Malflic - fliping the world the bird since the thrid grade
Consider this fair warning about what corporations are doing online to “protect their brand” and also it’s a bit of a rant. Ironically it’s not tied to the fascist legislation that is SOPA and PiPa. Don’t think your government fears you then think again because while big media is pushing these bills the UN was debating similar yet more drastic versions of them to avoid having what happened in the Arab spring happen to their regimes. Information is power and they know it. Now back to the original point of this post. Corporate overreach and censorship.
Corporations love social media when people are saying great things about them. Call into to question a practice market, trend, or anything negative and the great ones work to respond and address or perhaps even fix the problem. The bad ones cast dispersions and rattle sabers.
Perhaps the saber rattling is effective if someone fears you, has something to lose, or remotely is afraid of lawyers. This tactic although is probably a bad idea if the guy you are trying to rattle could give a fuck…enter my wing tip wearing ass. My birth name was recently subtly (and semi privately) accused of violating not my employer’s social media policy but one of a large corporation we do transact business with. What atrocity did I commit? Did I slander them? Nope! Did I leak NDA material or trade secrets? Nope! Did I cause material harm? Nope! I commented on a news story that was published by a 3rd party research firm that appeared in a news feed I maintain to monitor certain trends in a closed door meeting and alerted my own senior management of the publication.
I understand that everything said on the net can be tracked, traced etc…Big Brother is real and we feed him everything we do with increasingly alarming detail.
My original conversation on the topic however occurred within a closed door meeting and then I asked a few others to look to some of the assumptions and suppositions in the piece or published research. I then shared those assumptions externally under an existing mutual NDA. Did those individuals talk to their senior execs, their own business analysts, and their own staff about that data? I have to assume they did by the shit storm that was created. All of which was fine under the agreement. They didn’t disclose anything that wasn’t already out there (In plain English I’m not suing anyone for breach). Did they then link to and comment on the original source of the material in a public forum and on profiles and feeds? Yes. Was the information they linked to in the public domain? Yes. Was it flattering to said corporation? Not in the least. Was it accurate? That is the basis of a great amount of legitimate industry debate but let me put it this way. How many wagon wheel vendors are still a big deal? They are facing the very same problem. Their entire segment is. That very opinion is where the problem and panic lies.
Did I asked or encourage them to do so? Not at all but when the big bad wolf came calling they were happy to admit I had been engaged in conversations on the topic. Guess what the buck stops here. Never give an unstable psycho with a flame thrower a few drums of flammable liquid to throw about.
If you didn’t like what I had to say there just wait.
1) I don’t work for you, I did not violate any of my own corporations policies, I did not comment using my professional credentials, as an insider, or in any way breach an agreement. The short answer so fucking sue me. I simply questioned and ultimately agreed with a publicly published report by an industry analyst on a market segment in general. Sorry dude but dinosaurs are dead and your glory days are long gone.
2) As a private investor I am entitled to my opinion whether your corporation likes it or not. Perhaps I owned shares of one of your companies pre acquisition. Perhaps I still own just a little piece of your half assed firm. So take your online reputation and brand management tools and shove them up your ass. I have yet begun to tell the world what I really think. Prepare for the barrage of shit I can and will dish out.
3) I am not a trader, banker or in a regulated role. I did not see you bitching when I referred to your successes, public filings, or other material. See my fat white ass…you can kiss it. No more positive press from me in anyway, anywhere, ever. When you go down in flames and there is a fire sale I’ll be just another the fat fuck in good suit laughing and pointing while screaming I told you so.
4) Look at your own financials. Those of us who passed freshman year accounting know it’s bad, people with a 401k and ability to read basic financial statements can see your debt load is unserviceable in the near future despite your projected margin increases even before you consider your eroding market share and competitive losses. If you don’t like that accusation I’d be happy to provide you with a litany of regulated and private industry analysts who more or less feel the same. BTW I’d buy unsecured Greek debt before any of your paper as it stands.
5) You claimed I published the information using my social media streams. Then back tracked when it was proved I never commented on it electronic other than in private correspondence. First off get your facts straight. You are not the only one who can read a twitter stream, publicly available face book posts or linked in statuses. Really your desperation is embarrassing. You came across like a desperate (and psychotic) ex lover calling all my friends to try to influence me rather than asking me directly what happened and why I held my opinions. Of course you didn’t really want to talk to me since I would have pointed at your filings and asked why I was wrong. After all you’re not the only ones in the world with slick as shit finance guys and an MBA.
OK I’m done. I’ve made my point. “NOW RELEASE THE HOUNDS”