Monday, January 29, 2007

From a PR perspective, Microsoft is really up against it these days. You may have heard, they've got this new operating system coming out -- Vista I guess it's called. Well apparently it's taken 5 some-odd years to put the thing together. They're very proud of it. And yet... umm, how to put this nicely? Nobody cares. Microsoft isn't having any trouble garnering news coverage about it, but story after news story is lukewarm at best. The worst part? XP works just fine, thanks.

So then, Microsoft has to start touting the particular features of the new OS, right? Well, again, unfortunately, it's nothing special. Walt Mossberg says the other thing everybody else is thinking -- it's nice, but it's no Mac.

It is true, nearly all of Microsoft's "good ideas" are stolen from Apple. In The New York Times, reviewer David Pogue wrote, "You get the feeling that Microsoft's managers put Mac OS X on an easel and told the programmers, 'Copy that.'"

Meanwhile, my laid-off dot-com hero OddTodd summed up Vista's PR problem perfectly a few weeks ago:

"So tonight some nerd told me that Microsoft Vista is having problems. Like there's weird security flaws and lots of software doesn't run on it and all that. Is it me or has the Vista launch been like super weird. Like, is Vista actually out? Or out in beta still sorta? I don't know anyone who has it or wants it or even knows why they might want it later. I got nothing against Microsoft but between wacked-whatever Vista, who-cares Soapbox, not-as-good-as-google Live Search, dusted X-Box, only-for-showoff-scrotums Tablet, and the thanks-but-no-thanks Zune... something feels bizarrely off over at Microsoft."

Then there's the whole "buying a Wikipedia editor" thing. And these blogger bribing allegations. I guess if you see a few PR jobs open at Microsoft.com soon, you'll know why!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Local Boy Makes Good!

Doesn't anybody use this tried-and-true headline anymore? A great opportunity to use it was passed on by the local daily the other day when my old pal Dave Cummins was written up.
When he was first getting into modeling and acting, I thought "That's so cool!" But he was starting in his 30s, and I didn't know how he would be received. It was worth a shot, but it was a long shot. He started small, paying his dues as model for local photogs and getting up on-stage with the local thespians. Now he's (gulp) on TV with Susan Lucci on All My Children? And Tina Fey on 30 Rock? I didn't expect him to have the level of success he's achieved, but I knew if anybody could, it would be him! Congrats buddy!

Watch this space for more news on our Alvirne/UNH/Portsmouth local boy making good.

PS When you read the article, yes, he knows AMC has been on the air for a lot longer than 20 years; that was a misquote/misprint. Hey, it happens!

Thursday, January 04, 2007


Was able to make an appearance at the annual e-Coast birthday e-Brew tonight at the Press Room. (If I didn't show, people would probably assume I was dead!) What I love about the eBrew is that even after 7 years, I still get to see friends I made in those heady days when we started the damn thing in the first place. Now, every January, former co-workers, colleagues, rivals, clients, employers -- friends all -- come together for a beer and a piece of birthday cake. It's a joy to be a part of such a close-knit business community, and it's so gratifying to see that our original vision for the e-Coast -- a networking social hour for like-minded technology professionals -- has survived through thick and thin, and it remains relevant to this day. Raise a pint to us! Cheers, e-Coast!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

As a former copy editor, I can tell you, this was inevitable. Inevitable, but sad.

Of course, if the Osama/Obama thing wasn't bad enough, his middle name is Hussein. Oy.

What we've got here is the old PR adages "any publicity is good publicity" vs. "write whatever you want, just make sure you spell my name right." Which will prevail in 2007? Stay tuned. This should be a doozy.