In the past week, I’ve been struck by two very strong examples of how the blogosphere is reshaping business communications drastically.
In the first case, a previous silence was broken and so was the strength of the story that led as an example of a company who ignored the blogosphere at its own peril.
The second case demonstrates a company who is either unaware of the power of the voices within the blogosphere, or who knows the power and believes that threats can silence it nonetheless.
Case #1: Kryptonite – A Positive Example
Nearly a year ago, Engadget, a popular gadget blog revealed that “Kryptonite locks could be easily picked with a ballpoint pen”:http://www.engadget.com/entry/7796925370303347/. Although the company issued official press releases on the subject and offered to replace the tubular locks in question without cost to owners, their lack of interaction with the blogosphere made it appear as if Kryptonite didn’t respond at all. The result was that the Kryptonite story has been used as the ‘warning’ for companies not recognizing the importance of the blogosphere since that time. This is not likely the story Kryptonite wants to tell.