DavidLibby.com

Oh no, don't kill the press release

Michael Arrington in TechCrunch posted this new story today about the SEC recognizing bloggers and is suggesting we kill the press release.  Oh, no, don't kill the press release.  Why not?  It's a factual document, when done right, that aligns executives on positioning, messaging and voice.  The press release also give the PR team a foundation from which to build.  PR is an 'evolution, not a revolution' and besides the press coverage a company garners, the press release shows the maturation of a Company, albeit some abuse this channel with misinformation and hype.  The best thing we can do is to alter the way it works for a company or individual.

What we learned from Cuil

I for one, and am probably one of the few, who feels badly for the PR people (and engineers) behind the launch of Cuil.  After all, who didn't see Young Frankenstein?  FRANK-EN-SHTEIN.  Yeah, you pronounced it correctly.  Am I wrong?  Was I the only one who witnessed the gang up on Cuil crowd mentality.  Everybody chimed in, me too (it will probably help my Google ranking).  SO, as you sit in your laboratory thinking that you and your Igors have flipped every switch, remember what goes around, comes around.  And, with that said, let's highlight some of the more entertaining, if not educative postings and articles surrounding the rise and fall (down the stairs) life of Cuil.

Gotta start at the source, for reference purposes:

Cuil (pronounced COOL)

http://www.cuil.com/info/

Mark Logic CEO Blog on Cuil VS. SearchMe

http://marklogic.blogspot.com/2008/07/cuil-vs-searchme-plus-rant-on-powerset.html

TechWag on privacy issues

http://techwag.com/index.php/2008/07/30/google-and-cuil-lessons-to-be-learned-here/

MarketingHackz on marketing strategy (or lack thereof)

http://marketinghackz.com/cuils-marketing-strategy-not-so-cool/

Admedian - quotes from Kevin Ryan from ad:tech, always insightful

http://www.admedian.com/media_news/2008/07/30/sew-experts-whats-wrong-with-being-cuil/

Cynosure - talks about the obvious reasons the launch (and site) didn't work out of the box

http://cynosure.crystalking.com/?p=66

Mark Evans (we like Canadians) - on developing a solid go to market strategy

http://www.markevanstech.com/2008/07/30/first-impressions-tough-critics/

And, last, but not least, my take.

Cuil will be cool.  Think about it.  The site only has one way to go, up.  With all of the bad press, when the site makes it turn, the big ship will get noticed.  And, everyone LOVES an underdog.  I didn't read any blogs or articles which were cheering for Google.  Quite frankly, Google is smart to stay out of this conversation.  Do you really think of Google as search engine?  It's a behavioral targeting company, states Bill Flitter, CEO of Pheedo.

Now, a pop quiz.  Name five entrepreneurs who had big flops and came back to wow us all.