The Death of the Blogosphere OR Who’s Killing the Cuppy’s Java Jo’z Blog Dialogue?
January 26, 2007 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
The blogosphere once seemed like a such promising forum for honest and open dialogue, exchange of information and ideas, and a place to bring troubling issues out into the open where they could be addressed in the light of day. Perhaps that’s a fantasy… Perhaps meaningful dialogue can be easily killed and unpleasant blog posts easily “disappeared.”
For instance, Robert Scoble, respected tech blogger and publisher of Scobleizer, posted an account of how his brother Ben had allegedly paid a company called Java Jo’z a deposit of $30,000 for a franchise and could not get it returned. Posts on three Scoble brother blogs set off a torrent of posts and debate, with other alleged victims coming forward with their stories. Several of these (alleged) victims alleged that the company merely changed its name from Java Jo’z to Cuppy’s Coffee & More, with the same employees, office, etc. at least in part to get out of obligations and debts incurred when called Java Jo’z. The company vehemently contended that it was an entirely new company, and threatened at least one blogger (me) with legal action if represented otherwise.
A lively debate ensued, taking place, in large part, on the franchise portal Blue MauMau and on a number of private blogs.
But then odd things started happening. Like a classic movie murder mystery, blog posts started getting killed off.
The Death of Dialogue.
The original Scobleizer post vanished without an explanation.
Ben Scoble’s blog (and perhaps Ben) was disappeared and in its place was a lobotomized post recanting all prior concerns and singing the Cuppy’s company song… in a writing style not evenly remotely Ben’s. (http://bscoble.blogspot.com/)
Alex Scoble’s posts on his site have been replaced with “NOT FOUND The requested URL /notes/2007/01/why_java_joz_pr.html was not found on this server.” And there’s the post (Cuppy’s Is New Company, Not Java Jo’z) that says “Let’s cut Cuppy’s some slack now.” Huh?
At http://mooresinflorida.blogspot.com/, outraged posts by another who had deposited tens of thousands of dollar with Java Jo’z have been replaced with posts on visits to the circus.
A Cuppy’s franchisee’s web page that referred to Cuppy’s being formerly Java Jo’z was also disappeared… perhaps by Col. Mustard… in the parlor… with the candleabra.
And then came the flood of happy happy Cuppy’s blogs and comments:
Negative blog comments were then swept away from search engine prominence by the warm waves of I Love Cuppy’s posts that appeared on sites like Cuppy’s LiveJournal, Cuppy’s Xanga
Then came the nasty comments:
Anonymous comments were posted on BlueMauMau.com and FranBest.Com accusing attorney Paul Steinberg (who had commented on the Cuppy’s/Java Jo’z connection on Blue Mau Mau) of having lawsuits, tax liens, judgements against him… using references that were in fact against a different Paul Steinberg.
BlueMauMau coincidentally began having major technical difficulties, their servers inexplicably were being overloaded.
Who will be next?
Some remaining posts wait around nervously, hoping they won’t be next. Which will it be?
Franchise Pundit: When Blogs Attack… Cuppy’s Coffee & Java Jo’z
FranBest.Com: Java Jo’z, Emerald Coast Mfgr., Roy Snowden?
Company Says Java Jo’z is NOT Cuppy’s Coffee & More?
Franchisor Marketing’s: Java Jo’z Coffee Franchise Blogs to Top Google Position
Steve’s Bitter Java Blog?
FamousReviews.com Review of Java Jo’z? [UPDATE: 1/18/07 All references to the "C" words have been purged and the comments have changes]
Blue MauMau: Java Jo’z Controversy Gaining Attention Via Blogs?
The Death of the Blogosphere
It’s really the vitality and the potential for honest dialogue for whom this bell tolls.
When voices as influential as the Scoble’s are this effectively silenced, what hope is there for the rest us?
[NOTE: This post has been dugg. Go here and digg us.]
When I read the ‘new’ blogs, I thought the exact same thing. I’m guessing that the individuals couldn’t compete with the high powered attorney that Cuppy’s brought in.
The thing on Paul Steinburg was disgusting. I hope that current and future franchisees realize that if they turn on Cuppy’s in the future for poor financial performance or something else, that they can anticipate the same thing.
This is a case where the people that have the money are able to outspend the people that have already lost their $30k.
A cease-and-desist letter doesn’t mean you have to cease and desist. It means that somebody wants you to and was willing to pay an attorney to tell you to.
In the media, you can’t just pull something that was in print, and in the blogosphere it looks bad for everyone – the blogger AND the company in question – when blog content just suddenly disappears. Everybody is suspect when that happens.
The thing for the blogger to do is just print a retraction/correction and prominently display it at the point of the original content, not delete it.
The thing for the company to do is to come engage in the dialog. Comment on the blogs themselves. I can’t really blame them for trying to bury it in the search engines with positive comments, though — so long as it’s not shilling, which would be unethical.
The content is cached in so many other places that it’s ridiculous to even try to delete it — if it was on Scoble’s blog, you can be sure that there are thousands of copies of it floating around, like, say, this copy of it on Google.
The postings of the liens/lawsuits etc noted above were sent thru an internet server in Destin Florida, just a few miles from Cuppy’s HQ
This is now far bigger than Cuppy’s or Java Jo’z or whatever it is called these days.
It is about credible reports of serious violations of state and federal law.
I have already spoken to one of the regulators. I have spoken to several attorneys, and have informed one of Cuppy’s outside law firms (they have ones in Texas, Florida, Virginia and New York–that alone should tell you something) as to some specific facts which have been brought to my attention.
If this were just about a single company, the story would pass. But where the response of a person or corporate entity strikes at the fundamental integrity of a larger structure (such as freedom of speech or franchise regulation or the security of the Internet from attack) there is necessarily a governmental concern which is far bigger than a spat among franchisees/franchisors.
Paul,
Best of luck. That was an uncalled for low blow.
Wow, when you get Scoble to remove a post, you are doing something. They should have used the money o pay off their debts instead oft lawyers.
Guy
It remains to be seen who is responsible. The outcomes are the same: self-censorship and distrust of the franchise industry.
Threats of litigation are a normal part of compliance management in modern franchising. In 2004, I felt its implementation.
In this case, suing an attorney such as Paul Steinberg may not stop bloggers.
But destroying the forum of the discussion (Blue MauMau) achieves the same ends.
Free speech is a luxury in franchising: abandoned to preserve your life savings.
Les Stewart, MBA
First, I heard from a very reliable source that the Cuppy’s marketing people wrote the statement attributed to Scoble.
Second, that the statement was routed thru one of the lawyers for Cuppys.
Third, that if Scoble had not agreed, they would have sued him.
Fourth, that the statement is factually not accurate.
Fifth, read the statement: Scoble posted it precisely because Cuppy’s wrote such a ham-handed statement that no one would believe Scoble wrote it, and we would all know he was forced to put the statement on his blog. In fact, I knew that someone (if not Scoble, someone else would have) was going to be forced to post that statement. It was read to me verbatim long before it was posted, and so even before Scoble knew he would have to post the language, I reported what was going to happen to an assistant Attorney General, who chuckled that such a statement if they were to put it out would be seen as one written by Cuppy’s.
What should concern Cuppy’s is that while what Scoble did was not illegal, if Scoble is put under oath he can quite legitimately tell what happened, since the Cuppy’s lawyers can not force Scoble to lie to the government.
Likewise, if one of the Cuppy’s lawyers drafted the statement, or Cuppy’s gave it to the lawyer and the lawyer then told Scoble to post it—
well, the lawyer will have to admit to that if the government asks him or the lawyer will risk a perjury charge, which is pretty much an automatic disbarment.
As to the hacking of BlueMauMau, they have made a lot of progress. But since I am not a techie, I don’t know what is OK to disclose without tipping off the hackers as to how to get around the fix when they try the next attack. So on that subject, I will defer to others.
When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest.
I am so really extremly shocked to see all of the post on the matter I discussed earlier are gone. Everything I have posted on this matter has been deleted. Someone tell me there has got to be something I can do about this. Cuppy’s is/ has to be breaking some law by deleting these post and redirecting URL’s. I fully plan to look into this, I spoke to the IT guy At work today and he says it is a break of federal law. That these people seem to just be getting themselves into more trouble. This really has my attention now. And anyone interested in free speach or even the gift we have been given to blog our thoughts and opinions should be deeply concerned by this company’s obviouse attempt at silencing it’s criticts. I can not believe that any lawyer representing this company would give them this advice. I know one thing I am not Scoble , I will set up a 1000 different blogs and let them delete them so that I can sue. Not for money but principal. How dare they think they have some power over the internet.
I agree with you, and I have had several people approach me with disturbing information. But where the people most affected will not come forward, and others who have information are afraid that if they speak out that they will be targeted for background investigations– well, there is only so much that can be done.
If you read Janet Sparks’ column on BlueMauMau, it really just shows yet more linkage between Morgan, Hibbing, Snowden, Cuppys, and Java Jo’z.
By the way, is it true that Hibbing is a Computer Network Engineer? That might explain a few things.
If the Paul Steinberg you’re talking about has the middle initial W., went to St. Johns Law School and has an office at 14 E 4 St, NY, NY, Ste 408, then NY State filed two tax liens against him for around $32,000 from 2002 to 2005. Go to 1 http://appsext8.dos.state.ny.us/stwarrants_public/st_search and search just Steinberg, look for Paul W.
Just found this site and the last comments were made over a year ago. I would like to know if there has been any updates to the cuppy fiasco?
I to have posted many comments about Cuppys but return to find them missing.
Beverly: If comments appeared here they shouldn’t have disappeared (sometimes they could get caught by SPAM filters before they appear). Often the comments were actually left on another post here or at franchisormarketing.com or franbest.com, our sister sites.
Cuppy’s has since worked with the AAFD to create a franchisee-friendly agreement and the furor has quieted down. Medina, the eqpt company, is selling other franchise concepts. We had one angry comment on one of these blogs recently, but haven’t heard much new. ANYONE?
Search for the Franchise Times article post here on Cuppy’s… that’s interesting.
If you hear more, please let us know.
My understanding is that Cuppy’s is trying to abide by the AAFD fair franchising standards and in order to get the AAFD seal, they will be having to get an affirmative vote from their franchisees.
From what I can see, they are trying to do the right thing and put the past behind them. As to the profitability of the outlets and/or wisdom of investing in the particular system, I don’t know. But they do seem to be promptly responding to f’zee concerns, and the complaints are now remarkably sparse.
Is this the same Paul Steinberg whom the State of New York filed tax warrants against for over $30,000 just 4 years ago? Search “tax warrants nys” then search “paul steinberg” then go to the second warrant.
Norman:
No, I think it’s the psychiatrist Paul Steinberg who writes about hangovers for the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/opinion/29steinberg.html
Or maybe Rabbi Paul M. Steinberg was a dean at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York for 50 years. Wait, he’s dead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/nyregion/25steinberg.html
Or Paul Steinberg, the electrician whose work we admired in American Gangster:
http://movies.nytimes.com/person/408721/Paul-Steinberg
Or Paul Steinberg, set designer
http://www.amrep.org/people/steinberg.html
Is this the same Norman who keeps posting the same comment on Franchise Pick, BlueMauMau.Org and FranchisePundit.com? I’m generally a proponent of Freedom of Speech, but in your case, Norman, I believe an exception should be made.
Sean, I tried to write about hangovers but decided I needed to do more field research ;)
By the way, “Norman” is a pseudonym for a mentally-disturbed party in a lawsuit in which I am representing a client. He is not involved in franchising, just a run of the mill wacko.
His last name wouldn’t be Bates, would it?
If so, decline his offer to settle the suit with gift certificates to his motel.
Is this the post that will not die, or what?
Does Cuppy’s Coffee or Elite Manufacturing owe you a refund? Provide an update at: Does Cuppy’s Coffee or Elite Manufacturing Owe You Money?