International Law

Yesterday I blogged about how Rocketboom's Andrew Baron was auctioning off his Twitter account on eBay (see here).  Perhaps unsurprisingly this move has attracted a wave of attention from the blogosphere (and twitsophere).  Now Charles Cooper chimes in with the observation that we should give Andrew Baron some credit for pushing the right buttons:

What if someone started an auction and we all ignored it?

I was hoping that might be the reaction in the "Twitosphere" after finding out that Andrew Baron put his Twitter account up for auction on eBay. Silly me.

My first reaction was to chuckle. It sounded like something out of Seinfeld--an auction about nothing. Would anyone be so much of an egomaniac to believe anybody would care? Then again, if Rocketboom's founder is serious about "auctioning" his Twitter account, have at it, pal. More likely, I'm sure he's laughing about every click we waste agonizing about the supposed implications.

Credit Baron for knowing how to push the right button. He is reaping a PR windfall, generating the most discussion about Rocketboom since Amanda Congdon decided to seek fame and  fortune elsewhere.

Some folks are getting really worked up over the fact that the auction will include Baron's 1,400 something or so "followers" as well. Well, in case you haven't heard, slavery was outlawed in the 19th century. I'm sure Baron's "followers" will make up their own minds if there's a change in ownership.

I fell for the bait so here's my two cents. Everyone's going to get their 15 minutes' worth of fame, no matter how silly. So don't waste any more brain cells worrying about all this. As Stowe Boyd aptly notes, it's not like trading in hard goods. "When it comes to virtual relationships, we're still talking about human relationship. This will go down as little more than a transparent stunt in this hair-trigger era we inhabit.

Read more here (from CNET News.com).