Ethicity: Gift or Bribe?
Written 29 Dec 2006
Joel presents a very fine analysis of the situation: should highly visible bloggers accept gifts?
His conclusion? No, because such gifts amount to a bribe. With this I agree. Afterall, the same metric is often applied against other people in 'positions' of trust. Public Officials, for example must follow explicit, detailed guidlines when accepting gifts, especially gifts that are intended to sway the opinion of the receiver, or those the receiver has dealings with.
However, one scenario makes me wonder? What if the Microsoft laptop arrived on Mr. Spolsky's doorstep unannounced, without accompanying instructions. To me at least, this is a different dynamic, a gift without strings, if you will. Under such circumstances, I could see acceptance as being ethically valid. Of course, who could expect a Public Relations to do something like that?