Shankman vs. Kami

So, I have been following the Peter Shankman/ Kami “thing” the past few days. It sure is interesting.

For those who don’t know, I’ll sum it up in a nutshell. Appears that Kami asked Peter to pick his brain. Peter tweeted to his many thousands of followers, “New Rule: If your email starts off with “I want to pick your brain,” my reply starts off with “at $400 per hour.” And while Peter appeared not to make reference to Kami’s request, it did come back to her and then a tempest in a teapot begun, with both parties throwing mildly sarcastic barbs at the other.

And the really cool thing is that since both are so well connected on the web, it has elicited lots of online chatter (On Shankman’s blog, close to 120 people have commented at the time of me writing this)

So what’s interesting about this sorta heated exchange? Here’s my take:

1. Kami (and I have never had the pleasure of even speaking to her), asked Peter a seemingly innocent (yet loaded) question. Perhaps Kami did want to pick Peter’s brain, and while there is nothing wrong with picking someone’s brain, one has to pay the person whose brain you are trying to pick. Did Kami want to pick Peter’s brain for free? Hell, I don’t know. Maybe yes and maybe no --- but that really is kinda not the issue here. The issue here is how both parties reacted

2. There for sure is some arrogance/ sassyness here --- by both Peter and Kami. And let me say that a little arrogance/ sassyness is not necessarily a bad thing. Arrogance may be a little strong, but sassy may be more accurate. I have traded many emails with Peter over the years – arrogant he is not. Au contraire. I have found Peter to be one of the most approachable and regular guys in the biz. My emails are acknowledged and Peter for sure, is an all-round nice guy. Kami? Never met or spoken to her, but I am sure she is also a “nice guy” who likely resented being chided in so public a forum

That said guys, you both a solid social citizens.Keep it up … I am watching from a distance.

And as Shankman says, “Blue skies and long surfs.”