High-Tech PR Blog >> Beyond the Hype

The Quiet Passing of a Humble Actor

Amid the frenzied coverage of the U.S. presidential election and the ramifications of the credit crunch, the sad news of the death of actor Paul Newman almost slipped by unnoticed this weekend. I write about this in Beyond the Hype because for five years I have been staring at an article on my bulletin board from Entertainment Weekly about the humble and humorous way Newman described himself in his bio in the revival of "Our Town" on Broadway in 2003.

A fair bit of bluster makes up the typical actor biography in Broadway's venerable theater guide, Playbill. Paul Newman, whose resume is listed 18th among a cast of 23 comparative and total unknowns in the current smash revival of Our Town, took a decidedly more humble approach in penning his CV:

''PAUL NEWMAN (Stage Manager) is probably best known for his spectacularly successful food conglomerate. In addition to giving the profits to charity, he also ran Frank Sinatra out of the spaghetti sauce business. On the downside, the spaghetti sauce is outgrossing his films. He did graduate from Kenyon College magna cum lager.... Yale University later awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for unknown reasons.... He is married to the best actress on the planet, was number 19 on Nixon's enemy list, and purely by accident has done 51 films and four Broadway plays. He is generally considered by professionals to be the worst fisherman on the East Coast.''

It's been a constant reminder to me that people of great accomplishment don't need to hype their capabilities. It's also brought a smile to my face every time I've seen the caricature that accompanied the short piece -- Newman eating his own pasta sauce -- about this great actor who was so gifted and such a great philanthropist, but who did it all quietly and well. He will be greatly missed.

Democratic Journalism

The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can. -- John Gardner

If there is a silver lining to the remarkable and frightening developments in our economy over the past few weeks it may be that Americans will finally wake up the fact of what it means to live in a democracy and participate.  For most of us, we've relied on the media to be our watchdog and filter the news to us about what is happening and what it means. 

Largely, we've been spectators.  But the explosive growth of cheap technology and social media has changed the game and allowed us to become participants in the discourse.  Virtually anyone and everyone can be a reporter or publisher of content, but that activity has still been, for the most part, an individual exercise.  Of course good reporting entails research, developing sources, fact checking and editorial oversight.  But in the end, the story still ultimately stems from one or just a few people's perspectives.

But recently, through the application of social media technologies, we've seen some very interesting experiments in what you might call a more democratic process.  For example, WNYC's morning radio show is using wiki technology to crowdsource its show.  Producers use the show's 30 Issues in Thirty Days to gather listeners' opinions and votes on the issues the show.  The wiki gives the public the opportunity to participate in the development of the show.  Another recent example was BusinessWeek's special report on "Business at Work" in its 8/25 and 9/1 issues.  That content was largely based on contributions from its readers.

Clearly the democratization of journalism will continue and what it will look like down the road nobody can predict.  But it is a train that has started to leave the station and we should be pushing ourselves and our clients to get on board or risk being left behind.

What do you think?  Are there other good examples we should be aware of?

TechCrunch Comes to Austin

Yesterday the TechCrunch Meetup came to Austin for the first time, and I must admit, I was impressed with the turn-out. Granted, the event organizers are masters of marketing "exclusive" tech events by using Silicon Valley tactics to make them appear inaccessible. They used clever grass-roots promotions combined with traditional media and highlighted the sold-out tickets, followed by sporadic "releases" of tickets when people least expected to find them available. For example, one of the releases was at 6 a.m. on Labor Day - and within a few hours they were gone! I'm not one to check e-mail at 6 a.m. on a holiday, but there's clearly a contingent in the tech market out there doing it.

The Meetup featured a panel discussion including 19 people - the largest panel I'd ever seen. And apparently, tech reporter Lori Hawkins noticed before the panel that it wasn't going to include a single woman. So at the last minute, after she called TechCrunch, event organizers threw a token woman onto the panel, which is always a little disheartening as a female professional.

But on a positive note, the panel did provide some insight.

- not sure if I bought off on this tangent, but there was a lot of conversation about the difference between viral marketing, democracy and grass roots. To me, this is teetering on needless marketing dialogue that is expressed mainly to sound smart.

- another panelist argued that grass roots/viral campaigns only can be done for authentic, strong products. Companies looking to do this type of marketing for products that frankly "suck" won't have any luck (I strongly agree with this one). The online community will catch on and be noisy about their frustration.

- an underlying theme among panelists discussing marketing trends over the past 50 years is that the Internet allows brands to listen to their customer base like never before - and respond with changes for their customers (which makes us lucky, anyone not taking advantage of this is in the dark)

- as much as the conversation focused on the Internet, representatives from the music industry (Austin City Limits is happening in Austin this weekend - 60,000 people are here for it, making music take center stage everywhere) reminded people that the music industry still spends 60 percent of its marketing budget on the radio because it's more effective than the Internet.

As for the party, it was massive. LP&P was one of the sponsors and we made our splash (literally) by sporting drink cups that turn colors when cold liquids are poured into them.

There were easily more than 500 people there and I spoke with more than a few people that agreed that it reminded them of the parties in the Bay Area during the dot com era. I've been in Austin for seven years and I haven't seen anything like this event since I lived in SF.  I met plenty of start-up companies and even a VC that just moved here from Boston to start up a new VC firm in Austin, which is what Austin needs. I'm tired of hearing people say Austin can't compete with the two coasts for innovation.  They're just saying that because there isn't as much VC money here, but hopefully that will change soon, because the talent and enthusiasm is here, and it's only growing.

All in all, it was a success. But TechCrunch probably needs to keep a closer eye on not selecting all men to speak on a panel of 18. That was the first thing I noticed when I walked in the room.

NFL Secret Sauce: Telecom

At yesterday's ACG Boston DealMaker's breakfast, Jonathan Kraft spoke to a packed room of investment bankers, venture capitalists and financial consultants about the business of football. I've heard Jonathan speak before and he was equally engaging, compelling and interesting this morning. He redirected the topic of the meeting from the business of sports, to what he claims it really is -- the entertainment business.

While so much of the discussion was fascinating to me, it hit home when Jonathan talked about the growth opportunities for the NFL presented by digital, interactive services. He described some very interesting services that can be offered once we have large amounts of bandwidth flowing in and out of our homes. Imagine choosing which cameras through which you view a football game, listening to the on-field mics rather than the announcers, choosing your own replays...it seemed endless and like something I'd certainly pay for.

So why'd it hit home? Every day I work with companies in the telecom space that are related in some way to making this massive, two-way access to bandwidth possible. These are service providers as well as equipment and software vendors that make ratcheting up the speed real or that manage the massive amounts of traffic that have resulted now that we're accustomed to viewing TV shows and live sporting events on the Internet. However, it's not uncommon for friends and colleagues to laugh at me when I tell them that the latest advancements in fiber, deep packet inspection, content delivery networks and media delivery services are so cool. Of course, when I tell them what that means for them -- with an example like Jonathan shared today -- they get my excitement.

I often talk about how telecommunications is fundamental to the growth and innovation in so many industries. Today we learned how it can be the foundation for future revenue for the NFL and fun stuff like new ways to enjoy and interact with your favorite football teams and players. This is why I think telecom is so cool.

   

Communicating in an Uncertain Economy

There was a great session at the Boston chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute this week. As the moderator commented, this session topic was relevant in July when the agenda was set, but it's REALLY relevant these days, with the scary headlines about the financial markets and given the President's speech last night.

The two speakers provided excellent viewpoints on the subject: Len Griehs, a 30-year veteran of IR who is a VP at Campbell Soup Company, and Robert Stimson, currently managing director of Eastern Investment Advisors and previously both a portfolio manager and sell-side analyst in the technology sector.

There were some good takeaways from both speakers about both IR and PR in these volatile days.

Len talked about the things to do when your company or sector is just not as attractive as a stock buy.  One option is to go inward regarding what you can do differently, such as stock buybacks, increasing dividends, restructuring, etc.  Now is the time to get these things in place for when the situation improves. Most importantly, he said, this is a time for one-on-one meetings with your top 50 shareholders. Instead of speaking at conferences, do more direct communication with your current shareholders. Schedule more meetings with institutional investors. Invite the sell-side analysts in to meet with your management team. Don't go underground. Use this time to get stronger and to communicate more. Improve the quality of the information on your web site.

One quote I particularly liked related to his goal of eliminating the need for sell-side interpretation of the information you convey: "Make sure we put words to our own story."

Another was: "Let's put the relations back in investor relations."

Bob Simpson really echoed Len Griehs advice from the other side of the desk. He lamented that the financial analysts have fewer resources these days -- no big research groups issuing papers to explain complex markets and product areas -- and are fewer in number, so it's key for the companies to make their lives easier and convey just the numbers and the critical Q&As to help them understand quickly. He lamented, "Why does the press get access to information before the analysts do?"  He also voiced strong opinions against long press releases, wanting just the facts, and as short in length as possible. Len Gries pointed out that the regulatory authorities require more explanation in earnings announcements which adds to their girth, but he believes, overall, that less is more these days.

Bob Simpson also called for upgrades to web sites to make them easier to use. Control the information flow, he urged, by including an index of who is covering your site and a white paper that clearly explains what you do.

The common themes were not to go underground -- although it is tempting for companies to do so right now -- and to over-communicate in a very direct way. It's about strengthening existing relationships and making it easier for new shareholder prospects and analysts to learn about you via your web site (which is the first place they go, rather than the press release you labored over.)

If I were to sum up the entire session, I'd say that the answer is to over-communicate in an uncertain economy. I'd welcome your feedback.

Kicking off trade show season with VMworld 2008

We have now entered September and not only does this month mark the beginning of Fall, but it also marks the beginning of trade show season for many of us in the high-tech industry. From VMworld to Web 2.0 to Interop to SNW, many of us here are in the middle of prepping our clients for a busy (and fun!) few months.  While many things have stayed the same, the many ways in which we communicate has changed due to social media.  As we've seen from the adoption of everything from Facebook to Virtual Plazas to Twitter, social media now has a predominant place in getting messages across to a whole host of audiences. This was evident at last week's VMworld 2008 conference, where several attendees and journalists were communicating for over a month before the show even kicked off. VMworld took it one step further by hosting a Twitter community on the show website, as well as a Twitter Virtual booth. We'll certainly see more of this as trade show season rages on.

I was lucky enough to attend VMworld last week and had a chance to catch up with a couple of leading industry analysts and reporters while in Las Vegas. Carryl Roy of Virtual-Strategy Magazine and George Crump of Storage Switzerland shared their insights on what they were most looking forward to seeing at the show while also shedding light on what some of the biggest trends in virtualization and storage today. They commented on VMware's Paul Maritz's "Trinity of the Future" strategy, cloud computing, SSD, and how storage companies are working to address virtual machine management. But, like many others in the industry, in the coming months, I'll be looking forward to see what trends will emerge and what rumors will be proven false.

Enjoy the video and let us know if you agree - or disagree - with their musings.

Death of mainstream media greatly exaggerated

Our position on whether or not mainstream media (MSM) is dying a slow death, as we've expressed on this blog, is that, to quote one Mr. Steve Jobs, "the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." The latest reason we're sticking with this position is because of three new syndication deals unveiled in the last two days whereby content from popular tech blogs are being distributed by MSM outlets.

Today, the New York Times announced content syndication deals with several blogs, including GigaOm, Venture Beat and Read/Write Web.  This is part of an unveiling of a new technology channel on New York Times.com, which is marked by an expanding scope of coverage, including enterprise technology. This actually is the third such deal for GigaOm, as yesterday, Om Malik announced that GigaOm will be syndicated by CNN Money (owned by Time Warner, his former employer), and BusinessWeek started syndicating its content last July.  And in May, The Washington Post began syndicating TechCrunch content.

First of all, we congratulate those three blogs for the deal. It shows how well they have established themselves in terms of delivering high-quality content and becoming an influential voice in technology. On the other hand, it also shows how important the well-established MSM is to expanding the reach of those blogs. Even TechCrunch needs these kinds of deals. To us, this gives us an idea of exactly how social media is impacting MSM media, and that what we'll see is more of a blurring of the lines.

Rewriting History at Yankee Stadium

Watching SportsCenter this morning, I saw the celebrations around the last game played at historic Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.  As a Red Sox fan, I thought it seemed funny that the players were acting like they had just won the Series, although they won't even be in the postseason this year.  As a baseball fan, I thought the tribute to the venerable field was fitting and it's always wonderful to see the old greats come back and get their due once again.  But as a communications person, I was particularly intrigued by the reporter's comments that there was no mention of Roger Clemens during the ceremony.  Digging further today, I read that both Clemens' pitching prowess and successes and Joe Torre's brilliant and winning run as a long-time manager were not mentioned at all.  Asked this morning if he knew the "back-story" regarding the omission, the SportsCenter reporter said he did not.  Most, including Paula Duffy of Sports Examiner, are speculating that "the Boss," George Steinbrenner, was the deciding factor.

When you push back against the Yankees in any way you are persona non-grata. In the end, I believe it would have served everyone better to let all bad feelings melt away as the old stadium gets ready for the wrecking ball.

Duffy went on to note that:

Joe Torre left the Yankees organization on his own after turning down a cut in pay with an incentive package that seemed designed to force his resignation. And Clemens who was treated as a savior a mere 15 months ago when he came out of retirement to help get the Yanks into the playoffs became the new face of steroids use in baseball during the off season.

But the SportsCenter reporter commented that both Jason Giambi and last night's pitcher, Andy Pettitte, both tainted in the steroids investigation, got their share of the applause.

It seems as if the Yankees owners were applying the rule raffles sometimes have:  you have to be present to win.  Torre has better things to do with the Dodgers at present and Clemens may not have wanted to face reporters after the messy disclosures about him covered earlier this year.  But there was no excuse to erase both men from Yankee Stadium history.  It's a communications misstep in what was a great feel-good promotional event during a painfully bad Yankees season.

Take it from a Red Sox fan:  you don't want ghosts living or dead to haunt your new stadium, guys.  We've been there.  It takes a long time to exorcise them.

 

A good or bad time for IPO?

Lost amid the wild volatility of the market was the fact that a very brave company was supposed to go public today. Fluidigm, a biotech company based in San Francisco, was the second IPO this quarter. It's not clear to me that it actually went out or if it was delayed, but given the huge gains in the markets across the board, this would have been a good day to issue.

UPDATE 9/22: It turns out that the IPO was indeed postponed to today due to "market volatility."

That said, when I read about the IPO on Monday, I couldn't believe they were still going through with it.  Given the latest crescendo in the credit crisis, I've been looking for data points about how it is impacting the venture capital market. The WSJ article on the Fluidigm IPO paints a very interesting picture. It cites information from the National Venture Capital Association that states that "5% of venture-fund exits to be through IPO this year," compared to 20% in recent years. As the vast majority come through mergers and acquisition, in some cases this requires capital to pull off, so even this form of exit strategy is at more risk now.

Will this trickle down into VC funds themselves and slow down deals, or stall entrepreneurial activity?  I'm still looking for more evidence of this, but I guess only time will tell.

Social Media reaches a critical milestone

I love the comedy program Scrubs and in particular the musings of the cranky Dr. Cox. Here is one of my favorite of his rants:

Perhaps Dr. Cox would be a surprised as I was to see a story this week that social media has surpassed porn in Internet searches. A new book by Bill Tancer, who is the group manager of HitWise, finds

surfing for porn had dropped to about 10 percent of searches from 20 percent a decade ago, and the hottest Internet searches now are for social networking sites.

Hmm, does this mean Mark Zuckerberg is the new Hugh Hefner? Or will it mean that Rupert Murchoch will have "My Space" pages instead of Page 3 Girls? We'll have to see.