in the picture
• No one cowboy is sleeping with is working for me

I’m happy to answer questions about BlogMedia, Inc. – asking those questions would make it easier for you to post facts rather than your own rumor and speculation.

Matt

That being said, by no means am I saying I (or anyone) is ignoring/hating on you guys. I’m still subscribed to your feed (though not Girlspoke or Chris’… but I wasn’t before either). But on the other hand, if I wanted to share something with the network, I would be wise to exclude those associated with erati due to past actions. That’s what I’m trying to get at, I suppose.

Andrew: Yeah, we are blogging. But this lesson applies for all of life. I’ve gone through my own trials and learned a lot about how others think about you via your friends. Just keep in mind the friends you keep, as blogging or trying to land seven figure project — it’s an important idea to grasp :)