Day: May 15, 2003

According to The Motley Fool, the iLoo mishap is “one of the biggest and funniest corporate public relations nightmares ever.”

Read it here.

In the dark era that was known as the Internet boom in the late 1990’s, Internet entrepreneurs sold us a vision that never again would we have to leave our bedrooms.  Instead, we’d wake, jump out of bed (remember it’s a vision, you don’t crawl grumpily from slumber in a vision..) turn on our PC, log on, do some work, order our shopping, connect with friends and pay some bills, all without having a shower.

Trillions of wasted dollars later we know this is rubbish.  The vision was predicated on the premise that the Internet would destroy what went before.  But just as Radio didn’t kill print, and TV didn’t kill Radio, the Internet supplements our existing media – it doesn’t supplant it.

In the same way, I fundamentally disagree that blogs or weblogs will replace traditional journalism.  It will supplement it for sure, but it will not replace it. Full stop.

Although blogs are growing in popularity they still only reach a tiny proportion of the population.  While they provide useful information and opinions, they are personal opinions with none of the ethics or objectivity that is inherent in journalism. I am a weblog fan, but we need perspective on this issue.

Dave Winer is a weblogging pioneer.  His Scripting News weblog is extremely powerful in the weblog (and Search Engine) world.  But his belief that weblogs are removing the need for journalists and specifically technology journalists is in my humble opinion misplaced.

This blog is created using the wonderful Radio software Dave created.  I read his blog every day.  But his blog itself, although very enjoyable and informative, is a great example of the inherent weakness of weblogs as a mainstream media.

He feels passionately about certain subjects and this agenda dictates much of the content of his weblog. 

The vast volumes of information flowing around the Internet mean that people continue to need trusted sources to sift through what’s going on and providing some independent, objective views on events. That’s why we have journalists.

Weblogs are a fantastic media for opinions and there is no doubt that they will continue to become an increasingly important audience for PR professionals in every field. But it’s not supplanting journalism, it’s supplementing it.

You can read Dave’s back-and-forth debate on this topic with Jon Bonne of MSNBC here.

“Frankly, I�ve tired of techno-evangelical proclamations that one or another technology is so revolutionary it will destroy the old models. ” – Jon Bonne

Agreed.

One of the key elements of successful PR is the creation of systems which quickly and effectively let you communicate with your key audiences. But what happens when the wrong information accidentially infiltrates the system?

Microsoft have in my opinion, humble or otherwise, one of the most effective PR machines on the planet.  The company’s success has been built on a passionate belief in the power of Public Relations.  As a result they have put in place a PR system which ensures they communicate successfully with all their audiences.  Just look at the widespread coverage of every single Microsoft announcement. 

But the recent iLoo incident illustrates the problems that arise when the wrong information manages to slip into the machine.

Although certainly not commercially damaging the iLoo incident is embarrassing and is a timely reminder to all PR professionals that we need to carefully manage what is within our control.  The situation isn’t made any easier by the fact that the Internet is rapidly removing any element of control we might have over information.

In case you missed this whole iLoo saga here is a quick summary.  A couple of weeks back, Microsoft’s MSN team in the United Kingdom announced the iLoo, an Internet enabled portable toilet.  The announcement, which took advantage of Microsoft’s PR muscle, was widely covered around the globe – to the surprise of Microsoft staffers in Redmond, Washington.  They quickly briefed the media that the iLoo was in fact a hoax – again through the PR machine.  And this rebuttal was widely covered.  Finally, Microsoft recanted the hoax line and stated that while the iLoo had been a planned project it was now being canned.

All these various versions were covered by the world’s leading new organizations. It was confusing and a little embarrasing (maybe). And it all occurred because internal communication systems broke down.

I did some work with Microsoft in the dim and distant past and I can testify that they have terrific internal PR systems.  If their systems broke down, it could happen to anyone.

The Online Journalism Review has a strong-worded analysis of the episode and believes that this comes down to an issue of trust.

More information, less control and the Internet are presenting new issues for our profession every day. No one is immune. 

RELATED LINKS: San Jose Mercury News | San Francisco Chronicle | The Register 1 | The Register 2 |  Mac Daily News |  CNET |