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How Apple Orchestrates Controlled Leaks, and Why
Lanxon writes "'I was a Senior Marketing Manager at Apple and I was instructed to do some controlled leaks,' confesses John Martellaro. Monday's article at the Wall Street Journal, which provided confirmation of an Apple tablet device, had all the earmarks of a controlled leak. Here's how Apple does it. Often Apple has a need to let information out, unofficially. The company has been doing that for years, and it helps preserve Apple's consistent, official reputation for never talking about unreleased products. The way it works is that a senior exec will come in and say, 'We need to release this specific information. John, do you have a trusted friend at a major outlet? If so, call him/her and have a conversation. Idly mention this information and suggest that if it were published, that would be nice. No e-mails!'"
Thats how they all do it. Hell its even how the government does it. This isnt news, its well known common practice. Thats why its always fun when Apple goes after someone about a leak. Because in those situations, you KNOW Apple didnt authorize the leak and it makes you snicker.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Say Jobs wants to fire someone but he doesn't want to lose them to another company. So he calls up the manager or whoever and asks him to do a 'controlled leak' for him via cellphone at Devil's Slough near Cupertino and wants to meet him there at 3am but come alone and no e-mails, no mention of this to anyone, no sort of traceability just to cover our asses because, hey, this is a controlled leak, right? But he asks the guy to stop at a random pub and buy Steve a bottle of their finest alcohol.
So the guy shows up and there's Steve walking along the railroad tracks above Devil's Slough. Well, when the guy approaches him, Steve hands him a cell phone and takes the bottle of liquor. Depending on how much Steve likes the bottle of liquor is how Steve proceeds next. If he likes it, he lets the man realize the cellphone is just an iPhone shell and Steve embraces him as Steve injects him with pentobarbital and gently lets him fall to his death in the slough. Now if Steve doesn't like the bottle, he pulls out his chic white iDesert Eagle and puts one in the back of each of the guy's legs gangland style. Then he usually taunts and complains about the bottle the guy brought him before roundhousing him to the head off the railroad tracks. He usually finishes it with a really bad hollywood-esque pun (ex. "consider your employment terminated!") and holds the gun sideways to look badass. Either way the guy just becomes a faceless statistic of people who drank too much at a bar and were mugged on their way home. And since it was a 'controlled leak' no one knows about it.
It's all true. Reiser tried but failed to open source the model. And that time Jobs looked cancer thin? He had actually just gotten back from a two week stint in Devil's Slough after a botched termination turned into a Most Dangerous Game where the hunter became the hunted.
My work here is dung.
It's worth noting that if Apple were a smaller company, this sort of behavior would (or should, you can always find more shills) get doors slammed in its face at media outlets pretty fast. There's two reasons why it doesn't: 1. They're probably well-connected enough that they could always find someone else to leak their supposed "info," either through naievete or just apathy, and 2. They're so big that exclusive Apple news is a big plus, even if it turns out to be false or misleading.
you purchased more Apple stock?
did you really think all those dumb unboxing youtube videos of the Pre and other cell phones where they don't show anything weren't official marketing? if it really was someone who stole a copy then they would show off every feature on the internet so all the internet peoplez would think they are cool
I'd love to see some data about company insiders and their stock purchasing/selling in relation to the "leaks". There are a few people making a shitload of $$$ off of the leaks. And if they are not then I'd be shocked. The last WSJ "leak" shot appl stock way up and my first thought was: someone is having a nice Christmas bonus.
"...Senior Marketing Manager at Apple and I was instructed to do some controlled leaks".
Let me be the first to say that anytime you boss wants you to do something "off the record", you need to start doing 1 or all of 3 things:
1. recording massive amounts of evidence(when did he ask you, how, what time, save emails offsite) for your own benefit
2. get an authorization document on company letterhead signed by him
3. refuse to do it.
They are setting you up my friend. You've probably broken some type of law already and don't even know it. I can't wait to hear their ass-covering testimony. "I never authorized him to do that. Yes your honor, I did speak with him on 1/6/2010 about the new tablet computer. I said I would like him to discuss the new changes to the device with his colleagues at work. Never at any time did I mention it was OK to discuss a confidential hardware/software design with the MEDIA!!!
I'm waiting for the iPhone Shuffle.
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
All we need to do is create a leak for a fictional (but desirable) product. Slowly release blurry mock-ups and specs. Start a few rumors here and there. Then (as long as everyone stays positive) we let Apple deal with the actual implementation.
I'm awaiting my DRM-free ireader. (Apple, you can do it so much better)
For those who don't feel like actually reading the article, here're the specific reasons given for the tablet leaks:
* to light a fire under a recalcitrant partner
* to float the idea of the US$1,000 price point and gauge reaction
* to panic/confuse a potential competitor about whom Apple had some knowledge
* to whet analyst and observer expectations to make sure the right kind and number of people show up at the (presumed) January 26 event. Apple hates empty seats and demands SRO at these events.
I'm especially curious about the first and the third. Who is the competitor? The Google/Alex Reader partnership? The rumoured Chrome OS tablet? And who is the partner, a content provider or an OEM? Were they concerned that there wasn't enough interest in the device to guarantee volume, or was it something else?
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Insider trading is illegal but it's not clearly defined. Mark Cuban recently won a case where he was accused of insider trading. Martha Stewart is an interesting example because she was prosecuted for obstruction of justice and lying to investigators, not for insider trading. The coverup is far worse than the crime, especially when there might not have even been a crime in the first place.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
Ethics (n): The 'optional' set of rules companies occasionally engage when it is a benefit to the company but publically declaire they use at all times.
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
I work in politics and government and to give Apple much credit for this is sort of laughable. Let's just say that if they tried to patent it, there would be plenty of prior art.
Some people will look at this and think "that's why Apple is so successful at building buzz." It's only partly true. Every company leaks, but not every company gets a NY Times story and 100 blog echoes. The leaks work so well because Apple is a hot, popular company. They don't, by themselves, make Apple a hot, popular company.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
If they were released during the winter i'd say that is the dance you do to keep warm waiting outside in line to buy one.
It's a swipe to the right
type in that PIN
search for your app (there's one for that)
let the fun begin
It's the iPhone Shuffle
-Xen
The coverup is far worse than the crime, especially when there might not have even been a crime in the first place.
Ergo, Bill Clinton almost-impeachment. It isn't necessarily illegal for the President to have sex with an intern in the Oval Office. It might have been sexual harassment, and an investigation was tenuously warranted, but lying to the investigators is certainly illegal.
Unlike Martha, however, Bill got basically zero in terms of actual punishment for his crime.
Posting Anon as I've already modded in this discussion: That's illegal (and highly unethical from a journalist's standpoint) without getting consent. And reporters don't want to burn bridges in any event. No legit reporter would break important rules for something as unimportant as tech gossip.
if Apple were a smaller company
Sure, you are being rather hypothetical as Apple is in fact a huge company with innovative ideas. People do care what they'll come out with. So you don't make much of a point. Note that Google once was a small company. I first heard of them through an industry insider who said: "watch-out for this company called Google" in a web cast, "they have quite an interesting concept." Next thing you know, Altavista and Yahoo lost their leads as web search tools. Why did Google succeed? In my opinion, it was the reputation of their leaders as technical gurus and not traditional marketing types. The non obtrusiveness of their interface and their innovative monetization model also helped get them the lead.
Apple has a to know their next product will be a hit. These leaks provide an outlet and a low risk method of measuring acceptance. If reaction is negative, they never admit the leak and the idea is postponed, otherwise, it might go ahead. Too bad Segway didn't do the same thing. They would have probably not have spent so much in a product which is interesting but honestly not that compelling.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
Is anyone really reading this and scratching their heads, saying, "Well gee, I thought it was a bunch of intrepid hackers who broke into the mainframe to steal the pix?" Of course Apple orchestrates their leaks and rumors. Even their litigious cease and desisting of Mac rumor sites is all part of cultivating their mystique. Even "non-evil" companies like Google pull shit like this. It's all part of the marketing game to build pre-release buzz for products.
"All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground... and miss." - Douglas Adams
How's that any f@cking news to begin with?....If your leak looks like advertisement on the hush-hush it usually is. Disinformation campaign 101 - only its' not some spook agency , it's some corporate entity behind it. Apple has to do a lot more of this crap as so many of their sales are to consumers so the the whole FUD strategy has to be rehashed every quarter or so.
And we are increasing the publicity by discussing this.
Bears: Wanton woodland defeacation shock
Pope: Catholic?
I am waiting for iScored :-(
839*929
In many places this sort of recording isn't legal. It is theoretically possible to attach some sort of consequences to breaking a confidence. It would be a different matter if you gave your permission to be recorded, were in a public place, etc, but if you specifically asked to have a private, off the record, conversation things get a little less black and white.
A person may or may not face legal penalty for this kind of behavior, but you can be certain they would never get those kinds of tips again. Since tips generate stories and stories generate money, there isn't a great deal of incentive for outing a tipster.
By fleshing out an implementation, perhaps this pre-empts someone patenting "Controlled Leak, Product" (as opposed to nuclear power plant, hot air balloon, disinformation, tire, etc.)
I think you're assuming I'm saying something good or bad about Apple in general, but in fact all I'm doing is observing that their media strategy would not work for most companies.
Media is a business, and as much as the media likes to portray itself as gung ho and unconventional, you can't play rough unless you're so big (or so influential) that rejecting you is going to hurt them. Again, this is why Apple's size (and influence, more importantly) lets them get away with it.
Most of the time, the business of news is run by pretty convention business etiquette. Just like a reporter can't repeatedly ambush sources and expect to keep getting interviews (unless they're hugely influential), a company can't constantly play hardball and expect to get coverage (again, unless they're very influential, like Apple is).
Dodgy leaks and questionable denials may seem like a good business strategy, but try it as a more low-key player from a smaller company and see how far you get with your PR strategy.
I have a couple friends who have the iPhone Shuffle. If by iPhone Shuffle you are talking about that the condition where one slowly ambles aimlessly around while waiting for their videos, etc. to load over AT&T's overly-congested-doesn't-even-begin-to-describe-it network. It's very tragic to watch.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Exactly: faith. And because of that you shouldn't criticize the Appleologists. If they think that walking around in black turtle necks holding up shiny white things while worshiping a Deity they call Steve, will bring sense and purpose to their existence, let them proceed. This way they at least don't bother the rest of us normal people or interfere in our quest to improve Linux, which He has given to us.
Which is dropping, and will continue to drop, and more and more people realize what bullshit he signed into law. DMCA, we all love that and love Bill for that, right? NAFTA's been working out great hasn't it? How about shutting down our research on Integral Fast Reactors? That's some future tech shit right there, and it's not like our nuclear tech was lagging behind the rest of the world already thanks to NIMBY-ism, but hey too bad now. GE's got some reactors based on that they're designing/building that should be able to drop right in to a coal plant with just some rerouted pipes and a new control room -- they're eying up China, not America. Ohh, and don't forget the Brady Bill, which did not do anything for crime -- crime rates were lower before, and after, that bill's run.
He also signed that awesome internet decency thing that was destroyed by the SCOTUS pretty quick, a telecom reform act that opened the door for ClearChannel to make you not care to ever listen to the radio again, a Marriage Defense bill that allowed states to forbid same-sex marriages and also defined "marriage", federally, as between a man and a woman.. hey that's cool, right?
Bang-up job, Bill, bang-up job! Pretty much EVERYTHING that man did in office is distasteful to.. well the entire /. mindthink. The man is charismatic, though, to the point where people love him enough to forget all the bad things he's done.
... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about.
You mean the phone with one button that dials a random number in your phonebook?
Also of interest is how Apple handles unauthorized leaks from its employees. Apparently, they lock down buildings and inspect employees' personal communication devices to hunt down the perpetrator.
It isn't necessarily illegal for the President to have sex with an intern in the Oval Office. It might have been sexual harassment, and an investigation was tenuously warranted, but lying to the investigators is certainly illegal.
This is still something most outside the US can't understand - what was the big deal? For those who get into a righteous froth about ol' Bill, you only need to go and read up on the Nixon administration. The words "ethics" and "morality" simply were not in their dictionary. Nixon did permanent harm to the office of the President which is has never recovered from - pretty much all modern cynicism about 'The Man' can be traced to that administration. Bill and his cigar fetish pale into insignificance beside it.