Serial Entrepreneur and NBA franchise owner Mark Cuban appeared in headlines today. The SEC accused Cuban of insider trading for selling 600,000 shares of Mamma.com in 2004 after agreeing to participate in a dilutive follow-on stock offering. So how does a billionaire's trouble with the SEC relate to social media and word of mouth marketing?
In addition to running several companies, Cuban also maintains a well trafficked journal on business, NBA, investing, and Internet technologies at Blog Maverick. A prescient post from Aug 2008 entitled "The Life of a Story? The 3s" provided advice for public figures condemned by bloggers, journalists, and other media professionals. Cuban suggests negative press has a maximum lifespan of 3 weeks if the involved individual or group does not provide additional fodder to continue the story.
Cuban's public profile is his brand. Similar to the perception of any corporation, Cuban's commentary (good or bad) reverberates across the Internet in different communities. As demonstrated by the Techmeme snapshot below, the story has already spread through a number of high profile blogs with active communities commenting on each post.
Will Mark Cuban follow his own advice and avoid commenting on the story? This afternoon, Cuban posted correspondence between his lawyer and the SEC but refrained from opinion or self defense. However, THREE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT comments followed as of 9:38 CST. Read for yourself, the commentary is overwhelmingly positive including snippets like:
In addition to running several companies, Cuban also maintains a well trafficked journal on business, NBA, investing, and Internet technologies at Blog Maverick. A prescient post from Aug 2008 entitled "The Life of a Story? The 3s" provided advice for public figures condemned by bloggers, journalists, and other media professionals. Cuban suggests negative press has a maximum lifespan of 3 weeks if the involved individual or group does not provide additional fodder to continue the story.
Cuban's public profile is his brand. Similar to the perception of any corporation, Cuban's commentary (good or bad) reverberates across the Internet in different communities. As demonstrated by the Techmeme snapshot below, the story has already spread through a number of high profile blogs with active communities commenting on each post.
Will Mark Cuban follow his own advice and avoid commenting on the story? This afternoon, Cuban posted correspondence between his lawyer and the SEC but refrained from opinion or self defense. However, THREE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT comments followed as of 9:38 CST. Read for yourself, the commentary is overwhelmingly positive including snippets like:"This is typical of the SEC, Freddie and Fannie go bust and the congressional committees that have oversight get million in donations and nothing happens, but should a high profile investor make money..."How would your brand respond to allegations of illegal activity? Do you have supporters to flood the comment section of your website with support? Could Motrin have followed Cuban's theory?
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"I cannot think of anyone who does not appreciate how you have given your insights into business and economics both freely and frankly. The generous ways in which you sought to educate any who read your blog (with regard to markets) make these charges seem all the more ludicrous. I say you go Larry Flynt and Kenneth Langone on their ass! Give 'em hell!"
