Strumpette’s Amanda Chapel Calls It Quits from Common Sense PR
by Eric Eggertson on October 8th, 2007
In announcing her departure as lead voice on Strumpette, the artist previously known as Amanda Chapel says she’s tired, and has made a difference in the fight against hypocrisy in public relations.
The anonymous author, whose favorite target was Edelman, made a parting statement: “Practically speaking, I fought the good fight. I’ve variously made my points. Together, we’ve exposed a few frauds and killed countless sacred cows.”
strumpette logo from strumpette.comI’m ambivalent about Chapel’s departure. As a caricature of a rabble-rousing iconoclast, she stood out from the crowd. Her writing is less verbose than Conrad Black’s, less polite than any other PR blogger, and more interesting than many of them.
‘Her’ anonymity rubbed me the wrong way from the day ’she’ e-mailed me with her first post. ‘She’ says ’she stands for honesty, but hides behind the mask of a seductive Italian model. ‘She’ talks about upholding the values that public relations people should represent, but launched bitter, personal attacks against various companies and individuals.
I like everything about what ’she’ was doing, and nothing about the way ’she’ approached ‘her’ chosen crusade.
There is a lot of hypocrisy out there. Hopefully, those who continue the fight in ‘her’ absence will borrow more from Bill Maher and Jon Stewart than from Gossip Girl.
Many of Chapel’s think pieces and tirades were well aimed, pointed out serious breeches of ethics, and mocked those who took themselves way too seriously, poking holes in the facades of thought leadership and social media corporate pioneering. For that I was grateful to have ‘her’. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t take a hell of a lot of time, energy, intelligence and stress to make a stir in the blogosphere like Chapel has done doesn’t understand the logistics of blogging and participating in social media.
Chapel worked hard, stayed consistent, and made ‘herself’ heard.
But the singling-out of big whigs and small fry alike for attacks was totally inappropriate, coming from behind the safety of a pseudonym. No good explanation was ever given (that I’m aware of) for the anonymity. In the absence of a good reason, I have to assume it was either cowardice or professional self-preservation, or a combination of the two.
Either way, the anonymity undercut the points that were being made. This isn’t Myanmar, Iran or China. Dissidents don’t disappear in the night.
Not only is it possible to use your real name when acting as an ethics watchdog for an industry, it’s far more effective. Look at Ralph Nader, Phil Edmonston and Jay Rosen.
Otherwise, the question remains: If you’re so confident about your statements, why don’t you stand behind them?
Update: some other posts about Strumpette - Andrew Smith, PRNewser, Listics, Tom Foremski, Geoff Livingston.
Tags: strumpette, anonymity, amanda chapel, public relations, business, gadfly, pseudonym, criticism, attacks, edelman
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POSTED IN: Advocacy, Communication Tactics, Ethics, PR, Social Media
38 opinions for Strumpette’s Amanda Chapel Calls It Quits
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Mike Driehorst
Oct 8, 2007 at 1:10 pm
But, Eric! AC/BC quit once before, and then came back. So, who’s to say he/she/they are gone for good. He/She/They could only be taking a break, but drumming up the letter for some traffic?
Regardless, as you note, there’s been good from Strumpette, but it’s tough to get past the approach, the attacks and other pomp and circumstance.
Granted, I’ve not regularly read the blog in recent months, so some of my comments maybe out-dated. But, you know, perception is reality.
– Mike
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Ike
Oct 8, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I’m not so certain this is a stunt - and the continuation of the site would not be proof of a stunt, either.
My gut tells me we’ve already had several incarnations of Amandae over the last 18 months. The shrill potty-mouth gave way to some sharp satire, which gave way to some very pointed and well-reasoned think pieces. (Yeah, I wrote one. A piece. I believe it was fairly-well reasoned.)
This simply might be the passing of another torch, or lingerie, or Zorro mask. Or a flaming Z-back teddy. Who knows.
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Mike Driehorst
Oct 8, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Here’s riddle: If a character blog looses it primary character, what’s left? (Even if the person/people behind the character change, shouldn’t the character remain?)
Okay, enough waste of time, back to writing about lead management … .
Mike
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Eric Eggertson
Oct 8, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Seems to me Strumpette.com has been trying to morph into more of a community salon, where erudite PR people hold forth on various topics, and occasionally slag the high and mighty.
You don’t need a pseudonym for that kind of site.
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Richard Becker
Oct 8, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Shocker! No, not really. Most people knew who Amanda was anyway … and it was anonymity, not beauty, that killed the beast.
Too bad though … it took a long time, but despite my disagreement with most of what she said, I was starting to think of her as a need nemesis.
Great piece Eric.
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Ike
Oct 8, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Strumpette never lost the primary character. We just weren’t privy to the change of hands when someone else was pulling the strings.
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Geoff Livingston
Oct 8, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Good riddance.
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Is This the Real Reason for Amanda Chapel’s Departure from Strumpette? » The Buzz Bin
Oct 9, 2007 at 6:47 am
[…] in the industry know that “Amanda Chapel” called it quits yesterday. While this may not be the last time we see Strumpette’s lead […]
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Mack Collier
Oct 9, 2007 at 9:28 am
“‘Her’ anonymity rubbed me the wrong way from the day ’she’ e-mailed me with her first post. ‘She’ says ’she stands for honesty, but hides behind the mask of a seductive Italian model. ‘She’ talks about upholding the values that public relations people should represent, but launched bitter, personal attacks against various companies and individuals.”
Exactly. It goes against everything that is right about blogging, and when you can hide behind a fake identity, you tend to say things that you would never say if you had to sign your real name to a post. I mean how talented do you have to be to pose as a hot chick that flirts with readers, and blasts A-Listers? Anyone could build a following by doing that.
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Larissa Fair
Oct 9, 2007 at 11:21 am
“…poking holes in the facades of thought leadership and social media corporate pioneering. For that I was grateful to have ‘her’. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t take a hell of a lot of time, energy, intelligence and stress to make a stir in the blogosphere like Chapel has done doesn’t understand the logistics of blogging and participating in social media.”
I agree with that and think this is also an interesting point, as many of us may be “rubbed the wrong way” by a lot of her/his/their finger pointing and tirades, overall it opened the doors to discussion and conversation.
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Paul Fabretti
Oct 10, 2007 at 5:33 am
I’ve never heard anyone moan so much in my bloody life!
Thank God she has gone!
Paul
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Kelly
Oct 10, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Hey Eric,
Don’t knock Gossip Girl! ;)
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Eric Eggertson
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Larissa: Throwing a hand grenade into a crowded theatre can also open the door to discussion and conversation. The problem with constantly attacking to make a point is that the attacks become more memorable than what the person was trying to communicate.
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vaspers the grate aka steven e. streight
Oct 11, 2007 at 3:28 pm
The Amanda Chapel Team Troll Hoax was a vile pollution of vulgar hate speech by Brian Connolly and his loser pals.
5 white guys hiding behind an Asian (North Korean) woman’s avatar. Real brave. The new PR? LOL
I bashed the living daylights out of the Amanda Chapel team trollers on Twitter. If you think they were professionals with good ideas, look at:
http://twitter.com/amandachapel
They were merely sycophant supporters of idiot Andrew Keen and his amateurish attack on Cluetrain, called The Cult of the Amateur.
Champions of Korporate Amerikkka command and control, opera, hierarchy, and greedy exploitation by Enronish CEOS.
When I explained that they were heralding Oligarchy (rule by hierarchical few) and not Democracy, they freaked.
The Amanda Chapel cowardly anonymous trolls hate Of the People, By the People, For the People. They call democracy “mob rule” and yearn for North Korean style tyranny.
They are F bombers and unemployed wankers.
Check out The Matrix Online Guide to Trolls for full explanation of internet troll types and strategies.
I sure do miss their juvenile attacks on me, Scoble, Edelmand, and Rubel.
Ah, the good old days of ferocious blogocombat.
