Whatever...

The game is up for Grainger

by Dana Hashem

By now, you probably know the name of the main sponsor of Wednesday night’s The Games Media Awards.  However, you’re likely to know it for the wrong reasons, as Grainger Games’ foray into the gaming events scene didn’t have the positive impact the company was hoping for.

The event turned out to be more damaging than beneficial to the reputation of the national games retail chain.  Instead of using its elevated profile at the event to build bridges with key journalists in the gaming media, the team at Grainger Games managed to considerably damage its brand in a matter of hours. 

It has been widely reported that some tasteless marketing efforts by Grainger set the completely wrong tone for the evening, but when this was combined with rowdy behaviour from the company’s representatives, the result was to alienate a room full of journalists and industry leaders.  As a result, the Grainger team paid a high price yesterday in terms of the coverage devoted to the criticism of its bizaare antics at the event. 

In addition to harming Grainger’s reputation, the event has caused problems for the organisers, Intent Media.  Credit to Stuart Disney, Intent’s MD, who did his best to set the record straight wasting no time in delivering a statement, complete with advice on how best to air complaints that will undoubtedly continue to pour in for a good while to come.  While it’s hardly the follow up that anyone expected to this prestigious industry event, an apology is certainly better than radio silence and will go some way toward making amends.

Sadly, the same can’t be said of Grainger.  The following apology was posted to (and then removed from) the company’s Facebook page on Thursday:

We wholeheartedly apologise if we offended anyone at last night's GMAs. It was never our intention to upset anybody.  We sponsored the awards to show our support for everyone involved in games media and we continue to value and appreciate all their hard work and commitment.

In contrast with Disney’s statement, this post understandably did little to quell the backlash against Grainger – in order to limit the damage, the company should have taken control of the situation and delivered a fuller, more sincere apology at the earliest opportunity. 

Unfortunately, its failure to do so might mean its brand will suffer the consequences for a long time to come.

The glamour of IT Trade Shows

By Mike King

I bumped into an ex-colleague at IP Expo as she was trying to maintain order among a long queue of people waiting to have their photograph taken with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.   Wozniak gave the keynote speech at the show and was hanging around for general adulation and photo opportunities.

She described meeting Wozniak as her trade show high point in close to 20 years in the IT industry.  Meeting Wozniak was even better, she claimed, than the time she met Trevor Brooking (or Sir Trevor as he became in 2004), at InfoSec I think she said it was. 

I’m not sure that I’d agree with her that Wozniak tops Sir Trevor, but each to his own.

My own greatest trade show moments aren’t really in the same league.  The high point is a toss-up between meeting an aging ex-wrestler and meeting two of the ITV Gladiators team.

Meeting ex-World of Sport wrestler Mick McManus was easily the funniest.  He was at the now defunct Networks show sometime in the late 90s working on the next stand to one of my clients.  He must have been about 70 and the whole thing was pretty bizarre, particularly his dyed black hair.  My client thought it was funny to introduce me to him as ‘his biggest fan’.  All I can say is that Mick takes himself very seriously and didn’t see the joke.  

My other trade show high point was meeting Jet and Wolf from Gladiators (first time round) at TMA in Brighton.  Lycra and telecoms had a natural affinity back then.  Oh the glamour of it all. 

 

 

Cabinet minister rubbish at getting the data security message

By Claire Ayles

Ask any IT security vendor, whatever its specialism, what needs to be done to keep confidential data safe and (apart from touting their own technology, obviously) they are likely to say better user education.

For as long as we’ve been representing security companies (which is a long time) this has been one of the key messages in nearly every PR campaign we’ve run.  From ‘don’t click on links in unsolicited emails’, to ‘make sure you encrypt your laptop in case you leave it on the train’, to ‘it really is a terrible idea to post your full date of birth and mother’s maiden name on Facebook’, advice has always centred around the fact that people are very often the weakest link in the fight against data theft.

Today’s vendors are probably thinking they need to extend this advice, with news that Oliver Letwin MP (the cabinet minister in charge of developing government policies) has been snapped disposing of official documents, not in a shredder, but in the public rubbish bins of Westminster. Hacking groups like Anonymous and LulzSec must be left wondering why they’re bothering with sophisticated hacking techniques when all they really need to do is hang around Parliament Square cunningly disguised as street cleaners.  I mean, even the writers of Spooks would reject this storyline for being too far fetched.

There’s some debate about whether the documents are of a sensitive nature (Letwin claims not, The Mirror claims otherwise, stating that one document even contained details of an enquiry into extraordinary rendition), but regardless, it does make you question whether the £650 million the UK plans to spend on cyber security is going to make any difference. 

 

 

Anonymous vs. NYSE; next up Facebook

By Alexandra Radius

On Monday 10th October we were all waiting with baited breath for the attack, refreshing the page to see what would happen, but in the end The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) website remained intact.  A surprise?  Perhaps, as Anonymous, the notorious hacking group, had announced its intention to attack the NYSE website to show its support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. 

Even though the site seemed, to the naked eye, to be unchanged, experts did observe that the NYSE website slowed down at certain parts of the day.  However, Ray Pellechia, the official spokesperson for NYSE, denied there was any disruption.

So, after all the waiting and monitoring, it appears there was no attack.  However, this doesn’t mean Anonymous failed.  For me, Anonymous’ objective was simply to draw media attention to the Occupy Wall Street movement.  It certainly achieved this, with widespread pick-up and interest in the story, and therefore of the movement. 

It will be interesting to see if anything happens with Anonymous’ next target, Facebook, on 5^th November.  Watch this space.

iSad: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

By Bex Surtees

Innovator.  Visionary.  Pioneer.  Genius.  These are just some of the words the world has used to describe Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, upon hearing the news of his untimely death from cancer at just 56.

Tributes have been pouring in from news and broadcast sites across the globe, while Twitter went into overload in the early hours of Thursday morning as thousands of users – tech competitors (including longstanding friend and rival, Bill Gates), celebrities and members of the public – shared their thoughts on one of the most celebrated people in technology and business.  

Whether you love or hate Apple, there’s no denying that this man’s contribution to tech has had an incredible impact on both our personal and work lives.  From the Apple 1 computer’s humble beginnings in 1976 with friend and business partner Steve Wozniak, to the launch of the iMac in 1998 and the minimalist iPod in 2001 – not to mention iTunes, the online digital music store that changed the face of the music industry.

Not without his vices though, Jobs’ management style was notorious.  Some employees have even claimed a meeting with him was akin to stepping into a bullfight.  From his arrogance and corporate tantrums, to vicious run-ins with competitors and an overly-controlling nature with the media, there’s no question the man played hard ball – but it got the job done (no pun intended), and done well.  

Leaving behind a mammoth legacy, including an estimated $8.3bn, when it comes to his greatest creation I suspect many would argue it’s a tie between the iPhone and the iPad.  Both devices revolutionised their respective markets – and as someone that works in the tech PR industry, ‘revolutionise’ isn’t a word I use lightly – considerably raising the bar for other vendor offerings and setting high user expectations.  

With that in mind, Barack Obama’s tribute seems to say it all... “The world has lost a visionary.  And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

  

Something's Cook-ing at Apple

by Dana Hashem

It’s fair to say that the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S was something of an anticlimax.  While the new model boasts a better camera and reportedly impressive Siri voice-recognition software, let’s face it – it’s a far cry from an iPhone 5.

Apple products are always shrouded in rumour and mystery during the run up to their launch, but usually far exceed expectations when they’re finally revealed.  The difference this time is that we’ve been left feeling underwhelmed.

This is a real shame for Tim Cook, who - as Mashable quite rightly points out - Apple is still trying to establish as an effective replacement for Steve Jobs.  Without being able to deliver the showstopper everyone was waiting for, the vast majority of the media coverage about the event has essentially headlined with: 'What, no iPhone 5?'

Unfortunately for Cook, this kind of distraction is something of a limelight-stealer when you're trying to make a good first impression as a newly-ordained CEO.

Cook has a hard act to follow - so how did he handle it?  Well, when you look beyond the distraction of the missing iPhone5 outrage, very well, actually.  The most notable thing he did was to place a much greater emphasis on the team behind the new product.  In a marked shift from Jobs’ signature style, he gave his executive team a big role in the presentation – sending a clear message that the company is full of top talent that can fill the void in the limelight left behind by Jobs.

Of course, there's a long way to go yet, and the jury will be out for a while on whether Apple will be able to maintain its position as a global leader in the design stakes.  However, I for one was pleased to see some really positive steps being made by the Apple team to shake off its one-man-band image in the wake of Jobs' departure.

Insatiable appetite for breaking news leads to lax reporting

by Claire Ayles

The trial and subsequent appeal of Amanda Knox (and don’t forget Rafaelle Sollecito) for the murder of Meredith Kercher have made gripping following over the past few years.  Last night it all came to a head when the Italian appeal court cleared Knox and Sollecito, who this morning have their freedom.

However, if you were watching Sky News or reading live web coverage from The Sun, The Daily Mail or The Guardian, you might have thought the opposite, as they all initially posted stories that Knox had lost her appeal, implying she would be behind bars for the remainder of her 26 year jail term. 

In fairness, it wasn’t just the UK media that got it wrong.  One AFP journalist even tweeted a ‘quote’ from the case’s prosecution team, stating that “justice had been done.”

So just how could this happen?

The Daily Mail claims that it got muddled when it heard the judge use the Italian word for ‘guilty’, and presumed it referred to Knox’s murder charge.  In fact, it was in connection to her previous conviction for slander. 

This has to be one of the most extreme examples of how the desire to be the first to break the news can compromise the quality of the story.

With today’s 24 hour news cycles – and our insatiable appetite for news (especially around high profile cases like this) – it’s hardly surprising that journalists prepare two (or more) versions of their story in advance, but it really is inexcusable to publish the wrong one. 

Italian lessons anyone?