Forbes has lost it.

Coming on the heels of Outlook's diarrhea, Forbes vents its bowels and spews toxic venom, portraying bloggers as 'lynch mobs' who have no other work, agenda and purpose in life, but to vilify brands, launch personal attacks and run extremist and smear campaigns. [Forbes: Attack of the Blogs (Free Subscription Req); Here is an accessible 'print' version]

The article is hate filled and fails to provide a balanced view. Its objectivity is totally non-existent - logic alarmist and tone, pure vitriol.

A selection of its hate literature is featured here:

Quote:

Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Google and Yahoo.

Blogs started a few years ago as a simple way for people to keep online diaries. Suddenly they are the ultimate vehicle for brand-bashing, personal attacks, political extremism and smear campaigns. It's not easy to fight back: Often a bashing victim can't even figure out who his attacker is. No target is too mighty, or too obscure, for this new and virulent strain of oratory.

"Bloggers are more of a threat than people realize, and they are only going to get more toxic. This is the new reality," says Peter Blackshaw

Some companies now use blogs as a weapon, unleashing swarms of critics on their rivals. "I'd say 50% to 60% of attacks are sponsored by competitors," says Bruce Fischman

The online haters have formidable allies amplifying their tirades to a potential worldwide audience of 900 million: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, plus a raft of other blog hosts

Forbes seems to be blinded to the postive work of bloggers by its own virulent hatred of this new media. While accusing Blogs being inherently malafide, Forbes has betrayed its own interest in this matter. However, the reality of blogs isn't going to dissapear and will undergo constant evolution.

Web version 1.0 had personal pages which were rarely updated and held simple portfolio/resume/personal details. Advent of dynamic websites with database driven automation has seen blogs being published at the click of a button.

Although Forbes does have a point about the lack of accountability for views aired on the net, it is far fetched to portray the whole phenomenon as by nature pure evil - These views will only increase the divide between corporates and the internet community. Instead, companies must engage bloggers creatively to leverage their capability to influence and spread the word.

The inherent property of Internet is 'self-governance' and blogs too are subjected to this principle. In any case, the masses deciding what is correct and wrong will prove beneficial in the long run.

Forbes can only bitch about it.

Bloggers covering the story:
Micro Persuasion
Bayosphere
Instapundit

I only hope this doesn't give IIPM and its cronies some ammunition to bash the blogosphere. In that case, we will be witnessing more fireworks to mark the final descent of IIPM coffin into the ground.