TEAM Archive
December 27, 2007
TEAM blogs sure are interesting.
Posted by Truth
During my hiatus from blogging the whole TEAM v. Quixtar debacle began and as many of you know a new batch of blogs hit the scene. I have seen them referred to many times as simply the "TEAM blogs". I have taken some time to review some of them and read some of the articles on a few of them. One thing that I can say for sure is that they are interesting to me.
Now I don't know about the rest of you but for me it seemed for quite sometime if you looked up Quixtar on the internet you got either a "critical" site, or a "pro" site, with many of those being ran by Quixtar corporation. These TEAM sites however bring a twist with them with the fact that they praise the training system and bash Quixtar/Amway as a corporation trying to take freedom from the IBOs.
In some cases I can see their point as I also feel some of the Quixtar rules are are unfair, especially when an IBO wishes to leave Quixtar for another MLM. However their praise and rational for training systems is something I no doubt disagree with. I like this new twist however and while I think they go just a bit too far with the whole freedom fighters who will fight day and night by each other's side routine, I certainly look forward to seeing how many of these blogs last and which ones stand out from the rest.
November 20, 2007
That Sounds familiar
Posted by Truth
"...Quixtar knows it's products are nearly impossible to sell, and that it's business opportunity is therefore not viable except as an illegal recruitment pyramid."
"...IBOs have no choice but to continue purchasing and consuming overpriced Quixtar products and recruiting new victims into the pyramid scheme, since that is the only way to make money with the Quixtar business opportunity."
The above quotes are taken from the Preliminary statement of the complaint that was filed by Orrin Woodward and others against Quixtar. Perhaps I am missing something here but don't those kinds of comments sound very familiar?
It is comments like those that the critics have been saying ever since Quixtar launched, and it was the pro-Quixtar crowd, including many TEAM IBOs who said the critics were lying. Critics said the products were priced too high and out of left field would come the supporters crying that the products were competitive and would say that the value of the Quixtar products were better (which by the way is a garbage excuse that I will be happy to destroy in a later post).
Critics would say that Quixtar was nothing more then a pyramid selling products to people they recruited. Once again the supporters started whining and crying about the FTC decision, the buy-back rule, and the 10 customer requirement. Of course the critics would make a good case that the FTC decision was not being followed, the buy-back rule was a joke, as well as the 10 customer requirement. Of course the supporters would simply say the critics were lying.
So where does that leave TEAM? Are they just a bunch of bitter, broke losers who were not cut out to be in business and were unwilling to do what they had to in order to be successful? So what's changed?
The way I see it nothing has changed. As I read the entire complaint it was apparent to me that the leaders knew what the critics were saying was right all along. They simply tried to correct it behind the scenes all the while continuing to tell the faithful downlines how great the business opportunity was. If all that is in the complaint is true then I admire the fact that the leaders were trying to get the prices lowered and make retailing easier. However, I can't help but find it at least unethical to continue to promote a business opportunity that they believed to be operating in an illegal pyramid fashion.
August 11, 2007
Orrin Woodward Leaves Quixtar
Posted by QBlog
Orrin Woodward, the charismatic Diamond leader of the TEAM motivational group, has resigned from Quixtar (though Alticor says he was booted).
The news came to me by a phone call from a friend who advised that I visit the Team Orrin Woodward blog to read the resignation announcement. The announcement (which I've archived in case it's yanked) explains why several IBOAI board members (including Woodward) decided to leave the business.
Today, August 9th, 2007, eight current members of the IBOAI board from North America, representing a combined average experience of twenty seven years in the business, approached Quixtar/Alticor to express deep concern with the current condition of the Quixtar business. For years, we’ve all been concerned that Quixtar’s products have been hopelessly overpriced and were virtually not retailable. Quixtar has known this, too, because over the last few years we have repeatedly informed them of this fact and have literally begged them to correct the problem. They did nothing...
In addition to leaving Quixtar, Woodward and others have filed a complaint (pdf) against Quixtar.
Among those filing the complaint against Quixtar are:
- Billy Florence
- Don Wilson
- Fred Harteis
- Tim Marks
- Randy Haugen - "Mr. P & G"
- Chuck Goetschel
What's funny to me is that they're basically suing Quixtar for things that so-called Quixtar critics have been "screaming" about for years and yet until now leaders like Woodward have publicly turned a deaf ear to those screams and continued "business as usual."
I haven't had time to read the complaint or do much research on this so take some time and see what else you can dig up and leave it in the comments.
My prediction, this clearly marks the end of Quixtar (and Amway) as we know it in North America. Don't forget that the Postma Memo predicted this over 20 years ago!
Postma predicts that "...anything that is done by the corporation that will cause conflict or competition with this business could cause a major split. This business will crumble under its own weight..."
UPDATE: I received the following email yesterday:
Friday, August, 10, 2007 at 16:17:46
name: AlticorCorpComm
message: http://media.alticorblogs.com /2007/08/10/ just-go-team/
OK to repost.
So, I guess I'll repost some of it. Go read the blog entry and the comments. Some interesting stuff. Looks like Quixtar may really be cleaning up the business after all.
We terminated Orrin Woodward yesterday, along with several other leaders of his field organization, named Team. We’ll post our formal statement when it’s ready. Informally, here’s the story:
We terminated Orrin Woodward for philosophical reasons. We did it for legal reasons.
But the main reason we did it is because the way Orrin Woodward ran his organization was a disgrace to every person who’s ever tried to build a Quixtar or Amway business the right way.
Again, those comments sound a lot like what Ed Postma said over 20 years ago.
UPATE Part II: The following letter is posted at the Forum and is reportedly from Jim Payne, former Executive VP and Managing Director of Quixtar.
To Team affiliated IBOs
What Team has taught you regarding business building may put you at legal and regulatory risk – but we can help.
We are in an exciting period in the history of this business. We are making unprecedented investments to make your businesses better – more than $60 million in new money in Quixtar Business Incentives, launch of training to help make IBOs more successful, and exciting new product and category launches. Overall, the Company is spending more than $200 million in product development, brand building, training and compensation enhancements to make this business bigger and more successful than ever.
We also are taking steps to address issues that have plagued our business and hampered our success, which is why we are contacting you today.
After working with Team training organization founders, Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, on issues related to the teaching by the organization on positioning of the business as the Team opportunity, the practice of “stacking,” or inappropriate depth-building, the use of unauthorized business support materials, and because they told Company executives that they intend to begin soliciting IBOs to join their new competing MLM, the Company has terminated Woodward and Brady’s Quixtar businesses. These issues put the Company and IBOs at serious and immediate risk of legal and regulatory actions and needed to cease immediately. And, we should note that no IBO has left Amway or Quixtar and successfully launched a competing business. Moreover, they, together with other Team, Legacy and Team 5K IBOs plan to file a class action lawsuit in Federal Court against Quixtar.
Quixtar recently provided an opportunity for Woodward and Brady to work with the Company to cure their contract breaches, but they were unwilling to even listen to the plan. The Company now finds Woodward and Brady to be in default of their agreement with the Company and, as a result, their businesses were terminated.
Quixtar acknowledges that the vast majority of IBOs affiliated with Team have conducted their businesses as taught by the Team organization. As a result, there are Team-related IBOs who do not have an accurate understanding of the importance of positioning the business properly with prospects and building depth within the Rules. We can help you through that.
Quixtar remains committed to the support of all IBOs and will work with those who agree to abide by the Company’s rules and maintain high ethical standards. That includes all Team-affiliated IBOs who wish to continue building their Quixtar businesses in compliance with the rules and by correcting positioning and stacking behaviors.
We hope you accept our invitation to remain a valued and productive member of the Quixtar business. We will be following up with more information soon and encourage you to call your Quixtar Sales Advisor with any questions.
Sincerely,
Jim Payne
Executive Vice President and Managing Director
Quixtar Inc.
July 25, 2006
Cognitive Dissonance in TEAM
Posted by Xanadustc
I am still listening to the TEAM tapes that I received a while back. At the time of writing this, I am on the 3rd one for today. I have noticed many little double messages. Today, I would like to comment on two.
Disclaimer
Quixtar Rule 7.5.3: IBOs who choose to sell BSM shall not say, suggest, or imply that the use of any such Materials will guarantee success or that the Corporation requires the use of any BSM. BSM shall contain the following or substantially equivalent language:
While the techniques and approaches suggested have worked for others, no one can guarantee that these techniques and approaches will work for you. We hope, however, that the ideas presented here will assist you in developing a strong and profitable business. These materials have been published independently of the Corporation.
This same message shall also appear in the audio portion of any audiotape BSM or be communicated through a substantially equivalent means.
TEAM does have this at the end of many of their tapes, but there is another one placed right before it:
We hope this recording has been informative and thought provoking. One of the most critical steps for learning more about the business is to seek information from those most qualified to give it. As soon as possible, get back with the person that provided you this material and attend an open meeting in your area. This will give you access to those who have utilized this industry for significant personal success and are qualified to answer your questions.
I have a few problems. First, what about doing neutral research? This disclaimer seems to suggest that the only place to get information about this business that will be useful is to get it from the business itself. While that should not be ignored, I would like to comment that other sources also contain many useful practices. You could start with the FTC to see what they recommend about MLM. How about those well respected business journals like Forbes? It has been my experience that the MLM people will not give you any information that is critical of what they do, but if you look into many other business opportunities, those parts are well spelled out. I know because I read the investor reports of many stock portfolios out there (I have a friend big into stock market).
Next, this disclaimer tells you to go and attend an Open Meeting (a meeting where people go to learn about the business) to find those qualified to give you information, but the Quixtar disclaimer says that no one can guarantee success. The funny part about this is that the tape this was on said directly and unequivocally that the system ALWAYS works if you work it (TOD186) because it is based on proven strategies.
Motivation
Chris Brady (PPS92) was talking about Hummers and that he didn’t need one, but he got one because it is motivational. He makes it very clear that he does not need it, but getting it is motivating. I ask, what is it motivating you to do? If it is just to get a Hummer that you don’t need, why is that motivational? If you need to get motivated to buy a vehicle that you know you don’t need, what is the point?
He talks about “growing”, but in the context, it is growing closer to metaphysical practices and thought reform psychology. If growing is reading those motivational books, no thank you, I would rather not. I accomplish too much in my life already.
These two examples make you want to scratch your head and ask if the people on these tapes see the double standard that they are talking about.
March 31, 2006
Woodward's TEAM Un-Wiki-Fied
Posted by QBlog
The famous Wikipedia added Orrin Woodward's Team to it's vast listings last November but now that article seems to have vanished. Could it be connected to the Wikimedia subpoena? Or maybe the Wikipedians just decided Team doesn't deserve to be included in the world's largest encyclopedia?
March 1, 2006
Orrin Woodward's Team in News
Posted by QBlog
The Free Times, "Ohio's premier news, arts and entertainment weekly," has published an article about Orrin Woodward's Team (formerly Team of Destiny) that takes a very critical look at one of Quixtar's most beloved organizations.
The article, written by reporter James Renner, describes several aspects of Woodward's Team. Here are a few selected quotes:
"You will make two to three thousand a month if you put the energy into this system," he says. "It's only going to cost you around $250. The worst that can happen is you get a 25 percent rebate on everything you buy."
Actually, it can get worse...
...Technically, TEAM is not a pyramid scheme, according to federal and state guidelines. Robin Luymes, manager of PR for Quixtar, explains: "A pyramid scheme is based on the exchange of money without products. No money is exchanged in our business until products are purchased. Your income is purely derived from the movement of product."
Still, Woodward admits to having found a loophole to speed things up...
...Cleveland, he says, is on the verge of being taken over by TEAM. "It has exploded here. That's all I can tell you. There were six people in my first meeting, now there are sometimes a hundred. It works because it's so duplicatable."
But that's not really a word.
"Yeah, technically," he replies. "But 'ain't' wasn't a word either. Is now."
Check out the article and be sure to send James Renner an email to let him know what you think of it.
February 19, 2006
Orrin Woodward Attacks!
Posted by QBlog
Looks like the connections between Orrin Woodward and Qrush are becoming clearer. Check out Woodward's revised Team Of Destiny website.
Reads more like the type of poorly written rubbish you'd find on the site of some raving crackpot instead of the official business site of "Independent Business Owners (IBOs) teamed together to have fun, make money, and make a difference." What's Woodward up to?
UPDATE: Orrin Woodward has updated his page. Check it out.
January 5, 2006
Analyzing An Attorney's Perspective
Posted by QBlog
The Team is a Quixtar motivational organization originally founded in 1999 by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady under the name "Team of Destiny." The Michigan based business has grown tremendously over the years and is rumored to be one of the most successful Quixtar Lines of Affiliation.
However, as the Team has grown it's become the subject of criticism from consumer advocates like Dave Touretzky, Robert T. Carroll and Scott Larsen, who question the legitimacy of the motivational business. The Team has responded by publishing "An Attorney's Perspective," a detailed analysis of the Team compensation plan written by attorney Matt Abraham.
Clearly Abraham's analysis is intended to assuage the fears of potential (and existing) Team members by demonstrating that the Team and its compensation plan are legitimate and legal.
But since Abraham is also a member of the Team (having achieved the Quixtar Emerald level), and therefore directly profits from selling the Team, I thought it would be fair to provide an analysis of his "Attorney's Perspective." I asked LawDawg, the author of the LawBlawg, to share his perceptions of Abraham's analysis. His response is a lengthy and detailed analysis.
December 20, 2005
Orrin Woodward Takes Wikipedia To Court
Posted by QBlog
Quixtar leader Orrin Woodward's motivational organization, Team of Destiny (now called "The TEAM"), appears to be upset about a recent addition to the open source reference phenomenon known as Wikipedia.
On November 27, 2005, I noticed that the Team of Destiny tool business had been added to Wikipedia. Nine days later, on December 6, 2005, the U.S. District Court of Florida issued a subpoena to the Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia's parent organization) demanding specific information related to Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady and the Team of Destiny.
The Wikimedia subpoena (pdf obtained from PACER) demands that various records to be mailed to Woodward's lawyer, Thomas A. Kuiper.
You are commanded to produce and permit inspection and copying of the following documents or objects at the place, date, and time specified below (list documents or objects):
Any and all records submitted to Wikipedia.com and/or Wikimedia Foundation from January 1, 2002 to the present time concerning the terms "Team of Destiny", "Team", "Orrin Woodward" and/or "Chris Brady" including but not limited to: all records, documentation, emails, and/or electronic information, and correspondence.
I'll point out a few interesting items from this subpoena.
- This subpoena is issued as a result of the Team of Destiny v. Scott Larsen lawsuit filed March 15, 2004, in the state of Michigan.
- It appears that Woodward and his TEAM believe that Scott Larsen is somehow responsible for the Wikipedia entry, therefore violating some sort of settlement agreement.
- The subpoena demands records back to 2002. Why? The TOD v. Larsen suit wasn't filed until 2004 and was dismissed in 2005. It looks like Team of Destiny wants information not relevant to the case. Wonder if the EFF would find that curious?
- The term "Team of Destiny" and "Team" are pretty common terms. I bet lots of wikipedians have used those terms since January 1, 2002. Guess what sports fans, Thomas A. Kuiper and his client could be poring over your personal information (possibly IP addresses, posting history, searches, etc.) if Wikipedia complies with the subpoena. How do you feel about that? Read that subpoena again, very carefully. Notice the open-ended nature of the demand for information?
- Shortly after the Team of Destiny entry appeared in Wikipedia, a Request For Deletion debate emerged. The deletion request was denied.
So, what does all this mean? I don't know but it's interesting that Team of Destiny seems to be mixing it up with Wikipedia. This could get interesting.
UPDATE: The Wikipedia community has taken notice of Team of Destiny's subpoena and suggested that the report be added to the Signpost or Newsroom.
Additionally, a comment by Fennec points out that all the documents Team of Destiny wants are publicly available.
I say, just ship them a copy of http://download.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/en/pages_full.xml.bz2That's a superset of the records they want. It'll be easy to query, as well.
Amazing. If I didn't know better I'd say Orrin Woodward wants to get as many people investigating his motivational group as possible.
November 27, 2005
Orrin Woodward's TEAM Gets Wiki-fied
Posted by QBlog
Just discovered that Quixtar Diamond Orrin Woodward's TEAM (formerly Team of Destiny) now has its very own Wikipedia entry. Looks like it was created November 4, 2005, and is beginning to fill in quite nicely.
This could get interesting.
June 3, 2005
Disputed Content Remains
Posted by QBlog
Earlier this week I reported that the Team of Destiny Team lawsuit against Scott Larsen was recently dismissed. However, the disputed content still remains available to anyone with Internet access which makes me wonder why Orrin Woodward's group sued Larsen to begin with. Larsen may have yanked the material from his servers but copies still remain on Archive.org and various mirror sites around the world.
If you missed Larsen's criticisms and analysis of Team of Destiny Team the first time around, check out the Team of Destiny Open Meeting report that started the legal saga. It's quite revealing.
Of course there's also the eternal question, "What is Team of Destiny?" and Larsen attempted to answer that with lots of graphs and charts and the simple statement that Team of Destiny is a Quixtar motivational group (duh!).
If you have lots of free time, poke around one of the many site mirrors and see if you can figure out what all the fuss was about. Here are three, but there are many more out there if you know where to look.
- Is Team of Destiny a Pyramid Scheme?
- Is Team of Destiny a Pyramid Scheme?
- Is Team of Destiny a Pyramid Scheme?
May 31, 2005
TOD v. Larsen Dismissed
Posted by QBlog
According to PACER the Team of Destiny lawsuit against Scott Larsen has been dismissed.
» Stipulation and Order of Dismissal without Predjudice (pdf)
Plaintiff Team of Destiny, Inc., by its attorneys, Kuiper Orlebeke PC, and Defendant Scott A. Larsen, by his attorneys, Butzel Long, PC, hereby stipulate and agree that Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint against Defendant shall be dismissed in full, but without prejudice, costs, or attorneys' fees to any party.
Yeah, so I guess the suit is over. Not really sure if anyone won. Looks like Larsen removed his pages about Team of Destiny so I imagine that was a condition of the settlement. Did Orrin Woodward and company give up anything? I guess we'll never know because it looks like the whole thing has been sealed under a bizarre protective order (pdf).
Retroactive Seal?
It appears that Orrin Woodward and company asked for the complaint, and all exhibits, against Larsen to be sealed after they'd been PUBLIC for about a year. You heard right, they filed a complaint, amended it a couple of times, entered exhibits and then asked for the complaint to be sealed. And guess what?!? The judge granted their request!
All the court proceedings were publicly available until May 13, 2005. After that point, they were put under seal. But wait, there's more. The motion for a protective order had two requests.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion to Place Pleadings Under Seal (Dkt. 55) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The Complaint (Dkt. 1), First Amended Complaint (Dkt. 17), and Second Amended Complaint (Attachments to Dkt. 28), and any exhibits attached to any of the complaints shall be placed under seal until December 31, 2011 or further order of this Court. The remainder of the relief included in the proposed order submitted by the parties is denied.
Obviously the documents have been sealed but what about the part that was denied? My guess is that Woodward asked for the authority to pursue those who have copies of the complaints and exhibits and to be given the power to force them to relinquish those copies. Why do I think that? Well, I have copies of the complaint and exhibits posted on my site with links to six separate mirrored copies and nobody's asked me to remove them.
I know what you're thinking. "Isn't sealing documents that are already in the public domain pretty stupid?" The answer is YES! It's absurd. So, they're unavailable at the courthouse (for a small fee) but available for free on the Internet. What's the point? Also, why is Woodward so worried about people reading the complaint that he filed? Doesn't it make you curious? Don't you want to read it now, more than ever?
If you haven't read the complaint yet I encourage you to download it, print it out and read it. It's actually pretty interesting.
» Team of Destiny, Inc. v. Scott A. Larsen (pdf)
September 21, 2004
Orrin Woodward Web Bloopers II
Posted by QBlog
I've been passively following the strange events at Orrin Woodward's personal Web site since at least January of this year. It's been quite interesting to observe. Wish I had some popcorn to munch while I watch his schizophrenic site split personalities like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
To Hide or Not To Hide?
The central focus of the Orrin Woodward Web site drama is a series of articles authored by Woodward and published on his site for the world to read. After publishing the articles late last year, Woodward's site began a strange and bizarre Shakespearean-styled drama I refer to as, "To Hide or Not To Hide?"
The History
To quickly explain the details of this "drama" I'll lay out a brief timeline for you to follow:
Late 2003 - Orrin Woodward publishes some articles on his Web site, orrinwoodward.com.
January 19, 2004 - Orrin Woodward hides the articles from the public, putting them behind a password script. However, they had already been cached by Google.
February 7, 2004 - Woodward's articles were still behind a password script but his images were not. Four of those images were graphics demonstrating how the Team of Destiny tool money functioned. After my post on the matter, the images were moved.
March 18, 2004 - Woodward's Web site is nicely redesigned. However, articles are still hidden.
July 26, 2004 - Woodward begins blogging. Curiously his blog content, unlike his personal Web site, is open to the public.
August 10, 2004 - The Orrin Woodward articles were made public once again, nearly eight months later. There was much rejoicing.
August 21, 2004 - The Orrin Woodward articles were once again squirreled away into password protection. The rejoicing ends.
I've heard rumors that there's a certain casino in Vegas that is taking bets on whether or not the Orrin Woodward articles will be made public again. The oddsmakers have given 20-1 odds. I can't confirm this rumor but I may have to fit a trip to Vegas into my holiday schedule ;o)
Where Can I Find the Articles?
I know some of you hate mysteries and are now dying to know what's so special about the Orrin Woodward articles and I always aim to please. If you haven't yet read them, you're in luck. Archive.org has a copy of them on its Web site. Here are the articles, begin your rejoicing.
Orrin Woodward Web Bloopers was filmed before a live audience.
July 26, 2004
Why is Orrin Woodward Blogging?
Posted by QBlog
Why has Orrin Woodward, leader of the Quixtar group Team of Destiny, started a blog? This is the same man who struggled to limit access to formerly public articles. However, now he's publishing a blog, one of the most open and candid forms of communication on the Web today. Maybe it's just me but it seems odd that he limits access to his comments on his OrrinWoodward.com site but provides unfettered access to his blog comments. Wonder why that is?
I have a few more inquisitive observations:
1. Compliance
Is the Orrin Woodward Blog in compliance with Quixtar's legal bulletin #17 which states:
"The Corporation, with the support of the Independent Business Owners Association International (IBOIA), has implemented a Zero Tolerance Policy for unauthorized prospecting web sites. Under this policy, IBOs with unauthorized web sites will be immediately suspended for a period of 6-months from any sponsoring activities."If it is in compliance, then why doesn't it bear the "For North American use only - Content Reviewed Ref. No.(some number)" notice anywhere on the blog while such a notice appears on his OrrinWoodward.com site? Are the two sites really that different?
2. No Time To Blog
For almost two years I've asked Quixtar IBOs why I haven't been able to find any (with few exceptions) pro-Quixtar blogs on the Web and the reply is almost always, "The really successful IBOs don't have time to blog. They have more important things to do." I never believed that explanation but now that Orrin Woodward, Jody Victor, Fred Harteis, Billy Florence and other IBOs are blogging, what does that do to the whole "don't have time to blog" explanation?
3. July, Month of Blog
Before July of this year there were virtually no blogs published by Quixtar IBOs that dealt exclusively with some aspect of Quixtar (their business, relationships, etc.). However, I've spotted at least ten and possibly 15 or more IBO-authored blogs all launched this month. Additionally, almost all of those blogs are powered by BlogHarbor software (which appears to be owned by Rackshare and developed by Tucows) which is, in the world of blogs, a relatively obscure blogging tool (see previous post).
4. BlogHarbor?
Few of these "Quixtar IBO" BlogHarbor blogs (like Orrin Woodward's) allow for comments. While this isn't unusual, it's still a curious fact. Traditionally, blogs thrive on the comments of readers and it's the feedback and independent conversations that occur in those comments that make blogs such powerful communication tools. I'll say this, most bloggers who disable comments do so AFTER their comments have become too burdensome to manage. Another interesting thing about the comments is that BlogHarbor allows very robust comment management. While many blogs allow virtually anonymous commenting, BlogHarbor requires registration with a valid email address before commenting is possible. This provides MUCH more control over a blogger's comments. So, with so much control, why are the comments disabled? I have my theories.
UPDATE: Within an hour or so of this post going live, Orrin Woodward disabled the trackback feature on his blog. Dude is really monitoring his blog... or paying someone else to.
5. Blog Spamming?
In light of so many coincidences with these new IBO blogs (all started around July, most using the same software, many posts duplicates of posts on other blogs, similar linking strategies, etc.) one would possibly assume that Quixtar, or some Quixtar Line of Sponsorship, was orchestrating a concerted blog effort to maybe flood the Blogging Community with pro-Quixtar rhetoric. While I see nothing wrong with this on the surface, there is a definite sense that such a strategy may be a new form of Spamming or more accurately, Google Bombing. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
In summary, I'm glad to see IBO blogs. I think blogging is good no matter what. I just fear that some of these new blogs may be nothing more than an effort to exploit the blogging community for commercial gains. If that's the case, then that's just bad blog karma. I hope that Orrin Woodward and his friends are better than that. Time will tell.