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('143', '2009-01-07 14:53:44', '2009-01-07 06:53:44', '<p><em>By Carrie Hill</em></p>
<p>In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been <a href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089&sid=aRBs3sH3xhCI\">awarded</a> the use of their country-specific brand, <em>Gu Ge, </em>by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.</p>
<p>According to a <a href=\"http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSPEK11144620070713\">Reuters report</a> from 2007, Bejing GuGe initially filed suit against Google for alleged trademark infringement. It’s unclear when the turnaround came and Google filed the countersuit against Bejing GuGe. </p>
<p>Articles I found offered conflicting information. It seems the trademark timeline in question was pretty rocky. One <a href=\"http://ipdragon.blogspot.com/2007/07/guge-case-business-name-vs-trademark.html\">source</a> indicates Google filed their initial trademark paperwork in January of ‘06 while Bejing GuGe filed for their trademark in March 2006. Another article indicates Google filed for the trademark in <a href=\"http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Going-to-Court-over-its-Chinese-Name-73949.shtml\">November of 2006</a>. </p>
<p>Luckily it was up to the Chinese courts (and not me) to sort this all out—awarding Google the right to be <em>Gu Ge</em> in China. </p>
<p>via <a href=\"http://searchengineland.com/chinese-company-guge-sues-google-over-name-11684\">SearchEngineLand.com</a></p>
<p><em>Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for </em><a href=\"http://www.blizzardinternet.com/\"><em>Blizzard Internet Marketing</em></a><em> where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and accommodations websites.</em>
<p><strong>Pilgrim’s Partners:</strong> <a href=\"http://www.sponsoredreviews.com/?marketingpilgrim\">SponsoredReviews.com</a> - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!</p>
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In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been awarded the use of their country-specific brand, Gu Ge, by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.
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By Carrie Hill
In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been awarded the use of their country-specific brand, Gu Ge, by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.
According to a Reuters report from 2007, Bejing GuGe initially filed suit against Google for alleged trademark infringement. It’s unclear when the turnaround came and Google filed the countersuit against Bejing GuGe.
Articles I found offered conflicting information. It seems the trademark timeline in question was pretty rocky. One source indicates Google filed their initial trademark paperwork in January of ‘06 while Bejing GuGe filed for their trademark in March 2006. Another article indicates Google filed for the trademark in November of 2006.
Luckily it was up to the Chinese courts (and not me) to sort this all out—awarding Google the right to be Gu Ge in China.
Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and accommodations websites.
Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
By Carrie Hill
In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been awarded the use of their country-specific brand, Gu Ge, by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.
According to a Reuters report from 2007, Bejing GuGe initially filed suit against Google for alleged trademark infringement. It’s unclear when the turnaround came and Google filed the countersuit against Bejing GuGe.
Articles I found offered conflicting information. It seems the trademark timeline in question was pretty rocky. One source indicates Google filed their initial trademark paperwork in January of ‘06 while Bejing GuGe filed for their trademark in March 2006. Another article indicates Google filed for the trademark in November of 2006.
Luckily it was up to the Chinese courts (and not me) to sort this all out—awarding Google the right to be Gu Ge in China.
Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and accommodations websites.
Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
By Carrie Hill
In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been awarded the use of their country-specific brand, Gu Ge, by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.
According to a Reuters report from 2007, Bejing GuGe initially filed suit against Google for alleged trademark infringement. It’s unclear when the turnaround came and Google filed the countersuit against Bejing GuGe.
Articles I found offered conflicting information. It seems the trademark timeline in question was pretty rocky. One source indicates Google filed their initial trademark paperwork in January of ‘06 while Bejing GuGe filed for their trademark in March 2006. Another article indicates Google filed for the trademark in November of 2006.
Luckily it was up to the Chinese courts (and not me) to sort this all out—awarding Google the right to be Gu Ge in China.
Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and accommodations websites.
Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
By Carrie Hill
In a somewhat confusing set of events Google has been awarded the use of their country-specific brand, Gu Ge, by Chinese courts. Bejing GuGe Science & Technology Corp was ordered to pay Google 100,000 yuan or about $14,624 in the suit and to relinquish the brand to Google.
According to a Reuters report from 2007, Bejing GuGe initially filed suit against Google for alleged trademark infringement. It’s unclear when the turnaround came and Google filed the countersuit against Bejing GuGe.
Articles I found offered conflicting information. It seems the trademark timeline in question was pretty rocky. One source indicates Google filed their initial trademark paperwork in January of ‘06 while Bejing GuGe filed for their trademark in March 2006. Another article indicates Google filed for the trademark in November of 2006.
Luckily it was up to the Chinese courts (and not me) to sort this all out—awarding Google the right to be Gu Ge in China.
Carrie Hill is the SEO Team leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing where she specializes in optimizing travel, tourism and accommodations websites.
Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
With Google and other search engines continuing to roll out personalization updates, it is becoming increasingly difficult for SEOs to get an idea of their true ranking position. A personalized search result page can look completely different than the results a ranking tool would provide.
André Scholten wrote a guest post on Yoast explaining how Google Analytics users can get a better idea of where they rank for specific keywords. Although users will not be able to get the exact position, they will be able to figure out what page of the SERPs they rank on.
How do you do it? Google Analytics allows you to create custom filters for your analytics data. In this case, an advanced filter. I don’t want to steal André’s thunder, so head over to Yoast and read how you set it up.
Here is the screenshot he put up on Yoast that shows the effects of the filter:

The key to understanding your rankings lie in the data in the parenthesis. The result (pagina: 50) indicates that a user clicked through to your site from your listing on the sixth page of the Google SERPs. André also goes on to tell you how you can filter your keyword list to only display the keywords listed on a specific page of the SERPs.
Great post, André, and thanks for the tips!
With Google and other search engines continuing to roll out personalization updates, it is becoming increasingly difficult for SEOs to get an idea of their true ranking position. A personalized search result page can look completely different than the results a ranking tool would provide.
André Scholten wrote a guest post on Yoast explaining how Google Analytics users can get a better idea of where they rank for specific keywords. Although users will not be able to get the exact position, they will be able to figure out what page of the SERPs they rank on.
How do you do it? Google Analytics allows you to create custom filters for your analytics data. In this case, an advanced filter. I don’t want to steal André’s thunder, so head over to Yoast and read how you set it up.
Here is the screenshot he put up on Yoast that shows the effects of the filter:

The key to understanding your rankings lie in the data in the parenthesis. The result (pagina: 50) indicates that a user clicked through to your site from your listing on the sixth page of the Google SERPs. André also goes on to tell you how you can filter your keyword list to only display the keywords listed on a specific page of the SERPs.
Great post, André, and thanks for the tips!
Barry Schwartz reports that an old WebmasterWorld thread has been revived with data on how long it took Google to reassign the PageRank of the URLs he had redirected.
According to Barry, the author had set up a new URL structure and had redirected the old URLs to the new ones using a 301 redirect. If you have ever done this with a client, you know the next thing that happens is their PageRank disappears and they call you frantically at 2am wondering what went wrong.
In an effort to help us better prepare our clients for the impacts of moving a page (or site completely), the author put together the following timeline:
The whole process took about three months, but to reiterate an important point made by Barry:
Although the Toolbar PageRank didn’t appear in the new URLs for three months, it likely had PageRank internally but not yet visible in the toolbar. I am sure the traffic from Google took less than three months to get to where it was.
At any rate, this is a important reminder to document critical processes like these so you can set better expectations for your clients/bosses when redirects need to be created.
Barry Schwartz reports that an old WebmasterWorld thread has been revived with data on how long it took Google to reassign the PageRank of the URLs he had redirected.
According to Barry, the author had set up a new URL structure and had redirected the old URLs to the new ones using a 301 redirect. If you have ever done this with a client, you know the next thing that happens is their PageRank disappears and they call you frantically at 2am wondering what went wrong.
In an effort to help us better prepare our clients for the impacts of moving a page (or site completely), the author put together the following timeline:
The whole process took about three months, but to reiterate an important point made by Barry:
Although the Toolbar PageRank didn’t appear in the new URLs for three months, it likely had PageRank internally but not yet visible in the toolbar. I am sure the traffic from Google took less than three months to get to where it was.
At any rate, this is a important reminder to document critical processes like these so you can set better expectations for your clients/bosses when redirects need to be created.
Want unprecedented insight on social media from Walmart, The Home Depot, Allstate, H&R Block, Mayo Clinic, Sharpie, Procter and Gamble, and the U.S. Coast Guard?
How about advice on measuring ROI, managing teams, legal issues, B-to-B, working with agencies and creating great content?
If you answered “yes” to the above you need to register for BlogWell’s January 22nd event in Chicago! This is the best opportunity available for anyone looking to get started or improve their corporate social media efforts. Learn from the world’s top companies who are already doing it well. Get practical, how-to advice, a lesson on tricky disclosure issues, and loads of ideas and examples for just $200.
$200 is a bargain, but if you use the discount code “TrackurRocks” you’ll save another $30! Huzzah!
The event is hosted by GasPedal and Blog Council, and Trackur is one of the sponsors, so we’re returning the favor by spreading the good word.
Want unprecedented insight on social media from Walmart, The Home Depot, Allstate, H&R Block, Mayo Clinic, Sharpie, Procter and Gamble, and the U.S. Coast Guard?
How about advice on measuring ROI, managing teams, legal issues, B-to-B, working with agencies and creating great content?
If you answered “yes” to the above you need to register for BlogWell’s January 22nd event in Chicago! This is the best opportunity available for anyone looking to get started or improve their corporate social media efforts. Learn from the world’s top companies who are already doing it well. Get practical, how-to advice, a lesson on tricky disclosure issues, and loads of ideas and examples for just $200.
$200 is a bargain, but if you use the discount code “TrackurRocks” you’ll save another $30! Huzzah!
The event is hosted by GasPedal and Blog Council, and Trackur is one of the sponsors, so we’re returning the favor by spreading the good word.
I generally like Yahoo and its products–in particular Flickr and Delicious. And, when Yahoo first revamped its Yahoo Search Marketing product, I was blown away by how cool it was.
How things have changed in just a couple of years. I’m afraid to say that I am actually embarrassed for Yahoo.
Why? Because, someone over at Yahoo made the bone-headed decision to start unilaterally messing with the keywords and bids of sponsored search customers. If that wasn’t bad enough, Yahoo just quietly updated its Terms & Conditions–making advertisers fully responsible for those decisions.
Take a look at the new T&C (emphasis added):
OPTIMIZATION. In the U.S. only, for those advertisers not bound by an Insertion Order, we may help you optimize your account(s). Accordingly, you expressly agree that we may also: (i) create ads, (ii) add and/or remove keywords, and/or (iii) optimize your account(s). We will notify you via email of such changes made to your account(s), and can also include a spreadsheet of such changes upon your written request. If you would like any of such changes reversed, please reply to such email within 14 days of the change(s), and we will make commercially reasonable efforts to reverse the change(s) you specifically identify. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you remain responsible for all changes made to your account(s), including all click charges incurred prior to any reversions being made. It is your responsibility to monitor your account(s) and to ensure that your account settings are consistent with your business objectives.
I’m not sure I’ve ever typed this in a post before, but O…M…G!!!!
Yahoo just decided that it has the full right to change your bids, spend your money and make you responsible for all of it! Not only that, but it makes no guaranteed timeline of how quickly it will reverse the changes when asked, other than to take “commercially reasonable efforts.”
How is this legal? Forget legal, how is this fair? Can you imagine if your investment adviser started buying stocks on your behalf or switched your portfolio from bonds to hedge funds??
Caveat Emptor Pilgrims!
Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!
I generally like Yahoo and its products–in particular Flickr and Delicious. And, when Yahoo first revamped its Yahoo Search Marketing product, I was blown away by how cool it was.
How things have changed in just a couple of years. I’m afraid to say that I am actually embarrassed for Yahoo.
Why? Because, someone over at Yahoo made the bone-headed decision to start unilaterally messing with the keywords and bids of sponsored search customers. If that wasn’t bad enough, Yahoo just quietly updated its Terms & Conditions–making advertisers fully responsible for those decisions.
Take a look at the new T&C (emphasis added):
OPTIMIZATION. In the U.S. only, for those advertisers not bound by an Insertion Order, we may help you optimize your account(s). Accordingly, you expressly agree that we may also: (i) create ads, (ii) add and/or remove keywords, and/or (iii) optimize your account(s). We will notify you via email of such changes made to your account(s), and can also include a spreadsheet of such changes upon your written request. If you would like any of such changes reversed, please reply to such email within 14 days of the change(s), and we will make commercially reasonable efforts to reverse the change(s) you specifically identify. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you remain responsible for all changes made to your account(s), including all click charges incurred prior to any reversions being made. It is your responsibility to monitor your account(s) and to ensure that your account settings are consistent with your business objectives.
I’m not sure I’ve ever typed this in a post before, but O…M…G!!!!
Yahoo just decided that it has the full right to change your bids, spend your money and make you responsible for all of it! Not only that, but it makes no guaranteed timeline of how quickly it will reverse the changes when asked, other than to take “commercially reasonable efforts.”
How is this legal? Forget legal, how is this fair? Can you imagine if your investment adviser started buying stocks on your behalf or switched your portfolio from bonds to hedge funds??
Caveat Emptor Pilgrims!
Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!
It’s official: the first roundup of marketing news of the 2009—and it’s heavy on the Google.
It’s official: the first roundup of marketing news of the 2009—and it’s heavy on the Google.
Just a few weeks ago we reported that Facebook was growing by 600,000 users a day. If that wasn’t enough, CNET reports that Facebook set record traffic numbers on Christmas Eve.
During the month of November, Facebook was averaging 1.42% of all U.S. Internet traffic. On December 24, they hit a Facebook-best 2.18% market share that day. That’s a 54 percent increase over November average and a 53 percent increase year over year. Needless to say, things are going well for them.
According to CNET, that pattern was mirrored in the U.K., where visits to the social networking site had a market share of 4.65 percent, accounting for one in every 22 Internet visits.
As for what is causing this strong traffic increase, Heather Hopkins of Hitwise theorizes it was a combination of boredom and bad weather. Facebook’s primary markets (New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia) were all slammed with bad weather.
She also theorizes that people were using their computers as an escape from entertaining family members on Christmas Eve. I think this is a valid argument considering the youthfulness of Facebook’s audience. Facebook became a hub for young adults to converse with one another and avoid those awkward/awful conversations with relatives you only talk with on holidays. Oh to be young again.
What I found particularly interesting was Christmas in 2007 was Facebook’s biggest traffic day, and Christmas Eve this year stole that award. I guess Christmas isn’t as exciting as we all like to believe.
Did you find yourself logging into Facebook on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas?
Just a few weeks ago we reported that Facebook was growing by 600,000 users a day. If that wasn’t enough, CNET reports that Facebook set record traffic numbers on Christmas Eve.
During the month of November, Facebook was averaging 1.42% of all U.S. Internet traffic. On December 24, they hit a Facebook-best 2.18% market share that day. That’s a 54 percent increase over November average and a 53 percent increase year over year. Needless to say, things are going well for them.
According to CNET, that pattern was mirrored in the U.K., where visits to the social networking site had a market share of 4.65 percent, accounting for one in every 22 Internet visits.
As for what is causing this strong traffic increase, Heather Hopkins of Hitwise theorizes it was a combination of boredom and bad weather. Facebook’s primary markets (New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia) were all slammed with bad weather.
She also theorizes that people were using their computers as an escape from entertaining family members on Christmas Eve. I think this is a valid argument considering the youthfulness of Facebook’s audience. Facebook became a hub for young adults to converse with one another and avoid those awkward/awful conversations with relatives you only talk with on holidays. Oh to be young again.
What I found particularly interesting was Christmas in 2007 was Facebook’s biggest traffic day, and Christmas Eve this year stole that award. I guess Christmas isn’t as exciting as we all like to believe.
Did you find yourself logging into Facebook on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas?
It wasn’t long ago that we reported on Power.com’s expansion into the North American market. The social networking aggregator that allows users the ability to navigate and participate in multiple social networks at once, now finds itself in hot water with social networking giant Facebook.
Court documents filed December 30th reveal that Facebook is suing Power.com for a host of reasons including copyright infringement, violations of terms of service, and the scraping of what they consider “proprietary data,” which I assume is user information. It appears the mere inclusion of Facebook into the Power.com site is not at issue, but rather the fact that Power.com did not use Facebook’s public API. As of now Power.com has removed every mention of Facebook from its site.
I think this will be a very interesting case to watch as this speaks to the heart of a major trend on the Internet. More and more services are popping up that are built solely on the aggregation of others’ content. What was once considered spamming by many is now considered a central tenant of the Web 2.0 world that we live in. This case may further demonstrate the awkward fit that outdated intellectual property rights law has on the internet, or it might redefine our own perceptions of open content standards. Either way, this will be interesting to watch!
It wasn’t long ago that we reported on Power.com’s expansion into the North American market. The social networking aggregator that allows users the ability to navigate and participate in multiple social networks at once, now finds itself in hot water with social networking giant Facebook.
Court documents filed December 30th reveal that Facebook is suing Power.com for a host of reasons including copyright infringement, violations of terms of service, and the scraping of what they consider “proprietary data,” which I assume is user information. It appears the mere inclusion of Facebook into the Power.com site is not at issue, but rather the fact that Power.com did not use Facebook’s public API. As of now Power.com has removed every mention of Facebook from its site.
I think this will be a very interesting case to watch as this speaks to the heart of a major trend on the Internet. More and more services are popping up that are built solely on the aggregation of others’ content. What was once considered spamming by many is now considered a central tenant of the Web 2.0 world that we live in. This case may further demonstrate the awkward fit that outdated intellectual property rights law has on the internet, or it might redefine our own perceptions of open content standards. Either way, this will be interesting to watch!
In a recent interview with TechRadar. Google’s Vice President of Search Products & User Experience, Marissa Mayer hints at the future of search. Mayer continues what seems to be a repetitive message in the search industry, “We think it’s really important to move beyond just keywords and allow people to ask questions…” This statement comes after we have seen other Googlers say very similar things.
“Beyond just keywords” means increased deployment of universal search, personalization, and social integration.
In a blog post Mayer wrote back in September, she highlights the significant growth of universal search; “We’ve barely scratched the surface with universal search.” Now, she elaborates more with, “We’re also looking at how to weave new media into it and how we can bring books, videos and news right into the search experience.”
“What can we understand about the user and how can we tailor the results to them?” Mayer asks. This seems to be the driving question behind the effort to further develop personalized search. Mayer writes in her post, “One answer is clear: search engines of the future will be better in part because they will understand more about you, the individual user.” Geo-targeting is another aspect of personalization that we have already known existed. When Mayer suggested, “maybe the search engine of the future will know where you’re located.” We have already seen examples of this, but perhaps this signals an increased presence in the future.
For me the most interesting part of this interview comes when Mayer says,
We really need to harness people’s friends better to understand which news to direct them to, which local events to direct them to… these are all things that we think are intriguing.
This comes shortly after Google releases their Friend Connect. With this service webmasters can add social elements to their site by including a social widget that tracks visitors based on user’s Google ID. Users can also select others as their “friends.” What does this mean for search? If Google can successfully track a user’s friends online, they can get a better understanding of what types of information the user is interested in, thus more data for search personalization.
At the end of the interview it appears that Mayer tries to quell recent assertions that she might leave Google. “I really love my job because I get to work on new problems and have new challenges each day. I’m currently working on our Geo products, Google Book Search and Google Health. They’re all things I’m excited to be part of.”
So it looks like despite all of the changes happening in the world of search one that we shouldn’t expect is the departure of Marissa Mayer.
Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!
In a recent interview with TechRadar. Google’s Vice President of Search Products & User Experience, Marissa Mayer hints at the future of search. Mayer continues what seems to be a repetitive message in the search industry, “We think it’s really important to move beyond just keywords and allow people to ask questions…” This statement comes after we have seen other Googlers say very similar things.
“Beyond just keywords” means increased deployment of universal search, personalization, and social integration.
In a blog post Mayer wrote back in September, she highlights the significant growth of universal search; “We’ve barely scratched the surface with universal search.” Now, she elaborates more with, “We’re also looking at how to weave new media into it and how we can bring books, videos and news right into the search experience.”
“What can we understand about the user and how can we tailor the results to them?” Mayer asks. This seems to be the driving question behind the effort to further develop personalized search. Mayer writes in her post, “One answer is clear: search engines of the future will be better in part because they will understand more about you, the individual user.” Geo-targeting is another aspect of personalization that we have already known existed. When Mayer suggested, “maybe the search engine of the future will know where you’re located.” We have already seen examples of this, but perhaps this signals an increased presence in the future.
For me the most interesting part of this interview comes when Mayer says,
We really need to harness people’s friends better to understand which news to direct them to, which local events to direct them to… these are all things that we think are intriguing.
This comes shortly after Google releases their Friend Connect. With this service webmasters can add social elements to their site by including a social widget that tracks visitors based on user’s Google ID. Users can also select others as their “friends.” What does this mean for search? If Google can successfully track a user’s friends online, they can get a better understanding of what types of information the user is interested in, thus more data for search personalization.
At the end of the interview it appears that Mayer tries to quell recent assertions that she might leave Google. “I really love my job because I get to work on new problems and have new challenges each day. I’m currently working on our Geo products, Google Book Search and Google Health. They’re all things I’m excited to be part of.”
So it looks like despite all of the changes happening in the world of search one that we shouldn’t expect is the departure of Marissa Mayer.
Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!
Without an official statement from your company, your stakeholders will often fill the void with rumor and speculation.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve recited the above statement at conferences, on client calls, and in blog posts. For many businesses, it’s the one truth that finally gets them to embrace a radically transparent culture. The latest to realize this truth is Apple.
For many months speculation and rumor have circulated about the state of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ health. That speculation hit a crescendo when it was announced he would not keynote the upcoming Macworld conference. The chart opposite demonstrates just how much that has effected Apple’s stock price.
So what could Apple and Steve Jobs do? There really was only one answer–and keeping quiet, was not it. In an rare open letter to Apple stakeholders, Steve Jobs is transparent about his state of health. Yes, he’s sick–and clearly he’s not comfortable talking about it. But, by being radically transparent, Jobs has revealed that the state of his health is not anything serious–leaving employees, customers, and investors with the confidence that Jobs will remain as the CEO of Apple for the foreseeable future.
Here’s Jobs’ open letter:
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.
So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve
The lesson? If you want to avoid speculation and rumor from taking a stake in your reputation, you need to displace it with the truth–and quickly. In Job’s case, he may have felt that revealing he was having health issues, would have been to the detriment of the company. However, as he has learned, in the absence of the truth, the market constructed a scenario (some even suggesting he was dying) that had a much worse impact on Apple’s reputation.
Nothing kills rumor and speculation like a dose of the truth!
PS. Apple’s stock price is up almost 5% on Jobs’ statement.
Without an official statement from your company, your stakeholders will often fill the void with rumor and speculation.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve recited the above statement at conferences, on client calls, and in blog posts. For many businesses, it’s the one truth that finally gets them to embrace a radically transparent culture. The latest to realize this truth is Apple.
For many months speculation and rumor have circulated about the state of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ health. That speculation hit a crescendo when it was announced he would not keynote the upcoming Macworld conference. The chart opposite demonstrates just how much that has effected Apple’s stock price.
So what could Apple and Steve Jobs do? There really was only one answer–and keeping quiet, was not it. In an rare open letter to Apple stakeholders, Steve Jobs is transparent about his state of health. Yes, he’s sick–and clearly he’s not comfortable talking about it. But, by being radically transparent, Jobs has revealed that the state of his health is not anything serious–leaving employees, customers, and investors with the confidence that Jobs will remain as the CEO of Apple for the foreseeable future.
Here’s Jobs’ open letter:
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.
So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve
The lesson? If you want to avoid speculation and rumor from taking a stake in your reputation, you need to displace it with the truth–and quickly. In Job’s case, he may have felt that revealing he was having health issues, would have been to the detriment of the company. However, as he has learned, in the absence of the truth, the market constructed a scenario (some even suggesting he was dying) that had a much worse impact on Apple’s reputation.
Nothing kills rumor and speculation like a dose of the truth!
PS. Apple’s stock price is up almost 5% on Jobs’ statement.