When conflict of interest strikes back: Apple, Amazon

Over the past few days the Internet has been full of the conflict of interest coverage, be it from jaded lovers or angry blog authors who thought they mattered.. and I suppose it’s a sad realization when you realize you don’t.

First up, Scoble seems to be surprised that his friends will not go on camera bashing Apple for their crappy products. It’s got nothing to do with Apple, it all has to do with self-interest: CEO’s of Web 2.0 vaporware have to be nice to everyone on the record because they want to do business or be acquired by those companies. Scoble, who gets a lot of press attention, is a blogger – not press, so he didn’t get the iPhone up front or a free PowerMac or whatever he wanted so he is calling Apple for what everyone already knows. Second, a whole slew of people seem pissed at Steven Levy, who gave a glowing review of what is one fugly, closed, DRM-ridden piece of trash product from Amazon that costs more than the competition. Who is complaining? Thats right, the guys that didn’t get a free one.

To put it in perspective, this is like me calling out Microsoft for Zune 2 sucking because I didn’t get one. And that Lamborgini Murcielago, what a joke!

So here is a lesson for the aspiring bloggers: You either have to be an undying, unquestionable fanboy, or you better hide from any camera / voice recorder / cell phone lest you be caught saying the wrong thing to the wrong people..

How do these folks sleep at night with all that ego and fear on their minds?