Vanity Fair is a great magazine. Get this month's

[roguevalley]

issue, the one with George Clooney on it. They always have great
articles in the middle of the ads. :)

They tear MSNBC a new behind this month. They interview George and
he's a cutie pie. SIGH.

They always do great articles on politics and even if Hitchens is sometimes in there, there are dozens of other things to read. Excellent mag.

By the way, Keith Olberman is a treasure.

[Stephanie]

1. The article about the anthrax case is outstanding

It's by the professor who does forensic linguistic analysis (such as analyze the letters of the Unibomber to identify him). He reveals a LOT of information about Hatfill, about the FBI, all kinds of info. Damning.

Also this is the issue with the story about the Bin Laden 9/11 Family Airlift. Authorized by U.S. Gov't. Goes into detail about Bin Laden-Bush family connections, Carlyle, etc.

And the article about MSNBC is scathing, and mentions Scarborough's unforgivable JOKING about Lori Klausutis's tragic death, on Imus.

Must read issue!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. This month's issue was great

the Anthrax article, Bush/bin Laden connection, and a great piece on MSRNC.

And, of course, the cover with George Clooney was a definite attraction.

:loveya:

[ComerPerro]

3. I have been hearing about this from many people

For several reasons. I may have to get this issue.

[piece sine]

4. VANITY fair, indeed....

I just love the new HUMMER ad; and Ralph Lauren's new carbon fiber chair; so many diamond ads and big diamonds too, not Zale's! ANybody wonder what an Ermenegildo Zegna suit costs...at Nordstrom's? Elsa Peretti has a new bangle for Tiffany; Saks Fifth Avenue is showing 12 pages of tinted fur and printed leathers. J-LO's doing a S&Mish Louis Vuitton ad to showcase his rather radical to black and white (from the dull old brown...) The wedding ad with the bride in big Mikimoto pearls and diamonds is so...modern. No veil! Oh look, Maserati is back.."starting at $90,000 and photograghed in St. Moritz.

So reassuring to that Vanity Fair can flaunt what no one else I know on earth has got!

[JasonBerry]

5. A helluva magazine though....

It is a great magazine month after month after month. I have a subscription. Well worth the money - it's super cheap.

[mitchum]

11. "Vanity Fair was revived in the 80s so that Mick Jagger would...

have something to read in the bathroom" I wish I knew who said it (I wish I had said it)

[Devils Advocate NZ]

6. I always get suspicious when I see posts like this...

I mean this is EXACTLY how viral marketing works...

Get one paid propagandist to enter a forum such as this and post some glowing reference for some product. Then get one or two more people (or the same person with multiple ID's) to reply with equally glowing references, and then yet more people (or more fake ID's) to post "I must get it!" posts in reply.

Now I am not saying that anyone on this thread is a viral marketer, but this is EXACTLY what it would look like. :eyes:

Thank you corporate world for making me suspicious of fellow DUers...

[JasonBerry]

7. Except that....

Every positive post has been by a 1000+ DU poster. You can search our posts. I know I sure don't usually have good things to say about the mainstream media. Vanity Fair is just GOOD.

[Stephanie]

8. You're paranoid on this

But I don't really blame you. Search my posts. Then buy Vanity Fair. :)

[roguevalley]

9. Dear suspicious,

I am not a viral marketer and I don't get paid for my opinions. Jeez.
I commented on great articles in a consistently great magazine and this is what I get? What *DO* you read? I read everything I can that isn't crap and Vanity Fair is one of the few publications out there that prints exposes and other things. They dare to give the finger to the status quo, ads or not, and they let progressive people speak. That makes them great in my book. <Uncompensated opinion alert>

If you don't want to read it, cool. But don't jump to conclusions like this. Good grief. Me, a paid corporate tool? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Not in this or any other life. I am SEVERELY, SEVERELY aggravated.

[roguevalley]

10. Okay, I'm over it. :)

Don't be suspicious about everything, sweetie. Life is too short.

RV, loving everyone tonight <Not compensated endorsement> ;)

[Devils Advocate NZ]

12. Wow.

First of all, I wasn't saying you all were viral marketers. In fact I actually pointed out that I was being overly suspicious thanks to the fact that corporations DO do this sort of thing.

But, and it is a BIG but...

Imagine if you will that you were in fact viral marketers. Wouldn't it be expected that you'd deny it?

Second, the fact that some of you are long term posters doesn't mean that you are not viral marketers AS WELL. After all, even liberals have to earn a buck, and what better way than by advertising a decent product? I mean it's not like you are pushing an Ann Coulter book or something.

But then again, I wouldn't expect viral marketers to be so obvious. Of course they would push liberal products in a liberal forum, escpecially one as important as DU. I mean we may have thousands of members, but how many lurkers are out there? It seems this would be a good place for that sort of thing.

In fact I am surprised I don't see more of it (or what looks like it but isn't, as in this case)

All I am trying to say is that viral marketing has made me suspicious of ANY endorsements of commercial products in forums such as this. It really sucks that advertising has gone from something obvious into a subliminal attempt to manipulate opinions in the very places where people go to share their opinions.

[Stephanie]

13. We spend all day long here advising each other to

turn on CNN! Quick, C-SPAN 2! Check out Krugman's editorial today! Our main purpose is to exchange information and that means discussing articles and news shows.

All of a sudden this is suspicious because it's Vanity Fair?

Now I suppose Vanity Fair isn't considered highbrow and isn't thought of as a political mag, but we're actually recommending three excellent articles, stuff that has been woefully undercovered, stuff we've been yelling about and have rarely seen in print, much less in a mainstream glossy. And the VF editor's letters recently have been SCATHING about BushCO.

Is there a reason you've singled out VF for suspicion? Your casting doubt on US makes ME suspicious of you! :)

<not a paid endorsement>

[Devils Advocate NZ]

18. Firstly...

There is a difference between telling someone to watch CNN, and telling them to subscribe to it.

Secondly, I am sure Vanity Fair is great, but that is not my point. It is still a commercial product, and endorsements such as these always make me suspicious because of the fact that viral marketing exists.

[KoKo]

14. Gee.....I don't even know what "viral marketing is!" But, these posts

seemed sincere from folks whose DU names I recognized so, I thought....hey.....I'll check out this month's Vanity Fair on my newstand and thumb through it. If I like it, I'll buy it ......if not, I won't.

I see all kinds of recommendations from DU'ers here....everything from recommendations of World Socialst Workers Mag, to MotherJones, Time and Newsweek (when they have a good issue) and many other mags I've never heard of......but no one here is they type to just go out and blindly subscribe or buy a mag that they aren't interested in.

A "viral marketer" would have a tough time on DU. They would prefer a "soft site" with clueless folks....who are easily manipulated, I would think......:-)'s Peace!

[Devils Advocate NZ]

17. Oh, that's good :-)

I mean you must be JOKING right?

But, these posts seemed sincere from folks whose DU names I recognized so, I thought....hey.....I'll check out this month's Vanity Fair on my newstand and thumb through it. If I like it, I'll buy it ......if not, I won't.

Yep, that is exactly what viral marketers WANT you to do!

A "viral marketer" would have a tough time on DU. They would prefer a "soft site" with clueless folks....who are easily manipulated, I would think

What? You just said recommendations from fellow DUers got you to consider buying a product, and then say that Viral Marketers, who would act like fellow DUers would have difficulty getting people to consider buying the products they advertised?

This has to be a joke.

Viral marketing is a technique where advertising is disguised as genuine opinions from fellow posters, or patrons. One version is done in the flesh, such as actors paid to go to a bar and order a new kind of drink, and then discuss how great it is, even offering to buy other people drinks.

The other form is virtual, where discussion boards, usenet etc, are populated by phony members who build up reputations on the board and then subtly introduce advertising into their posts. The better their reputation on the board, the more effective the advertising, as you can attest.

Once again, I am NOT saying that this thread IS viral marketing. I am not even suggesting the possibility. I am merely pointing out that this is exactly (well except for my interlude that is) what it would look like.

[roguevalley]

15. I've never heard of this before now. Learn something every

day. :)

[pruner]

16. you obviously think viral marketing is necessarily a bad thing

why?

[Devils Advocate NZ]

19. Yes I do.

Because viral marketing is a disguised manipulation of public opinion. What works for vanity fair also works for any other product or idea. A terrible product, even a dangerous one, could gain acceptance because people think that others who they meet have used it and found it great.

Isn't smoking in movies a form of viral marketing? And we know how the anti-smoking crowd reacts to that.

How would you like it if you son/daughter was at the mall, and saw someone handsome/pretty smoking and saying how great it made them feel? How would you react if you knew that person had been paid to do it?

It's the method that worries me - it bypasses our natural scepticism of advertising by pretending to not be advertising. Thus we are more susceptible to deception.

[pruner]

20. smoking in movies is not a form of a viral marketing

it's not really any kind of marketing per se, but it most closely resembles a form of product placement.

telling a friend of yours about a movie you saw and enjoyed is viral marketing.

forwarding a link to your favorite web site to everyone in your address book is viral marketing.

telling people why it is that you like a particular candidate is viral marketing.

a successful viral marketing campaign works in much the same way that chain letters do.

I tell 10 people about something and they each tell 10 people who each tell 10 people, and so on.