Gizmodo Blogger Gets Banned From CES

Call it "GizmodoGate." At CES, Richard Blakeley, a Gizmodo blogger went around with a TV-B-Gone and turned off monitors (a TV-B-Gone only has an on and off buttons; you hold down the button and it tries a number of frequencies automatically, unlike trying to program a universal remote control for your home TV).

Blakely has been banned from future events.

A statement I received from CES reads:

The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of C.E.S. media credentials and caused harm to C.E.S. exhibitors. This Gizmodo staffer has been identified and will be barred from attending any future C.E.S. events. Additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker are being reviewed.

At first I thought the prank was ... well, funny, but then I thought about it more. Not only did it make the life of those trying to do their jobs harder, it also made bloggers look bad.

Granted Gizmodo is an uber-blog, with many writers working for it, but even my small blog was invited to the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) last year, and to several press conferences as well. It's taken some time for blogs to get respect, and we don't need a reversal of that good will based on the actions of an admittedly irreverent, though informative and useful Gizmodo.

Will anything permanent happen to Gizmodo? Likely Blakely is out forever, but aside from that, doubtful. Still, as my wife said, this was a juvenile stunt, and I'll be next year all the IR sensors are covered up.