more interview fallout

Not to pile on Chris Anderson, who was barely even a name to me before the other day, but the following link was just sent to me, and I’m still offended by the way in which that interview played out. If an interviewer goes after you aggressively and you want to fight back, fine, that’s a calculated practical decision on your part. But to start an interview by belittling every word-choice the person makes, and to include the phrase “this is going to be an annoying interview” in your very first line is obviously appalling behavior.

But the reason I post this link is due to a stunning fact: Anderson was speaking to Der Spiegel in the first place only to promote his new book, so the public relations move here is every bit as sparkling as the manners.

http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=138176

Someone also gave me the link to Anderson’s Twitter account (tweets are public unless blocked, and even show up on Google). He not only claimed that he was quoted out of context (possible, but hard to see how that would have made a difference given the flagrant rudeness of his responses), he also blamed “Twitterati” for making a big deal out of nothing– and remember, he said this on his Twitter account!