Yesterday, Jeff Bercovici of DailyFinance.com wrote that, in essence, Apple should sue Gawker over the “lost” iPhone. Everyone puts lost in quotes when relating this story to people because the SarcMark is too obvious. Of course, I’m a big fan of the Interrobang‽
Anyway…
I don’t think that Apple should sue Gawker. It would be like a terrorist getting to publicly [albeit litigious] getting an interview with the President. If gives them even more street cred. Their bones already made, they may pay a fine, but will never do time. Even when their words make it sound like they knew all along. In my perception, they did. No one pays $5000 for a device a stranger brings to their doorstep unless they know full well that something wonderful is going to happen.
If it were a small company that had their device stolen, yes. Sue them. Hard. I want to make it impossible for tabloid checkbook-journalism to enter the internet, at least for my one true love; technology. But this is Apple. They have an image of being an iron-fisted tyrant right now. Their image has probably never been lower even though their market share is growing and they are the dominant force in telecommunications. From random denials of applications, to denying political satire and calling it a mistake, the online media has blown their negative image up so much bigger than their positive side.
So, I suppose at this point, Apple will turn Gawker Media into something of a bigger brand name. I certainly hate that they call themselves a blog. They aren’t. It is a corporation and network of blogs with tiers of editors and “journalists” who have much larger budgets than the standard home-grown blogger. I wouldn’t mind Apple suing them to give credibility back to the word Blog. But Apple should focus on who sold the device. Sue Gawker to get the name. There aren’t any laws protecting bloggers from having their sources revealed. Gawker can always claim they purchased it to keep the device out of another persons hands. They’ve said as much already. And as I know well, lawyers love to litigate. Their business model sits proudly atop the mince-meat of equivocation.
Roughly 12 hours later, Jeff returns to his posting to say that he’s outraged. That Gawker flouted the law. I agree. But we’re not the head of a large corporation that has an image issue. Gawker is perceived to be a small blog network that is just sitting there [again, willing to pay $5,000 for an unknown device from an unknown "owner" of the device, actually, at the time, they knew it was from a bar and was lost], if Apple sues. Even if they pay a fine. They are made. Street cred goes to them. They’ll even be able to say they were sued by Apple. The David Versus Goliath imagery will be rich. Even if they lose. Look at the guy from the Girls Gone Wild videos, Joe Francis. He did time in prison and still appears to be making some serious change. If his Wikipedia entry is correct, he had over $100 million in various banks. Francis is not a great example of anything, but then again, I don’t think Gawker is either in this situation.
I won’t visit their sites anymore. Which is a shame because they would randomly get content that wasn’t found on other sites. And since I read a couple hundred online and offline periodicals, losing one isn’t that big of a deal. Since this blog is all about the merging of business, technology and ethics; I think the Gawker Media/Gizmodo situation is a teachable moment.
Some will walk away feeling as if Checkbook-Journalism is a win for all involved. Others will remain disgusted. One comment on a blog somewhere, I can’t remember where I read it, said “What if they paid for information about PCB’s being dumped, would you be upset then?” Well, as soon as dissecting hardware and putting it up for display and benefit is equal to saving lives and impacting public policy for the greater good of everyone who can be harmed; then I’ll be able to answer that question. Otherwise it is just silly. Put this in perspective. This isn’t about free speech or saving lives. It is about making their bones in online tabloid media. And they did it.