Those of you who have read George Orwell's iconic masterpiece 1984, will be familiar with the rewriting of news that the main protagonist does under the watchful eye of the all seeing, manipulating 'Big Brother'. This past week was an unusually news rich week and I want to commend one thought leader who came in for a lot of flack for sticking his neck out there when highlighting some issues in the industry. The reaction was vociferous, but despite being castigated by all and sundry, this client stood his ground and instead of, as often happens - particularly from our politicians, blaming the media for doing their jobs by reporting the facts and demanding retractions or the removal of key facts, he chose to engage directly with his detractors in their space. In this wired and connected, always-on world where news cannot be erased as the original is always out there and news flies around an industry faster than a bird can, he answered questions raised and commentary as it happened, in real time, using our site and through the blogs and tweets that went out on Twitter following our story and the pronouncements he made in a public forum. Telling the truth or simply highlighting certain facts does not always make the media or individuals in an industry popular, but behaving with 'digital dignity' is the mark of a true professional, like Google's Stafford Masie. Follow the continuing conversation on this particular issue and how Masie handled the controversy like the professional he is: article (see comments at the bottom) and blog post.
Enjoy! Louise Marsland, editor: editor@bizcommunity.com. All marketing news to: marketingnews@bizcommunity.com. Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive or on our blog: http://blog.bizcommunity.com.