Will Fake Cisco Blogger Deliver Real Service Provider News?
Oct. 30th, 2008 by The VAR Guy
Is there room in the world for another mystery blogger? The VAR guy would say no, but Cisco disagrees. The company has launched a phantom blog site — called Tech Edge Weekly — written by “Ira Pumfkin” (pictured). Cute. But is there a point to the effort? Apparently so. The blog represents Cisco’s countdown to a major product launch. Here’s the scoop.
Cisco mentions Tech Edge Weekly in a teaser email The VAR Guy received October 29. In the message, Cisco writes:
“On 11.11.08, Cisco will introduce a revolutionary telecommunications product that will enable service providers to capitalize on a major market opportunity being created by the accelearating growth of both video and mobile data traffic.”
Hmmm. Pretty vague. The email was almost Apple-esque in nature. And at the bottom of the message, there’s a link driving readers to Tech Edge Weekly — a blog that claims to have a jump on the story.
If you read the fine print, you’ll discover Tech Edge Weekly is no ordinary blog. The bottom of the blog includes copyright information for Cisco Systems Inc.
Hey, The VAR Guy likes offbeat Web sites and blogs as much as the next guy. But this is a tricky week for Cisco to be toying a bit with the media, considering the apparent legal setback Cisco suffered in the IT channel.
Still, our resident blogger is a sucker for this type of stuff. And yes, he’ll be checking Tech Edge Weekly until the 11.11.08 Cisco product launch…
The VAR Guy is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to his newsletter, RSS and Twitter feed.
Read More About This Topic
Share This Post
Posted In: The VAR Guy
Tags: | Cisco Channel Blog | Mobile Video | Tech Edge Weekly
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
Tags: | Cisco Channel Blog | Mobile Video | Tech Edge Weekly
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
Hey VAR guy! We’re trying have another phantom blogger compete with you or fool anybody with this parody — hopefully the disclaimer and the humor helped to relay that! Rather, we’re just trying to engage the marketplace, our customers, and influencers like you in a fun, different way to let them know that we have some news coming out on November 11th that we’re proud of and that we think many will find innovative.
Glad you found our pre-launch efforts interesting, and stay tuned, as you never know whom Ira will run into next…
Thanks,
- Doug – Cisco (guy in elevator in part 1)
Hey Doug: No worries, Mate (yes, The VAR Guy is still in Australia). The VAR Guy is just poking at Cisco a bit and will keep an eye on Ira’s efforts.
Excellent site, keep up the good work