is bad publicity good publicity?

Apparently Ben Mack and Mick Meaney conducted a marketing experiment in 2004 to find out and it worked really good.

It created controversy, which creates attention.

It also forces people to "have an opinion", and sometimes when people form an opinion, they can end up caring about the topic.

Well, the guy's now dissected my article, though I think he's totally wrong. The problem is that my article calls into question the validity of the most popular poker style, and while it's not perfectly written I'm not changing it for him as it's year old and getting traffic.

The thing is, should I reply to him immediately, or wait a week, let it drift down the forum list a bit, and then ping it back to the top of the thread list?

Exactly. The entertainment industry has turned "bad publicity" into an art form. I have actually known PR people in the business and they've told me that some celebrities even go so far as to work with their PR team to deliberately cultivate bad publicity of some kind. Why? The immediate boost in buzz for the celebrity.

Think of all the "leaked" sex tapes of celebrities, for example. If a celebrity tries to "stop" the tapes, it only serves to shine a spotlight on the celebrity, making it even more of a hot topic.

Addictions, drug problems, etc...are another way this is done. It's very risky though and has to be very carefully calculated. Ever see the show Californication? Do you think it was an accident that David Duchovny, who plays a womanizing sex addict on the show, checked himself in for rehab for...you guessed it, sexual addiction? Of course, I have no proof that it was simply a publicity stunt, but having known people in the entertainment industry, I wouldn't put it past them. At any rate, Californication has been met with mostly rave reviews. It hasn't hurt the show or Duchovny one bit.

Remember Robert Downey Jr's substance abuse problems? His addictions may have indeed been very real, but the negative publicity he received over the years sure hasn't hurt his success, he's one of Hollywood's top "A list" actors these days.

You know those celebrity magazines like "Us?" Those are celebrity "buzz" boosting publications masquerading as "entertainment" for the public. A lot of celebs don't necessarily mind if an unflattering "candid" pic of them shows up in one of those, as again, it only shines the spotlight on them, keeping them "on people's minds."

Negative publicity can hurt you though, see Mel Gibson for a good example. If he ever recovers from his recent "phone call" tapes, it will be amazing.

I'm not really worrying. While it's disappointing that people so strongly disagree with me, I know I'm not a bad player. I'm just really surprised that he's getting so much joy from criticising me.

EDIT: Meant to say I know I'm not a good player. I loose every time I play.

In this situation, considering it was just an article you wrote, I wouldn't suggest you try to defend yourself. Instead, take a look at their criticisms. Could they have any legitimate points? If so, perhaps it will show you some "holes" in your thinking, and you can make improvements for future articles. If their criticisms aren't legit, and they're just being dicks, then don't worry about it, it will cool off within a week or so.

I'd stoke the flames a little bit. Write an article about mediocre players who think of themselves as experts who use the style you critiqued and how to exploit them at the table as a follow up.