Well they say reflection is sometimes and great tool. personally......... I think the only tool in this whole debacle is Scott (@unmarketing)

So I sent him a short and brief tweet and basically told him what I thought. I could have just un-followed him - but I have an opinion and people like Scott, professional bloggers and advisors / life coaches always seem to want to be able to stay in touch with their prospective audience.....so I reached out in 140 chars or less.

What resulted can only be described as a third rate soccer striker diving in the box as a result of a soft tackle trying to get a penalty then laying there crying to the home fans for support hoping that none of the away fans would notice his soft injury.

This supposed professional example setter, a man amongst men, a guy that many pay to look up to for business advice, life skills and how to handle tricky situations, a guy that is supposed to have a rock steady brand based upon tried and tested theories, actually spat his public dummy, picked his football up and stormed off back into the house and refused to live up to his strap line "stop marketing, start engaging".

Scott basically deleted my own comments from his blog, which I posted in response to one of his followers requests, he banned me from making any other comments and basically sat there wallowing in his own virtual ego stroking contest.

OK, so my comment was not exactly constructive in its content, but to be honest - I am glad that I didn't waste my time - as it looks like @unmarketing doesn't even take kindly to constructive and well meant advice form anyone.

One of his own followers , but who may I suggest ended up having a mind of his own (One who I initially misunderstood) Tweeted me and told me that he had posted on this particular blog and did I have any thoughts? - I didn't read his post properly and instead saw his "identifying me" as a personal attack - in fact it wasn't - it was a well intentioned post - I have since apologised without reservation to him for lumping him with the rest of the sheep.

This attack by Scott on one of his followers who dared suggest that he "engage" instead of "tag and re-flame" looked like a public flogging. Scott lambasted this guy and pulled no punches whilst doing so.

You could actually feel the saliva misting as it was spat from his cybertantrum. Wow! how dare anyone offer Scott some advice? How very dare they?

At least he hasn't deleted it? yet, anyway.

Have a read of it - it has to show the real Scott in all his glory.

His original complaint was that I was rude and called him a bad name - the only remotely "rude name" that I called him was an "ass" - I could have used much worse - and in rhetoric I should have, as he has proved me correct many times over.

He kicked off a whole post on his site which started off categorising me as the typical "internet troll" that would make comments about his "momma" - Yeah OK Scott, build this up to something that it isn't.

Then his lapdog supporters took his word as gospel and soothed and stroked his "feigned battered ego" with kind words of support - knowing nothing about my reasons for sending him a "public" message.

He was spreading the word about "not feeding the trolls"................ rofl, yeah w/e.

The same supporters I might add that he obviously places no real value upon (according to his auto-follow comments), apart from when they are dipping their hands into their own coffers to buy his latest "product" or they are sending him virtual ego strokes across the net.

"stop marketing, start engaging" - Nope! Not yet he hasn't.

Well, all of this continued, with of course Scott seeding his comments with personal and childish remarks thrown towards me and rewarding those of his followers - just the same behaviour that he complains about from the "trolls" - could Scott be accused of "flaming" in return? Surely not? oh wait....this must be one of his best pieces of advice? "Never hesitate to take any argument further down the childish route if it seems to suit your own mentality and the general flow of your audience" I'll remember that one as it must be worth the money that people pay him to hear! Thanks for the Freebie Scott!

So I thought I may as well get a post in and offer the reasons why I made such an upsetting comment....

I posted a short reply with a link to a post which was more than 140 characters........ Guess what? Yeah, you got it, it was deleted by Scott, who then banned me from making any more comments on the blog........

I should have expected it really? Well....actually I did, that's why I posted it on my own blog first with a date and time......

Well done Scott for a finely orchestrated dummy spitting example of how to handle a situation maturely.

Thank you for living up to your high example of moral ethic, offering a balanced and fair view of both sides, and living by your own example of "stop marketing, start engaging"..................oh wait, sorry - you didn't did you?

What are you trying to say about your brand? That it is just something that you preach to others because it sounds good and looks good on a presentation? That you can fleece other people into buying it from you because you really believe in it and that it works for you? Bahhhh, whatever.

What are you saying about yourself? The fact that one little comment can hurt you so much? The fact that you have to initially build that comment up in your blog anyway with a lot of "pre-weighting" just proves how lightweight my comment actually was.

You are selling "advice" Scott and one of your biggest hurdles is getting your advice over to those who cannot necessarily take advice? How ironic that really is?

Just like Eric I have learned lots about you Scott, and I am sure there are lots of your followers who have also learned a lot. The only casualty here is you and your brand - throwing your toys out of the pram Scott will win you nothing but bad taste in the end.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure, you will be stroked by those who want to make comments about "getting on the wrong side of your sassy Canadian temper" or those that that really want to suck up to you just in case you RT something of theirs to your 40k followers, or that their own niche product relies upon yours not to show any cracks...lol guess what.....its leaking Scott! in the "real world" it's leaking.

Just remember to keep deleting posts and comments that you don't like to hear, or at least don't want your followers to read in case they too realise that you are just full of sh** and a hyped up hypocrite who has "made himself prophet"

Cocoon yourself in that bubble of denial and self love if it feels comfortable - if it is the only place that you can exist - if it hides you from the reality that you sometimes have to stand up for what you believe in, and to do that you have to take risks sometimes Scott.

Have you shown the skills so far to be able to handle this situation with true dignity and intelligence? We ALL know the answer Scott............ One of your own followers mentioned to you in the early stages that it depends upon your skill level as to how much you are able to engage........... I have seen no engagement Scott - perhaps that is the only admission that your brand needs?

Thank you for proving my initial comments founded.