Crisis expert says Apple gets a C on iPhone 4 PR
Crisis expert says Apple gets a C on iPhone 4 PR
by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 19th 2010 at 5:30PM
Hilarious Taiwanese videos aside, just how did Apple do with last week's touchy press conference? Patrick Kerley, a communications strategist for a firm in Washington, DC, tells Computerworld that Apple actually did very well -- only it might have been too late already. He said that Jobs was very on message at last week's press conference, and that walking on stage and telling everyone that all phones have reception issues was actually a brilliant move. Seth Weintraub of Fortune agrees -- while he doesn't think that Apple and other cellphone makers actually share the same problems, he does say that Jobs' reframing of the reception issue was so effective that other cellphone companies actually sent out their own press releases on Friday, responding to Apple and becoming part of the issue.
On the other hand, Kerley says that while the press conference did its job, Apple should have stepped up sooner with a statement about the iPhone 4's reception -- just staying back from the issue allowed others like Consumer Reports to step up and fill the informational void. While there was a risk of responding too soon and making a problem even bigger than it should be, Kerley believes Apple gets a C on the issue overall, and that it should have come out with a "We're working on it" statement way before it did.
Of course, this is all PR analysis about spin -- the best case scenario is that there shouldn't have been a problem in the first place. Hopefully, with the refunds available and the free bumpers shipping, everyone's iPhones will receive and send calls freely, and we can all get back to our favorite pastime: waiting for the next version to be announced.
Tags: antennagate, iOS 4, Ios4, iPhone, iphone4, issues, jobs, patrick kerley, PatrickKerley, pr, press-conference, reception, reframing, spin, steve jobs, SteveJobs
Starbucks Used Social Media to Get One Million Customers into Stores in One Day
Starbucks’ Vice President of Brand, Content and Online, Chris Bruzzo, is on stage at the Mashable Media Summit today and he just revealed that last year’s Free Pastry Day was a whopping success, driving more than one million people to stores.
As we noticed, activity on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook became electric on the day of the event as the free pastry news spread in digital form. Bruzzo’s credits fans with the idea to use social media to drive new business, and his remarks confirm that the swell of social media activity drove customers to visit Starbucks stores in droves.
Bruzzo also speaks to the success of the company’s Tax Day green initiative to get customers to bring in their own tumblers in exchange for free coffee, which — like Free Pastry Day — was primarily promoted online via their Facebook Page. Also, the company’s MyStarbucks Idea has generated more than 80,000 ideas and Bruzzo credits Product Manager Brad Nelson for helping them tap into the power of Twitter.
Right now there’s no big brand better embracing social media than Starbucks. The coffee retailer has managed to dominate on Facebook, made news as the first company to offer a nationwide Foursquare deal, and was selected to try out Twitter’s Promoted Tweets ad platform before other advertisers will have the chance.
[img credit: Thomas Hawk]
For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook
Tags: internet week ny, mashable media summit, starbucks
What almost three weeks with an iPad has taught this blogger
Filed under: iPad
OK, I've had my iPad for exactly 19 days today. Over that time, just about everyone who knows that I have the device has asked the same question: "So, how do you like it?" The easy answer is that I love this device in a very unnatural way, but there's more to the answer than that. I've learned a lot about myself and how I use my computers through the time I spend with the iPad every day. The iPad provides a different computing experience than, say, a MacBook. While some actions, such as e-mail and browsing, are quite familiar and comfortable, things like using iWork are very different due to the method of interacting with the device. Fortunately, I've found the experience to be a positive one, and I sometimes find myself tapping on the screen of my iMac to try to open or move things. What follows is a list of thoughts I've jotted down (in Penultimate, naturally) over the last few days. I'd be intrigued to see how many of our TUAW readers have had similar experiences, or if you've had completely different feelings about the iPad.TUAWWhat almost three weeks with an iPad has taught this blogger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
TUAW review: Data Robotics Drobo FS NAS
Filed under: Peripherals
Network Attached Storage (NAS) is gaining in popularity as an alternative to a home or small office server. A few weeks ago, I reviewed LaCie's Network Space 2, which is a non-expandable 1TB storage solution. For those who want a solution that will be expandable in the future, Data Robotics has recently introduced the Drobo FS. Like its predecessors, the Drobo FS has multiple drive bays -- five in this case -- into which you can insert standard SATA hard disk drives. The array can be set up for either single or dual-disk redundancy, meaning that one (single) or two (dual) drives can fail without compromising the integrity of your data. Data Robotics' proprietary BeyondRAID technology makes the array easy to set up and expand. The Drobo FS is easy to set up. The review unit sent to TUAW by Data Robotics was removed from its box, three disk drives were installed by sliding them into available slots on the unit, the power supply was connected, and a gigabit Ethernet cable run from a router to the back of the Drobo. Upon powering up the Drobo FS, the device showed up under the Shared list in the Finder -- so far, so good.TUAWTUAW review: Data Robotics Drobo FS NAS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The next generation of Google Docs
We’ve responded to many of your requests for features you’re used to in desktop software. In documents, we’ve added a margin ruler, better numbering and bullets and easier image placement options. And in spreadsheets, you’ll now find a formula editing bar, cell auto-complete, drag-and-drop columns and other features not possible with older browser technologies.
Higher fidelity document import
We’ve made big improvements to our document upload feature so moving files from your computer to the cloud is easier now. Imported documents retain their original structure more accurately, so you can hit the ground running editing in the browser without having to fix formatting like bullets and text alignment.Speed and responsiveness
New browser technologies like faster JavaScript processing have made it possible for us to speed up Google Docs significantly. Even very large spreadsheets are fast to work with in your browser now. Applications that run this fast feel like desktop applications but have the unique advantages of being in the cloud.Faster collaboration
We’ve extended Google Docs’ collaboration capabilities too, with support for up to 50 people working together at once, and in documents, you can now see other people’s edits as they happen character-by-character. And now you can also collaborate on flow charts, diagrams and other schematics in real time with a new editor for drawings on Google Docs.Learn more about these new capabilities and how to access them on the Google Docs blog, and if you’re with a school, business or organization, we’ve shared more details on the Google Enterprise Blog.Posted by Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise
‘He Can’t Win’
Cringely, quoting Bill Gates from 1998:
“What I can’t figure out is why he (Steve Jobs) is even trying (to be the CEO of Apple)? He knows he can’t win.”
Growth of NPR audience compared to other news sources
Bits of the blogosphere are taking note of a recent post by John Sides noting the growth of NPR compared to other news sources:
Sides comments:
Something in their business model is working. And I have a hard time imagining that NPR listeners won’t watch televised news programming as a matter of principle.
So where is the NPR of cable news?
To me, the reason seems dead obvious. Radio is the only delivery mechanism that you can absorb while doing something else. Driving? Check. Cooking? Check. Reading email? Check. Lingering in bed after the alarm goes off? Check.
I don’t have a “principle” against watching televised news. I just don’t have time. You could have Ira Glass and Carl Kassell doing the Hustle surrounded by frolicking puppies and I still wouldn’t make the time to sit down and watch.
About Me
Glenn BatuyongWeb content and visual media specialist, social media nut, semi-retired PASACAT musician; Information addict, technology psycho. Loves paintball and kung fu movies. My Google Profile
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