mike: Interesting find. The Scott Shaffer send-off of CSMG as the next ISRG was apparently posted on 01 August 2007. At least, that date appears on the lower right near the terminus of his article. http://www.visionaryinnovationsinc.com/intuitivesurgical.html
Later, on 18 Oct 2007, CSMG realized $455,000 by selling from its treasury a total of 812,500 shs @ 0.56/sh to seven investors--including Mr. Shaffer who purchased 200,000 shs CTUM. CTUM closed at $0.98 on open market that day, a substantial premium to the $0.56 treasury sale price.
On 23 Nov 2007, as you note, Mr. Shaffer was offered an option to purchase 200,000 shs CTUM @ $0.75 exercise price, the exact closing price on that date. This purchase option was given as "fees for service," presumably referring to Shaffer's write-up at his website. That option, if held, is now worth $166,000 to the good for Mr. Shaffer. His profit on discounted shares @ $0.56 is $204,000 for a grand total of $370,000 profit to date if all shares were held and options exercised. Not bad for a few hours desk work. Frankly, I doubt Mr. Shaffer's website promotion was worth a tenth of that. Furthermore, it's my understanding that stock touts who receive compensation from the companies they promote are supposed to reveal the source and amount of their compensation in disclaimers on their website and/or their print publications. I see no disclaimers on Mr. Shaffer's website, which begs the question of whether he has violated SEC rules or broken other laws. In any case, at first blush, I don't understand CEO Robbins' apparently indiscriminate largesse in the Shaffer matter. The Oakes (Volume Spike Alert) send-off triggered a gigantic rise in CSMG market cap, and Oakes seemingly received no remuneration from CSMG.
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