yxboom
May 16th 2003, 01:40 AM
Pulling our chains? Microsoft says wired toilet no hoax after all
By HELEN JUNG, AP Business Writer
(http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/887183p-6181469c.html)
What's true with the iLoo? Microsoft Corp. and its public relations firm changed their story - again - Tuesday about whether the United Kingdom division had been developing an Internet-enabled portable toilet.
On Monday, three representatives for the software giant told news agencies, including The Associated Press, that an April 30 news release trumpeting the "iLoo" was a hoax and apologized for "any confusion or offense."
But on Tuesday, the company reversed itself, saying the iLoo was real but the project has now been killed.
"We jumped the gun basically yesterday in confirming that it was a hoax, and in fact it was not," said Lisa Gurry, MSN group product manager. "Definitely, we're going to be taking a good look at our communication processes internally."
It's a public relations embarrassment for a company famous for micromanaging news releases, interviews and promotional events.
"It's definitely not how we like to do PR at Microsoft," Gurry said.
:doh:
By HELEN JUNG, AP Business Writer
(http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/887183p-6181469c.html)
What's true with the iLoo? Microsoft Corp. and its public relations firm changed their story - again - Tuesday about whether the United Kingdom division had been developing an Internet-enabled portable toilet.
On Monday, three representatives for the software giant told news agencies, including The Associated Press, that an April 30 news release trumpeting the "iLoo" was a hoax and apologized for "any confusion or offense."
But on Tuesday, the company reversed itself, saying the iLoo was real but the project has now been killed.
"We jumped the gun basically yesterday in confirming that it was a hoax, and in fact it was not," said Lisa Gurry, MSN group product manager. "Definitely, we're going to be taking a good look at our communication processes internally."
It's a public relations embarrassment for a company famous for micromanaging news releases, interviews and promotional events.
"It's definitely not how we like to do PR at Microsoft," Gurry said.
:doh: