It was painful to see the slow, but sure, destruction of SCO. Criticized as a company whose sole strategy was to sue the crap out of other companies, we did some good work to help change that perception. Here are some of the headlines we helped secure:
Var Business: And Now for Something Completely Different . . . SCO 4.0
Computerworld: SCO Pledges to Focus on Innovation – “we’re not just focusing on litigation,” says SCO’s Darl McBride.
CNET: SCO’s Mobile Service to Talk to the Masses
VUNET: SCO Softens it Tone
Despite a great PR Director (Blake Stowell) and good agencies (Sprout, Coltrin, and others), SCO couldn’t shake the bad rap and ultimately lost it’s legal suits – Giving credence to the criticism that they were just a litigation company. I would love to hear some opinions as to why this company failed . . .
My work email is hosted by Gmail. Now, it appears that my account has been shut down because I’ve reached the limit of emails I’m allowed to send. I’m also in “Lockdown in Sector 6″, which appears whenever I try to download a file. Apparently Gmail thinks I’m a spammer. I captured a couple of screen shots (see below).
So, too many email pitches to journalists? It’s those giant blasts that’s gotten me in trouble. . .guess Google thinks I need a day off. I’ll take it!
I was at Trolley Square last night with friends celebrating my birthday at Rodizio Grill. Afterward, we walked around the mall, of course aware of the recent shooting where five people were killed. We passed one of the stores where the shooting took place, Cabin Fever. Next to the store is a wood column filled with obvious bullet holes. To cover this, Trolley Square management had cheaply covered the holes with wood putty. This struck me as extremely inappropriate, insensitive and tacky. The inexpensive wood paneling on the column should have been stripped off and replaced before the mall opened again. What was the management thinking? This is an easy fix and yet they filled these bullet holes, which just advertise the recent tragedy, with quick-fix wood putty! If they really cared about the victims they would have taken greater care, instead they just wanted their shops open. I’ll think twice before going back to Trolley Square.
The main reason blogs and podcasts became so popular was because of their position and perspective outside of the mainstream media. As corporations have embraced the blog phenomenon, the attraction has diminished for the early adopters that brought us blogs. So what’s next for these tech savvy pioneers? And can corporations and PR professionals follow? Take for instance Second Life. In this computer-generated world, users create their own character for free. For a small amount of real money users can accessorize with new clothing, a car, even a house. That’s where corporations are already getting involved. For example, Toyota offers a virtual version of their Scion for users to purchase in Second Life. W Hotels is opening a virtual hotel, American Apparel sells virtual models of their real clothing for a dollar each (they also offer a 15% discount to real world shoppers if they make a purchase in Second Life), and the Sundance Channel is screening movies.
Second Life is already being used for product test markets (This is how Toyota tested the Scion), and connecting virtual sales to real world sales. So it begs the question, is this the next big thing?
For PR pros and marketers, Second Life presents a new, targeted environment to communicate with. Think of the possibilities! I had a conversation about this with Sprout Marketing’s Director of Interactive, Josh Carr. He posed these possibilities: “Are 3D firms going to become as necessary as Web Design firms? Will there be a land grab for virtual real estate? What about Second Life real estate agents?” I would certainly predict some political messaging as we near the 2008 elections. The possibilities are endless, and stretch the imagination.
