I was always a Times reader myself, clearly I’ve been loyal to the wrong paper! Sorry lovable Hearst Corp I plan to switch over my subscription tomorrow morning.
I’m also sorry to disappoint you readers (both the loyal oldies and the newcomers), but this influx of traffic is having me rethink the whole blogging about my employer thing. I know most bloggers would give their left nut to be mentioned in the real media, and I know my blogging about WaMu is not quite as risky as blogging about Tibet while living in China, but there are ramifications that I need to more fully think through before I take this to the next level. I was OK with this as long as the audience was relatively small but the enormous rampup in hits from Sunday evening when the P-I posted their story online is giving me second thoughts.
So I have temporarily moved the earlier blog posts offline. I still have them on my server and can turn them back on in a flash if I decide to. I hope to make up my mind about what to do in the next day or two. On the bright side, this does confirm that there’s a pretty sizable market in WaMu talk!
Until then, feel free to read that infamous elevator post below. And for the love of god please be more considerate riding the WaMu Center elevators.
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41 responses so far ↓
1 johnjohnson // Jul 28, 2008 at 1:33 am
you have to start blogging again. some of those posts were classics.
wamu: the movie, the earnings call predictions (you hit about 6/9 if i recall), and honestly where else can i read about the bong-hitting analysts next quarter on the earnings call?
2 wamullian // Jul 28, 2008 at 3:44 am
I am a newbie to this blog but in so far as what I have read absolutly adore it please don’t quit!!!!
3 tom // Jul 28, 2008 at 6:13 am
i agree, keep fighting the good fight…dont let rotella off the hook by stopping.
4 phil // Jul 28, 2008 at 6:29 am
I was hoping to see more of your famous blogs to help me determine ……. Oh well I plan to remove all my funds from Wamu today so I wont be in those long lines like they had at IndyMac. I suspect that Wamu will be finished by the end of the week.
Phil
5 kevin // Jul 28, 2008 at 6:55 am
If the big brother finds out you will most likely get fired, but aren’t you looking for a job anyways? At least I would be becuase based on what I know, wamu is on a lifeline. Keep things real and you will attract royal readers.
6 Doug Bernstein // Jul 28, 2008 at 9:41 am
a profile in courage
7 Betty // Jul 28, 2008 at 9:56 am
You seem like a guy with above average intelligence but also above average paranoia about your anonymity. Unless you’re blogging at work (and even then, I’d doubt WaMu’s ability to track you down) and keeping identifiable references to a minimum (with a good dose of misdirection), how is WaMu to identify you? If they did, what would be the cause for termination? Your posts are actually optimistic about the company’s prospects and I haven’t seen any insider info yet. Knowing firsthand how hard it is to get a total idiot fired from this place, I’d be impressed if they could build a litigation-proof case for your dismissal.
Stay strong, man, you’re speaking for all of us.
8 Tulip // Jul 28, 2008 at 10:13 am
Nah, keep it going Blogger. With this new exposure you’ll be famous and make more money than you are now!
9 Marie // Jul 28, 2008 at 11:58 am
Hey, great work, keep it up, it’s nice to have a voice for beleaguered wamulians, past and present.
10 Paul // Jul 28, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Trust your first instinct - you started the blog because there was a need. The increased hits simply confirm what you already knew. And Betty’s right - what would they fire you for?
11 dude-man @ wamu // Jul 28, 2008 at 12:56 pm
dude, don’t chicken out. you’ve got talent & you are supplying a demand that is really out there. i know of plenty of blogs about MSFT that exist that are FARRR more critical & detailed and they have existed for years. please don’t chicken out.
12 TPSReport // Jul 28, 2008 at 2:04 pm
You have to keep it going. What else am I going to read at work while I wait to be laid off in September?
13 K. Killinger // Jul 28, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Mr. A -
Please come down to my office.
K2
14 What the hell is a Wamullian // Jul 28, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Flash - I am so confused - I may need to go lay down.
I thought the PI read should be viewed as more of a coming out annoucement than an obituary.
A few days ago you blogged on the hits you were getting and could see interest from inside the center, our ad agency, our competitors and many others.
I doubt that the PI opened the eyes of anyone that matters, my gut tells me that Napoleon and Squaler (think Orwell) have been lurking for a while, perhaps even enjoying your wit and wisdom.
So Flash don’t abandon us in our time of need, lead us, inspire us, don your mighty electronic quill and become our modern day americanized Peter Lavrovitch Lavrov.
I do have a flair for the dramatic ; )
Seriously though you are bringing people together and encouraging the exchange of ideas in an open supportive environment. Rather than stopping - how about you throw up a paypal link so I can toss you you a couple of bucks and you can buy yourself a beer next time you go out.
Peace!
15 disappointed wamulian // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:59 pm
in for a day..in for a dollar…put it back up!!
16 Cache FTW // Jul 29, 2008 at 6:42 am
Turn the posts back on and enjoy it while you can. Google has them cached anyway….so vee haff all ov zee infomation vee neet!
17 EnjoyedWamu // Jul 29, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Dude, don’t be so upset.
WAMU
What
A$$hole
Manages
Us?
18 moneyman // Jul 29, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Please continue to write! The best thing I’ve read in a Long Time.
Like Therapy!
19 sofie // Jul 29, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Given how WaMu blocked your site for employees today…I think it’s a sure sign you’re EXACTLY on point with your observations.
Keep posting!!
20 Sympathetic // Jul 29, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I very much enjoy your writing, and upon reflection, I COULD use the light cardio.
Why not lay low for a month until the PI thing blows over and their bloggers (who all seem to be massive WaMu-haters, if you read the comments on their WaMu articles) lose interest?
Trust me — your followers inside the Center will pick right back up reading when things have died down a bit and you’re ready to write again.
21 cc // Jul 29, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Absolutely enjoyed reading your older posts. So refreshing after the company kool aid blog… You should keep going!
22 alex // Jul 29, 2008 at 6:52 pm
You have been outed.
23 Anonymous // Jul 30, 2008 at 1:27 pm
bye bye
24 Anon // Jul 30, 2008 at 6:46 pm
So sad that this didn’t work out. I have been following starbucksgossip.typepad.com for years. This is a great example of a culture that encourages constructive criticism and healthy debate and is better for it. Too bad this isn’t part of the WaMu culture.
25 tom // Jul 30, 2008 at 8:12 pm
what happend did this guy get fired or something ?…
26 wa-boo // Jul 30, 2008 at 8:57 pm
yeah right. If he was fired you can be sure all those prior posts would come right back online, nothing left to lose. I wonder if WM knows who he is though.
27 n/a // Jul 30, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Please keep writing
28 tom // Jul 30, 2008 at 9:48 pm
wamu is a garbage outfit who absolutely does not want dissention of any kind. i should know i got many posts deleted from the internal blog for simply challenging the norm. you can see right through all their bs.
29 obamaforprez // Jul 31, 2008 at 8:28 pm
You people are pathetic. You’re a bunch of rich bankers complaining that you’re weren’t able to steal enough money from honest people before you lost your jobs, which you should have lost anyways. There are new ideals about honesty, fairness and equality coming to this country and I suggest that you all get on board.
30 tom // Jul 31, 2008 at 8:34 pm
rich bankers?….hahah the only people rich that work in banks are at the executive level…contrary to popular notion …banking does not pay that well.
31 Patsy // Aug 1, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Oh I know that I for one am rolling in the dough after toiling away for years in the branches “stealing” money from honest people. Enough to retire soon… Only 22 more years to go!
32 rodzilla // Aug 5, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I really think most of the above comments have gone off on some bizarre tangent, and more the shame that it isn’t restricted to original intent. Too bad we can’t just kill this thread and start over.
imho: keep this site active, continue to blog, and ignore the publicity b.s. flareup. I’ll look forward to honest posts, and ignore the blather.
33 Anonymous // Aug 10, 2008 at 5:38 pm
You might as well restore all of the old posts, seeing as 1.) they are accurate and 2.) most of them are still available in various search engine caches…
34 Mark // Aug 17, 2008 at 8:37 pm
ok..come on…start blogging again!!! the rotella blog has gotten so bad that i’m about to post the “where’s magnus” thread!!!
also…it’s almost september and round #46 of layoffs is just around the corner……we’re gonna need a place to vent
35 Mark // Aug 17, 2008 at 8:40 pm
a quick follow up….if you don’t want to post about the obvious shortfalls of the company….how about a blog dedicated to the hotties of wamu??? the lobby at wamu center is a lovely place to hang…especially during these warm summer months!
36 Jeremy Stamper // Aug 18, 2008 at 2:14 pm
anonymous WAMU discussion at referenced URL
37 Jeremy Stamper // Aug 18, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Its http://www.topic5.com/name/Washington/Mutual/Bank/91
38 EnjoyedWamu // Sep 8, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Kerry is gone. Is Steve next?
Party!
39 Sympathetic // Sep 17, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I think it’s time to resurrect this thing. Employees need a place to talk about everything that’s happening, and Steve’s blog is not appropriate for that purpose. Come on back.
40 gumey // Sep 17, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Killinger can kiss my white ass for not selling to chase @ 8.75, what a hero for sticking it out and not selling when the time was right. He fucked up in in so many ways and the “good o boys” at the board ought to be ashamed for leaving him in there for so long.
Ill these talking points and stay strong to the brand is just hot air. Poor tellers, PFR’s and branch managers who have to face the worried customers everyday until we’re bought.
41 Pissed off!!! // Sep 28, 2008 at 9:43 am
The fact that Steve RATella is still around and addressing FC’s on a supposed JP Morgan conf calls to FC’s makes me wanna puke!!!
Why that rat bastard hasnt been thrown to the curb the way Kerry KILLa-company was is beyond me! And to hear he may walk away with $20 million is disgusting. Shareholder lawsuits should focus on KILLA-company, RATella, and the FDIC for causing shareholder value to be zero!!!
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