Re: Note

["Al Colombo" <securitymission@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I think it's sad, Tom, how this thing has gotten so out of control, or
should I say how Robert has allowed  himself to go off the deep end on
this thing.  I know I reacted rather poorly to his attacks, but once I
realized what he was up to, I decided not to dance to the music.

He really shouldn't allow himself to entertain such thoughts to the
point where it becomes a personal vendetta.  And I have no reason why
he's so angry with me either as back when this original thing took
place I was only trying to give him some exposure in a print magazine.
I was trying to do him a favor (he'll have fun with that one, I'm
sure).

Many vendors consider it a privilege to get into a print magazine like
SDM or SSI, and it is for how many companies ever get that opportunity?
 He would have had a byline on the sidebar with his company name, city
and state and he threw it all away. No matter what his reason(s) may
have been to decline when we arrived at crunch time, he had plenty of
time before that to do this short sidebar.  I would have simply
interviewed him and quoted him if he had been more civil, but when he
accused me of having other people write my stuff, I decided there and
then he did not deserve the opportunity I'd given him anyway.

Dealers often use these article mentions in their Public Relations
effort, which distinguishes them from their peers.  It gives their firm
a degree of credibility that the Web cannot provide.  I think all of
you who read my work know that I always give my sources credit for
their contributions, whether it's by way of quotes or a contributed
sidebar.  Frankly, I rarely allow anyone to write my sidebars anymore
since my experience with Robert.  I found that depending on others is
not always a good policy so I usually interview people, like Mike
Sokoly.  I do especially enjoy featuring smaller dealers and
distributors because many of them are struggling just to stay alive and
yet they have just as much by way of information to offer the
professional dealers who read these publications. Don't you agree?

Anyway, I'm done playing Robert's little game.  He can have at it
all he wants.  I let my former work in SDM, my current work in SSI, and
my field history stand as testimony of who I am, what I know, and my
diversity of abilities.  I do not know everything and I've never said
I did.  There are new technologies that all of us are learning about.
My job is to try to help make some of them known to our men and women
who sell, install, and service them.  I always learn something with
each and every story I do and I always give credit to those who help me
learn it as I work to help the field understand it better.

Al


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