Sometimes, when something looks like a fizzy scoop, it totally isn't.

I'm still restricting my viewing of news. More often than not, I want the time back. Weather report, please, but hold those personal interest stories; which stations/networks seem to have increased to water down the newsy proof that we are all going to hell in a handbasket. Incidently, I own my own handbasket. So perhaps one ring of hell is reserved for handbasket owners and we get our own personal "thank you" on arrival and a nice fruit and cheese plate. I like to be prepared.

Anyway, works on blogs. 'Specially newsy blogs from newspapers. Bloggy, newsy goodness. Like the news, only minus the required fact-checking? I don't know....what is a newspaper blog? Your chocolate is in my peanut butter.

Anyway, sometimes something that looks all awesomely news-worthy really isn't. Take this as an example: Microsoft's coolers are filled with Talking Rain (for you out-of-staters: fizzy water) that has the Bing logo on it (and Todd Bishop's post on TechFlash here). ZOMG!

(photo from the Seattle PI story)

Microsoft went to all that effort to be able to develop custom cans to market their own search engine to their employees? They shelled out a ton of marketing cash to get a company to offer us custom cans?  Here's the catch kids, and really it's a question: where else have you seen Talking Rain in a can? Oh, really? Nowhere? I wonder why that is. Could it be that Microsoft is a major customer and the Washington-based company puts it in cans so it fits in our refrigerators? They do it so they can make more money. Hmmm. Now the Bing logo doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? They make the cans for us anyway. Not quite the marketing conspiracy it appears to be. (Anyone have cans for other MS products? Sadly for the cost centers: no cans for you!)

Of course, I have to ask "is it you or is it me?" Is there someone in our PR department that would give a "no comment" when asked about this?  Or do we "just not ask" when it comes to a "newspaper blog?" What's a newspaper blog again?

In breaking Microsoft news: we have both yellow and white legal pads in the supply room.

Only because I know how he rolls: Todd Bishop replies in 3...2...1.