In a comment on the latest piece in my WhartonBrooks series Murphy took the position of giving more details to information he previously shared in hopes of gaining the support of a skeptical fan base.
In WhartonBrooks Part IV I shared the following information with Murphy's consent:
Murphy says that they are expecting their next round of samples before the end of January. If all goes well he'll then "announce everything".
The comments in the post were a mix of optimism and vociferous skepticism from a fan base that feels they've been repeatedly burned by Microsoft and asked to wait for "the next big thing".
As a company created by a Windows phone fan for the fans WhartonBrooks has used podcasts, the web and social media to tell thier story in an attempt to connect to their target market. Understandably, non-disclosure agreement's and timetables limit what information can be shared and when. In light of heavy skepticism and less than ideal support from the fan base to which he belongs and with whom he is trying to connect his company, Murphy is conducting an experiment:
So, let's do an experiment. We are so concerned about false information that we have been silent for some time. We had several podcasts recorded, but the details changed so we did not release them. This happened several times with press releases and tweets that we planned.So here is the latest. The latest sample will be shipped this Saturday. We should receive it in 7-10 days from China. I will run a test with SIMs from several US carriers. If they work - there will be a lot to talk about. Otherwise, we will press on.The experiment is whether this small bit of information will bite us or provides a chance for people to join in the story. It's been my position to have people join in the story, but we are a team at WhartonBrooks. After the details started to change, the position we took, with advice from MS, was to communicate hard facts only.Let's see how this goes and perhaps we can provide more information going forward. -Greg
When I was growing up one of my favorite cartoons was GI Joe. At the end of each episode a moral lesson was shared followed by the tagline, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."
How does the information Greg shared affect your position or expectations? He has taken a chance on you, the fans, hoping that the more you know the more you may be inclined to support the company's vision. Based on Murphy's last statement the results of this "experiment" will determine how much information the company will be able to provide going forward. What say ye?
Follow the journey:
- WhartonBrooks Part I: How a Windows phone fan started making Window phones
- WhartonBrooks Part II: Exclusive Interview with CEO Greg Murphy
- WhartonBrooks: Read the raw Q & A between Jason Ward and Greg Murphy and join the forum discussion!
- WhartonBrooks Part III: Can Cerulean be the next Lumia
- WhartonBrooks faces delays as a result of factory delays
- WhartonBrooks Part IV: Building the team, company, phone and expectations
