So Wired does an article about Blog Spamming. The article links to the above URL... a bit of poking around reveals that one of the culprits is located in Montreal.
François Lane, who blogs himself of course (he is even listed on Bill's YULBlog list, unlike me), bascially did this: set up a small simple database of blog URIs, wrote a quick script (anyone with basic programming skills could have done this) and ran it. It was a test he maintains. Bloody effective I'd say considering the hoolabaloo he's raised.
Reading some people's rants about this I feel a need to share what I was able to find out, corrolated with my knowldge of "where Mastodonte is coming from". Most of the ranters seem think that this kid (cause, well, my estimate is he's in his mid to late 20's) who just 2 weeks ago was whining about how nobody took his new 100% quebec-produced francophone blogging solution seriously, is some huge evil spam marketing machine that must be attacked with all resources available. Relax militant "internautes"... He's no threat. His idea may be, but it's too late to do anything about that.
It's interesting on many levels this thing: He studied a bit of electrical engineering, a bit of electronic music at McGill.. Then did partial certificates in marketing and management. A resteless soul, cause now he's scripting PHP blog systems for the company he's the president of (located in "bustling" Verdun, a dreary suburb of Montreal, no less). Makes sense that someone like him would apply a marketing concept to a cultural phenomenon by using accesible technology.
In some ways it's similar to my Doonesbury Blogger post of a few days ago, but I digress.
Also, if we look at the francophone marketing industry in Montreal... Well one gets the sense that much more is permissible.. try ANYTHING to get a message out.
So anyways, all that to say that I am totally 100% not surprised this came to be in Montreal.
