DISQUS

louisgray.com: louisgray.com: Does Your Ethical Stance on Rumors Change in a Down Economy?

  • Louis Gray · 11 months ago
  • Carter Rabasa · 11 months ago
    I don't think anyone's ethical stance should change. Otherwise, when the chips are down, who knows what people can justify trying to get away with?
  • Om Malik · 11 months ago
    thank you for writing this because god knows how many times i have said: are you kidding me. yesterday google-juniper rumor was just a perfect example. hardest thing to do is show restraint in writing and reporting and yes, blogging.
  • Cyndy · 11 months ago
    Wow. Thanks, Om. I just have a really hard time with the idea of writing these types of stories and then watching the stock plummet, knowing it could mean jobs. Maybe too much empathy and not enough hard-nose reporter in me.
  • Bill Sanders · 11 months ago
    It's easy to be "ethical" when things are going well. It's when the going gets tough that you see who people (and companies) really are...
  • Louis Gray · 11 months ago
    I think people (Cyndy included) are more aware of the consequences of the rumors when companies are suffering. If you think about Apple, rumors have always been there - good and bad. It's only been with the growth of iPod and iPhone and the explosion of tech blogs that you see so many people in on it. When I was in college, we were just as big of rumormongers as anyone on Apple, Handspring, etc., but it was a very select few.
  • Cyndy · 11 months ago
    Bill, I think that maybe the definition of ethics should be defined when things are tough. It's one thing to slough off criticism of posting a rumor when it doesn't really do any damage, but with the market where it is, these little stories are having a huge impact.