5/21/2007
Nokia Fumbles the RingNokia Opportunity
Fisrt I’m going to quote an entire post from my friend Stefan Constantinescu -
I finally found out why I’m in trouble!
After contacting Darby & Darby numerous times to try and find out what I did wrong I simply gave up and contacted “Domains By Proxy.”
They were kind enough to forward me the complaint that Nokia has
filed against me. Yes you read that right, Nokia has filed a complaint
against me.You can read the PDF here: Download ltr. Unauthorized use of Nokia’s Proprietary Trade Secrets (01104452).PDF
In summary: I made a blog post on April 02, 2007 that contained pictures of the supposed Nokia 8600. That device was stolen from a Nokia building in Arizona! They [Nokia] think I had something to do with the theft!
I’m just about as shocked as you are. Seriously, that is some heavy shit.
Right now I have no idea what to feel. I still admire Nokia and all
the products they produce. I enjoy the time I’ve spent with the many
employees I met in Vegas, NYC, Madrid and I can’t wait to see Phil and
Ganesh again in Chicago (is Mikko coming?) next month. I’m a little …
heart broken that they want my site shut down, but right now there is
nothing I can do but wait for Darby & Darby to return my phone call.817 808 9258,
just say the word and I’ll delete that blog post faster than you can say “Holy Lawsuit Batman!”The post has been removed!Edit: What really bugs me is the fact that I clearly labeled my
source, HowardForums, on the bottom of that post. Why do I get the
short end of the stick?Edit: I deleted the blog post that started this mess. Thanks for the advice Greg!
And Now I’m going to say this to Nokia, you simply screwed the pooch on this one. No other way to put it. Stefan is one of the most ouspoken Nokia proponents on the planet. You could have handled it any number of ways. You could have turned it into a PR plus, and instead, you came out looking like a bully going after the little guy.
I’m quite impressed with the Nokia products I’ve had the privilege of evaluating. From a produc standpoint, Nokia is clearly in a leadership role pointing the way to a very mobile future.
From a positioning standpoint, the Nokia Blogger Relations program has done wonders to position Nokia well, and for good reason.
Had I been in Stefan’s position, I expect this would have escalated into a very public, very large black eye for Nokia. But instead, you sent the lawyers after an ally who is, for all intents and purposes, a college student who wants to come work for you. He’s that big a fan.
Shame on you Nokia for one of the worst cases of mismanagement for 2007. You’re in the running for blunder of the year at this point. Get off your butts and salvage this and turn it into a win you fools.
Technorati Tags: Nokia, Stefan Constantinescu, blunders, mismanagement, PR debacle
Filed by Ken at 5:56 pm under Mobility & Handheld, Portable Pleasures - PDA/Smartphones
[...] more about it here, here, and Stefan’s own thoughts here and here and [...]
Totally agree, Nokia really messed up this time.
[...] never doubted for a minute that Nokia would do the right thing if they were aware of the situation Stefan faced recently. Glad to see I was right. I’m no longer in [...]