Only Microsoft could be so bold.
As I explained in my last post, TechFlash’s Todd Bishop and I have been bantering back and forth about what is advertising. Oh, these IM arguments can be brutal. Anyway, FedEx showed up 45 minutes ago with the Zune HD and Zune headphones I ordered from Amazon. Look at what’s on the headphone box!
Yesterday, a seemingly official Microsoft Twitter accounted fooled popular blogs and mainstream news sites to write that Microsoft would introduce a new Zune platform in June. But the account wasn’t from Microsoft.
There’s not enough emphasis on real-time accuracy. Yesterday’s “@officethemovie” pwning is about the worst example yet of new news media gone wrong. In the quest for clicks—and the feeble ad rates they pay—bloggers and old-time journalists rushed to write about a new Zune platform coming in June. Apple is rumored to be unveiling the new iPhone the same month. Additionally, the E3 gaming expo starts June 2. I guess it all was just too tantalizing for people to check their facts. The source wasn’t Microsoft. But most blogs and news sites reported that it was.
