Steve, I'm gonna go through your questions tomorrow. I'll also post some outtakes from what I think are cool IBM podcasts - both internal and external - so you can get a flavor of what we're all up to.

I'll get back to you too, Don. In the meantime, here's a catalog of external podcasts that my colleagues at ibm.com created. We also have a catalog of IBM RSS feeds. You can find them both from the homepage.

btw, guess who built that supercool feature on the future of online games that we're advertising on the homepage this week?

Well, here I am at last, a day late (apologies to Don, Steve and to anyone who visited yesterday). I ...   more »

Internet Crisis Communications: What Should We Do?

Internet crises share many of the fundamental elements of crisis communication management. First, every organization needs a crisis plan that includes many potential scenarios and should also include the worst case scenario – total product failure. This crisis plan should be taken seriously and practiced in a simulation exercise. Everyone involved should practice their roles.

In the book Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, the authors offer sound basic advice for communicating during a crisis:

• Put the public first
• Take responsibility
• Be honest
• Never say “no comment”
• Designate a single spokesperson
• Set up a central information center
• Provide a constant flow of information
• Be familiar with the media needs and deadlines
• Monitor news coverage and telephone inquiries
• Communicate with key publics

            The rise of the Internet as an important mass medium, I believe, is creating new challenges for public relations managers. Consider these trends I outlined in a recent article for The School Administrator magazine, “Got Web?”

Decline of Traditional News Media: It’s no secret: fewer people are reading a newspaper or watching a network news show. Instead, more people are relying on the Internet for news. This will have potentially serious consequences, especially in crisis communication situations when organizations traditionally rely on the local news media to explain what’s happening.

The Rise of Participatory Journalism: Journalists are no longer the only ones reporting the news. One of the biggest debates in journalism today is defining who is a journalist. With the rise of Internet technology and, in particular, blogs, everyone’s a reporter! More and more people are gathering and disseminating news and opinions via a Web site than ever before. While most of these sites lack the credibility of mainstream media, their influence is growing and organizational news will be of great interest to  stakeholders.

Demand for Information Customization: Not only do people want information at their fingertips 24/7 today, but they want that information customized to their needs. While people are loading their Apple i-Pods with music, others are selecting podcasts of all sorts of editorial content for future listening. They are also seeking information that was prepared for their needs, in the style that they enjoy, and when they want to have it.

Activism: The Internet has the ability to grow issues rapidly from anyone with access to the Internet. Organized interest groups or even individuals on a mission and time on his or her hands will increasingly undermine the credibility and trust in organizational Web sites and other Internet-based strategies.

In an article titled “Crisis Management and the Internet,” the author Boyd Neil suggested the following ways to use the Internet during a crisis:

1.      Have an Internet plan in your crisis communication manual

2.      Plan to use your intranet as a virtual crisis command center so that crisis team members, seniors executives and other employees can be updated on your emergency response program and plans

3.      Regularly monitor appropriate news and chat groups, advocacy group Web sites and on-line news services

4.      Include an IT expert or Web specialist on your crisis team

5.      Become familiar with the way issues and rumors develop, migrate to and escalate on the Web

6.      Practice downloading and transferring documents, pictures, video and audio on to your Web site

7.      Consider rapid response Web pages that can be activated when needed, complete with templates (holding statements, company backgrounders, fact sheets, media contact forms, etc.)

8.      Plan to use your Web site to update the public and the media during a crisis by posting statements, FAQs, speeches and photographs

9.      Maintain an E-mail database of key media and stakeholders so that information can be “blasted” to them quickly.

While it's true that public relations managers can't respond to every blog or discussion thread out there, it is possible to prioritize issues based on various factors. In the Kryptonite case, more active monitoring of the Internet via a Web monitoring service (see #3 above) may have identified the issue more quickly and allowed the organization to give it a high priority because there was credible evidence to confirm the problem was real, that a number of people were posting to the thread or viewing it, and the "issue" had the real potential to become a major crisis (see Timothy Coombs’ article “Assessing Online Issue Threats: Issue Contagions and their Effects on Issue Prioritization”). Because issues can quickly develop into a crisis, a speedy response was necessary.

In Kryptonite’s case, it chose not to respond directly to the discussion thread or the subsequent blogs. I believe the public relations manager should have responded quickly to the discussion thread (see #5 above) even if it was in a limited manner, with news releases or brief statements (while mentioning that Kryptonite could not respond individually to posters' questions at that time). As mentioned before, there is a growing expectation of information customization and transparency. Customers want to know that their needs are heard and that their concerns matter to the organization. My textual analysis of the discussion thread indicated that most posters were loyal customers who wanted reassurance something was happening. Most expressed understanding of the situation and seemed willing to give Kryptonite a chance to respond and develop its plan. Many wondered on the thread why Kryptonite didn’t communicate directly to their concerns. The uncertainty of the situation was frustrating and could have been reduced with even limited communication. Kryptonite did, however, use its Web site and it did talk to the traditional news media when possible.

For small organizations, such as Kryptonite, which can be easily overwhelmed by a crisis, it would be worthwhile to have a working relationship with a crisis communication agency on call should a crisis strike. Good effective planning is always a must with clear key messages…and getting out and communicating with stakeholders in the crazy, unpredictable Internet world.

I think Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz’s presentation at the IAOC national conference this year said it best: “Institutions must cede control of the message in order to participate in the conversation…” because there’s a new social structure developing in which “technology puts power in communities, not institutions.”

Kryptonite: Did the Internet or the News Media Make the Difference?

Kryptonite represents a situation that negatively affected many cyclists who owned locks that could be defeated by a simple plastic pen. The crisis resulted in reputational damage to the Kryptonite brand, although I’m sure it’s regaining its market share thanks to its product redesign and strong customer loyalty.

It grew from one person’s problem to a massive issue shared by thousands. All it took was one angry 25-year-old cyclist who discovered the security flaw and posted his thoughts on an obscure Internet bike discussion thread (instead of first contacting the company!). It just took a couple of minutes to start the thread and some effort afterword to respond to posters who wanted more information to confirm his claim.

One poster responded to this week’s discussion that this case does not show the power of blogs (or Internet discussion groups) but rather the power of video and the traditional news media. This poster rightly notes that to grow an issue that is taken seriously by others and ultimately acted on by the organization, evidence is required. The discussion thread quickly provided the evidence including several “how-to” lock Bic-ing videos, camera stills and many testimonials or first-person accounts of their own successful “Bic-ings.”

My analysis leads me to believe that this case does show the power of the Internet and is instructive for organizations facing future situations that might arise from Internet discussion groups or blogs. There are four reasons why I think the Internet is the real factor behind this crisis: the Internet’s ability to showcase evidence that creates issue legitimacy and problem recognition for doubtful or passive readers, the Net’s ability to connect and organize people behind a single cause, the low cost, ease and quality of Internet communication, and the speed in which this all happens.

1. The Internet’s ability to showcase evidence that creates issue legitimacy and problem recognition for doubtful or passive readers -- Precisely because the Internet allows people to easily post evidence in the form of videos, still photos, and share first-person accounts, others will likely agree that there is a problem and, if it’s significant enough, get involved.

2. The Net’s ability to connect and organize people behind a single cause -- This organization and involvement of strangers is another important component of this case. The Internet is a great way to connect people all over the world to unite behind a single cause. And, the people united in this situation were people directly affected by the problem…Kryptonite’s customers and avid cyclists. The Internet is an incubator for activist groups.

3. The low cost, ease and quality of Internet communication -- It costs nothing to start a discussion thread or add to the discussion. It costs nothing to post videos and still camera shots, although Bike Forums did eventually have to buy new server equipment to handle the traffic; still this does not directly impact users/members. Blog space comes free with most Internet service fees. It is possible for a single individual to either create discussion threads or build impressive Web sites that can potentially equal a corporation’s Internet presence in terms of quality and content.

4. The speed in which this all happens -- While I believe that this scenario could also have happened without the Internet -- a person could possibly have attracted a journalist’s attention with a “Bic-ing” demonstration in person or with a video -- it is unlikely that it would happen within 72 hours or become a major crisis, as was the case involving Kryptonite. A reporter would need time to confirm one person’s claim…talk to others, and contact the company. It may be several days or weeks before a story comes out. In the meantime, the organization has ample time to plan a response. The Kryptonite case, however, showed that issues can grow rapidly on the Net and quickly organize people into action. I think the strength of the discussion thread with all its video/camera stills and first-person accounts immediately caught the attention of prominent journalists. The speed in which a problem is presented to an organization (hours not days) may now require immediate response, if the issue’s impact is likely to have a major negative impact on the organization. Failure to act quickly can easily cause the issue to escalate into a crisis if an organization is unprepared or inexperienced in crisis communication.

Ultimately, the Internet was able to get the word out to the people who really needed to know what the problem was regarding a certain Kryptonite locks. It spread rapidly beyond the discussion group as people eagerly pasted the thread into other Internet cycling sites and sent the video links in personal e-mails to friends and other cyclists who might own affected locks. The point is that the Internet is an extremely efficient and focused communication tool with a long reach and rapid results. Organizations must monitor and evaluate this environment – and participate in the discussion when it’s justified (based on researcher Timothy Coombs’ likelihood factors for issue prioritization: This involves quality of the issue which includes the many different people posting supportive posts with ample evidence to support the issue and the amount of traffic to the discussion group.) The fact that the story jumped from the Internet to the mainstream media was just icing on the cake…and added further legitimacy to the discussion group’s claim among cyclists (lock owners and prospective buyers) which, in turn, fueled more discussion and media coverage. After all, Kryptonite was responding to the discussion group’s claim (by developing a product upgrade program) even before the story jumped to the mainstream media. This, to me, says that the Internet has the ability to force great changes.

For my last blog entry, tomorrow I’ll discuss what specific steps public relations managers should consider in future scenarios.

How the News Media Responded

Today, I’d like to examine the Kryptonite response printed in the mainstream media’s articles from three national news organizations who were the first to break the story nationally. I have isolated just the Kryptonite responses from each article. While it is not possible to control what a newspaper or another news medium says about a situation, it is instructive to see how this particular story was treated by three top tier news media. Because a journalist can “frame” his or her story in the manner he or she thinks best tells the story, it is necessary for an organization in crisis to stick to a couple of very specific key messages and repeat them as often as possible. Savvy politicians have become masters at sticking to their talking points/key messages sometimes ignoring the reporter’s question altogether or circling back to their key message without actually answering the reporter’s questions. The hope is that the organization controls the story, sounds like it is being proactive in solvng the problem and concerned about its affected customers.

In addition to staying focused with your message, in crisis communication, it’s important to also be available to the news media, especially top tiered news outlets. Note the number of words that Kryptonite got compared to the entire story.

Associated Press Online

The 599-word Associated Press Online story that ran Sept. 16, 2004 included a 95-word Kryptonite response (isolated from the full text of the article):

Bike Lock can be Picked with a Pen

“A spokeswoman for the Canton-based company, the country’s largest bicycle-lock manufacturer, said it plans to accelerate the introduction of new versions of the lock because of the complaints…

 “Kryptonite spokeswoman Donna Tocci said in a statement that the design still provides ‘an effective deterrent to theft,’ but that the company is developing new products using a pen-proof, disc-style cylinder.

“We are accelerating the delivery of the new disc cylinder locks and we will communicate directly with our distributors, dealers and consumers within the coming days. The world just got tougher and so did our locks.”

The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe also ran a 756-word article Sept. 16, 2004 on the front of its business section. The following 219-word segment was taken directly from the article “Cyclists: Bike Locks Easy Prey for Thieves; Kryptonite Promises More Secure Product”:

“Kryptonite, which has about 30 employees and is a division of Ingersoll-Rand Co. of Bermuda, won’t discuss the specifics of Brennan’s complaint or say exactly when the company started receiving reports of problems.

“But executives acknowledged the concerns, and in a statement issued last night they wrote that ‘The world just got tougher and so did our locks.’”

“Specifically, Kryptonite said it has moved up some dates in its plans to introduce upgraded version of the locks in question. These are the company’s ‘Krytolok’ and ‘Evolution’ lines of U-locks, selling for $30 to $55. They now use tabular keys, but the models the company planned to introduce at the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas in October will use ‘disc-style cylinders’ in which cuts in the key are angled, which it calls a more secure design.

“Now the company will speed delivery of these devices to distributors, said Tim Clifford, Kryptonite’s director of sales. It’s more expensive New York line of U-locks has used the disc cylinders since 2000, the company said.

‘“Unfortunately, this takes the thunder out of the launch at Interbike, but we’ll do what’s right by the bicycle community,’” Clifford said

“Later, Brown, the mechanic, suggested the vulnerability might only be in some older versions of the locks. Kryptonite executives weren’t available to discuss the idea…”

The New York Times

The New York Times ran a front page 1,142 word article entitled “The Pen is Mightier than the Lock; A Ballpoint Trick Infuriates Bicyclists” on Sept. 17, 2004. The following is a 68-word excerpt isolates Kryptonite’s response:

“In a statement sent by e-mail yesterday, the company said that it was aware of the problem and was moving quickly to get locks featuring a different mechanism to bike shops and that it was designing a program to let users of compromised locks to upgrade to new ones.

“Donna M. Tocci, a spokeswoman for the company, stressed that locks made by other manufacturers shared the same vulnerabilities.”

My Response to the Media Coverage

I think the analysis of these three national media stories shows that Kryptonite’s initial statements (see yesterday’s entry) were too vague and did not focus on the concerns of its customers. The key messages that its customers’ security concerns were top priority and that Kryptonite was quickly resolving the problem did not come through clearly.

The Sept. 16, 2004 Kryptonite written statement starts off stating how invincible the Kryptonite bike locks had been for the past three decades while in reality some of its lock designs could be easily defeated with a plastic pen. The written statement left the impression that there was no written crisis plan anticipating a total product failure since the details of the customer upgrade program were not available to the public.

The Associated Press story claims the affected locks are still “an effective deterrent to theft.” If I was the owner of a very expensive bike with one of the affected locks, I’d be unconvinced and upset. Just speeding up delivery of a new product model is not reassuring.

The Boston Globe article one of Kryptonite’s executives seemed more concerned about losing the company’s market “thunder” for its new product line than for its customers who are stuck with locks that don’t protect their bikes. The phrase “The world just got tougher and so did our locks” really rings false when considering the company doesn’t have a publicly announced plan to solve the problem quickly.

The New York Times article notes that Kryptonite was responding to media requests via e-mail which is ok except in a crisis – especially with a national newspaper. Public relations managers need to prioritize its top tier media (those especially with a national reach) and work with them often. It is best to interact in person or over a telephone to increase the chance of being able to fully explain the situation and answer all questions completely. This article contained only a 68-word response out of 1,142 words. It is always a mistake, I think, to shift the blame during a crisis, no matter how unfair a situation may seem for the organization. When Tocci said that Kryptonite locks weren’t the only bike locks affected by the design flaw it sounded like Kryptonite was not taking full responsibility for its problem and making that the priority. While factual, I’m sure Kryptonite lock owners were not reassured. She should have stayed focused on resolving the problem for her company’s customers.

Kryptonite's Crisis Response

          Within two days of the initial post on Bike Forums, more than 11,000 people (“views”) had visited the Kryptonite-Bic thread and there had been a reported 40,000 downloads of the videos. More than 340,000 readers read the Kryptonite Bike Forums thread within the first week and the videos were downloaded three million times as the news media covered the event.

            Kryptonite, a Massachusetts-based division of Ingersoll-Rand of Bermuda, had at the time about 30 employees with a one-person public relations office.

            The public relations manager is responsible for Kryptonite’s public relations efforts worldwide. When the crisis hit, she received more than 100 calls from the media in the first days.

Kryptonite’s public relations manager was not familiar with Bike Forums prior to the crisis, but said she routinely monitored many cycling and traditional media Internet sites daily. Kryptonite executives also kept an eye on other Internet sites and passed along pertinent information.

            At the time of the crisis, Kryptonite had two media tracking services – but no Web tracking service – to monitor Web sites, discussion groups or blog activity.

Kryptonite relied on its Web site and the mainstream news media to communicate its messages. Kryptonite chose not to respond directly on Bike Forums or other Internet sites that discussed or carried the story. The public relations manager said the potential flood of questions and comments that a Kryptonite posting could generate would easily overwhelm Kryptonite’s ability to respond responsibly. “We didn’t want people to think Kryptonite was ignoring them [by not answering posters].”

Minutes after an official statement was released to the media, it would appear on Bikeforums.net anyway, she said.

             Kryptonite issued three news releases Sept. 16, 17 and 22. The first one announced the company’s broad plan for a lock exchange program for certain models of tubular cylinder locks susceptible to pen attacks. The brief news release mentioned an upgrade for certain Kryptonite locks but was short on details and did little to answer Bike Forums’ discussion group questions.

            It was plain that the details of this lock upgrade program were being sorted out as Kryptonite issued the first two news releases and until the third release was issued Sept. 22. Lack of specific information drove readers and viewers who had heard about the problem from the mass media to Bike Forums.

            Under growing pressure from worried and confused customers, Kryptonite announced a broad product exchange program for “all consumers who are concerned about the security of their current Kryptonite tubular cylinder locks” Sept. 22, 2004.

Sept. 16, 2004 Kryptonite Statement

Kryptonite Issues Statement on Tubular Cylinder Lock Consumer Concerns

CANTON, Ma., Sept. 16, 2004

For more than 30 years, Kryptonite has focused on delivering innovative advances that establish the benchmark for lock technology, product performance and enhanced security.

In light of recent demonstrations on the Internet that explain how to criminally defeat tubular cylinder lock technology, which has performed successfully for more than three decades, Kryptonite intends to expedite the introduction of its upgraded Evolution and KryptoLok lines. These products will have the disc-style cylinder that has the same technology as the company's famous New York Lock.

Specifically, Kryptonite will provide the owners of Evolution and KryptoLok series products the ability to upgrade their cross bars to the new disc-style cylinder, where possible. This new cylinder provides greatly enhanced security and performance.

Kryptonite is finalizing the details of this upgrade process and will publicly communicate these details as soon as possible.  

Tomorrow’s Blog Segment