Alas, Poor TWL

Well, it's been over a month since TWL fell (jumped) off its perch and we miss the old fella, we really do.

Without TWL, nobody remarked on the fact that the de facto godfather of PR blogging, Andrew Smith, seems to have fallen into a deep coma. He's still alive on Facebook, but no blogging since this post from the Flackenhacks. Did something sinister happen that night?

Then there was the fastest turnaround in tech hack blog history when Chris Green posted a rant about the all-round uselessness of Bite PR, swiftly removed and replaced when he did in fact receive his shiny new iPhone. Excellent crisis management, Bite - although supplying review kit when the product actually launches is generally a better strategy...

Sigh. It's just not like the old days, is it?

Comments

[Chris Green]

The most disappointing thing was that it took a public outpouring of frustration to even get a reply, when all my conventional attempts to get a response from them (calls, emails, speaking to people face-to-face, getting people at Apple UK to phone them etc) had allegedly disappeared without trace.

[Sally]

Indeed Chris - I suspect it's an Apple issue rather than a Bite issue - the only time I've ever had problems with Bite has been when I've been working on Apple stuff.

And in other news Andrew Smith is apparently alive and well, and working on Top Secret plans. Glad to hear it.

[Rob Buckley]

Dealing with Bite for Apple-related matters is a horrific experience and I've had almost no trouble with Bite over their other clients (eg Gartner, Logitech).

I write for most of the Mac mags and usually ranting about things on my blog or getting an editor to call Bite are about the only things that can stir them into action.

Last time I called for a review copy of iLife for MacFormat, they claimed they couldn't find my details on Gorkana (even though they are) and that I'd need to prove I was a journalist first. They still didn't send me it after I'd pointed them in the direction of my not-hard-to-find web site.

I asked for a review version of the Mighty Mouse a year or so ago and they made me sign a release saying I'd send it back to them within a fortnight or they could raid my house for it/an object of equivalent value.

It's now reached the point where it's quicker, easier, less stressful and - based on my hourly rate - cheaper to order a copy of Leopard from Amazon than try to get it out of Bite. Heaven help me the next time I actually need to get something like a quote out of them. They almost laughed at me when I asked what their WEEE policy was. That was in December.