Monday, January 14, 2008

I've been drinking the transparency kool-aid, clearly...

I know I am a horrible blogger as I post my thoughts a week later, rather than twittering them as I have them - but oh well, right. Take me as I am.

Soooo...last week at the consumer electronics show I tried to swing by a press conference for a new wireless technology trying to make waves by bashing Bluetooth (I work with the Bluetooth SIG). I can't say anyone is really all that concerned about this 'competitor' - Rick Merrit announced they were dead in a roundabout way on Interconnects early last week - but I was intrigued to see what they had to say. Mostly, I was interested from a professional stand point - I am always curious to see where a company that develops messaging based on bashing their opponents goes from the initial splash - I was hoping this technology had something positive to say about themselves rather than just ripping on Bluetooth.

Sadly, I was denied entrance to their press conference. I suppose I have been living online too much lately in that I think transparency is key in everything you do, but I was shocked. I literally could not believe they wouldn't let a rep from the company they are tearing apart on their webpage and in press releases in to hear what they have to say - seems utterly ridiculous. Like calling names behind someones back and then hiding when they come to call you on it. I then asked if I could take a press kit, but the sour PR gate keeper said absolutely not. I pointed out that their press information is all online, and I could just download the information, and was told I could do whatever I wanted, but I wasn't getting the information from her.

I looked at the information online - seems like they didn't really have anywhere positive to go and they are just continuing with their 'better than Bluetooth' line. Sad really. If anyone from this technology (I just cannot give them more online coverage by mentioning their name, but if you are even mildly clever, you can crack the code) had come to ANY of the many SIG events at CES, we would have gladly chatted them up, let them have a press kit, pointed out why things at the Bluetooth camp are successful, and yeah, probably told them why we thought they would fail - but at least we would have had the balls to do it to their face. Transparency is key, not only in successful blogging, but also in not looking like a fool, apparently.

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