The Half Ashed Cigar Forum

I had hoped to find something worthwhile in this article, but was far too irritated by the incorrect punctuation and bad sentence structures to give the author much credit. Did anyone see, read, and gain anything insightful from this article?

http://thecigarauthority.com/what-exact ... editorial/

Stewmuse wrote:I had hoped to find something worthwhile in this article, but was far too irritated by the incorrect punctuation and bad sentence structures to give the author much credit. Did anyone see, read, and gain anything insightful from this article?

http://thecigarauthority.com/what-exact ... editorial/

That is a common theme with articles from The Cigar Authority...

Click bait nonsense

I read the article again. This time I'm taking into account the reactions here. David has some interesting thoughts and I can feel empathy for his difficulty getting said thoughts onto the screen clearly. I'm sure it's not surprising to anyone who has listened to me to understand that fact. I will say this, his mind is passionately, and probably slightly pessimistically, tuned into the cigar industry. His editorials are often representative of some unanswered or unspoken aspect of cigars; at the very least, for some. I don't agree with all of them (e.g. his havana trip takeaway!) but I do respect the fact that he calls a spade a spade and brings them up.
Mike, I'm sure there's some aspect of "click bait" in there but, I have to admit, there really should be. He is trying to run a business and his blog posts are just one way he handles his PR & marketing. I don't mean this to be disrespectful to the guys up at "2 Guys" (and frankly, don't think THEY would view it disrespectfully) but I keep them in a realm with Cigar Dave, Smoke Inn & CA. They're large(ish) industry players who put out a feeler to the public in a successful attempt to stay relevant. They are not "the public" with a voice. They are not "grassroots".
I classify "cigar media" in 3 groups: Of the Public (e.g. Half Ashed), For the Public (e.g. Cigar Coop, Halfwheel) and "In Need of the Public" (e.g. Now at times Halfwheel, C Afic, Cigar Auth, etc).

Know what to expect but be willing to learn something at the same time.

kurtdesign1 wrote:I read the article again. This time I'm taking into account the reactions here. David has some interesting thoughts and I can feel empathy for his difficulty getting said thoughts onto the screen clearly. I'm sure it's not surprising to anyone who has listened to me to understand that fact. I will say this, his mind is passionately, and probably slightly pessimistically, tuned into the cigar industry. His editorials are often representative of some unanswered or unspoken aspect of cigars; at the very least, for some. I don't agree with all of them (e.g. his havana trip takeaway!) but I do respect the fact that he calls a spade a spade and brings them up.
Mike, I'm sure there's some aspect of "click bait" in there but, I have to admit, there really should be. He is trying to run a business and his blog posts are just one way he handles his PR & marketing. I don't mean this to be disrespectful to the guys up at "2 Guys" (and frankly, don't think THEY would view it disrespectfully) but I keep them in a realm with Cigar Dave, Smoke Inn & CA. They're large(ish) industry players who put out a feeler to the public in a successful attempt to stay relevant. They are not "the public" with a voice. They are not "grassroots".
I classify "cigar media" in 3 groups: Of the Public (e.g. Half Ashed), For the Public (e.g. Cigar Coop, Halfwheel) and "In Need of the Public" (e.g. Now at times Halfwheel, C Afic, Cigar Auth, etc).

Know what to expect but be willing to learn something at the same time.

Post Script: One is able to surmise from the above why I am not a consumer of much "cigar media". There just doesn't seem to be enough charismatic & educated (i.e. worthy? does that come across as elitist even if I don't intend it to sound that way?) hosts or authors to warrant my consumption if THEY need it more than I need what they're saying.

I just re-read it, too, and now I'm pissed at you, Craig (not really). This article is even dumber than I first thought. He goes on for paragraphs about what a boutique cigar may be, moves onto a good comparison to craft beers, and then totally pusses out and says that he doesn't really have an answer. Tool. BAD writing (and don't forget the horrific mechanics of his writing). Total waste of time, regardless of his intent or need. Ugh.

Or, to follow the Giraffelope's style, I'm not really sure if I liked or disliked the article.

Per Craig's postscript: I listen to HA, stogie geeks, and the cigfed shows because they're NOT elitist know-it-all shows. Coop is full of knowledge, cigfed is funny and irreverent, and HA is where my friends hang out. No time for marketing in my podcast consumption.

Stewmuse wrote:Or, to follow the Giraffelope's style, I'm not really sure if I liked or disliked the article.

I laughed at this

...and for what it's worth, I don't overlook those annoying little writing style elements. I know what it's like to create them and I'm understanding of their existence. I disregard them for the point intended in the article. Now, regarding his lack of desire to give a solid conclusion, I won't defend that. I'll just say that he brings up points which provoke interesting thought. That's what I get out of it.