Posted on February 7, 2005 2:17 pm by Shel Holtz | Blogging | Business
Remember the days when a company could craft a press release and time its distribution for just the right moment to achieve maximum value? The carefully-honed statement could go out just as the markets close, just before they open, on a quiet weekend when it’ll get more play, or during a news-heavy period when nobody will notice. Timing was everything. It’s nostalgic…
Posted on February 7, 2005 9:41 am by Shel Holtz | Business
The news today is full of reports that eBay is rolling back some of its price increases and beefing up its customer support. The changes come after customer uproar over the heavily-reported fee increases. A an eBay customer myself, I got the e-mail from Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America. What struck me was the importance Cobb assigns to…
Posted on January 31, 2005 8:55 am by Shel Holtz | Blogging | Business | External | Media
Fredrik Wacka cautions against using a corporate blog in a crisis. Caution in a crisis is always good counsel, but one of Wacka’s primary arguments needs closer scrutiny.
In a crisis, emotion is in play more than logic. Publics have emotional responses to crises, which means companies can never come out ahead by engaging in rational debate no matter how right they…
Posted on January 31, 2005 8:23 am by Shel Holtz | Blogging | Business
For a while, Fastlane seemed to be Bob Lutz’s very own blog. The vice chairman of General Motors was the only person posting items despite an introduction that characterized the blog as a forum for GM executives (plural). Neville Hobson points out that Powertrain Group VP Tom Stephens has joined the party. Read Neville’s post for details.
Posted on December 27, 2004 8:44 am by Shel Holtz | Business
When a company hunkers down into siege mode, there’s one message you can count on the company delivering to its employees: “Please refer any calls from the media to Corporate Communications.”
That’s the instruction drugmakers are issuing to employees in the wake of reports that documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (“Roger and Me,” “Bowling for Columbine,” “Farenheit 911”) is turning his attention to the healthcare industry. His new targets reportedly…
Posted on December 23, 2004 8:50 am by Shel Holtz | Business
More traditional businesses are finding uses for RSS. Global Auction Guide Media Group—“advertising network available to auctioneers with over 50 Web sites carrying the complete sale bills of hundreds of participating auctioneers”—has added over 70 RSS feeds to help users search for upcoming offline auctions (the kind where an auctioneers stands at a lectern with a gavel as opposed to the kind where you’re…
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