RIM knows who Boy Genius is

Posted

on August 30, 2006, at 10:42 AM

That’s probably because of the great response the leaked info from BG has been getting from the tech crowd. Not only are business people geeked about the Pearl, so are the geeks — people want this device more than they wanted the Q. It’s also helping RIM make money (or at least RIM’s shareholders, as BBHub pointed out), which makes everything easier for them to swallow.

So that leaves two questions: who is Boy Genius and is RIM actively helping him “leak” information? As to question one, Mr. Snap couldn’t (or wouldn’t) say. Besides, even if we knew, we’d never rat out the BG. As for the second question, that’s a little trickier. It would stand to reason that if RIM does know who Boy Genius is (which they do) and his scoops are helping them (which they are), they would contact him and try to negotiate something — at the very least to try and regain control of the flow of information. This way, they could publicly maintain that staunch secrecy they’re known for, while secretly hyping up their consumer releases. Mr. Snap couldn’t say for sure, but look at it this way: even if they’re not directly feeding Boy Genius information, by allowing him and his ilk to continue, RIM is implicitly aiding them.

So the next time you read an article (like this one in the Globe and Mail, for instance) about how Boy Genius gets all the mad scoops, think about who’s really pulling the strings.

P.S. — No, we can’t tell you who Mr. Snap is. Silly rabbits.

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Albert

I thought many of the same points in this article. There’s really no way that if RIM wanted to clamp down on BG that they wouldn’t. Instead they’ve used it as a way to completely infiltrate geekdom and the prosumer
Albert

I thought many of the same points in this article. There’s really no way that if RIM wanted to clamp down on BG that they wouldn’t. Instead they’ve used it as a way to completely infiltrate geekdom and the prosumer
George

The only issue is that this could set a precedent to RIM employees that leaking information is cool and could possibly get you famous like Boy Genius. If I was RIM I would leak that Boy Genius was fired, but really keep him on and control the leaks because he has some pretty good contacts with the big blogging sites.
George

The only issue is that this could set a precedent to RIM employees that leaking information is cool and could possibly get you famous like Boy Genius. If I was RIM I would leak that Boy Genius was fired, but really keep him on and control the leaks because he has some pretty good contacts with the big blogging sites.
http://www.rimarkable.com/ Robb (RIMarkable)

If RIM really does know who the the Boy Genius is, and they are controlling what he actually leaks, they shouldln’t tell the whole world that they are actually the puppet master pulling the strings.

Once the word gets out that Boy Genius leaks are actually all part of of the master marketing plan, he looses a bit (not a lot, but a bit) of credibility.
http://www.rimarkable.com Robb (RIMarkable)

If RIM really does know who the the Boy Genius is, and they are controlling what he actually leaks, they shouldln’t tell the whole world that they are actually the puppet master pulling the strings.

Once the word gets out that Boy Genius leaks are actually all part of of the master marketing plan, he looses a bit (not a lot, but a bit) of credibility.
jibi@bbf

First off, Boy Genius doesn’t work for RIM, nor is he even remotely affiliated with them. He has connections into pretty much ever facet of the mobile industry (as well as other industries) that would make most people VERY envious (trust me, I keep trying to get him to send me his Vertu). Also, as far as fame is concerned, BG doesn’t need any – and trust me, if you think that having his name plastered all over the mobile geek industry is ‘fame’ then you should rewrite your definition for the word and its association to BG.

As far as who Boy Genius really is… let’s just say that he’s something like Batman crossed with the lovechild of Angelina Jolie and Shaggy from Scooby Doo (either the cartoon or Matthew Lillard, as both are equally cool).

It is very smart for RIM to not attack perhaps one of the most resourceful ‘viral marketing’ non-strategies they may have. And sure, this could be somewhat harmful to their current lines (of which it seems the 7130 was a bust and should have been released almost simultaneous with the 8700), although I personally feel that it’s done more good than bad (if the info would have been known and released back in March/April, then I would take the position that it would have been harmful to the 8700 line). The relative dates from leak to launch make absolutely no difference on anything but anticipation and future sales. If they stay on track with a Sept 12 release on T-Mobile and follow up with a pre-Xmas release on Cingular, then this handheld should likely break almost any and all short-term sales records that RIM has.
jibi@bbf

First off, Boy Genius doesn’t work for RIM, nor is he even remotely affiliated with them. He has connections into pretty much ever facet of the mobile industry (as well as other industries) that would make most people VERY envious (trust me, I keep trying to get him to send me his Vertu). Also, as far as fame is concerned, BG doesn’t need any – and trust me, if you think that having his name plastered all over the mobile geek industry is ‘fame’ then you should rewrite your definition for the word and its association to BG.

As far as who Boy Genius really is… let’s just say that he’s something like Batman crossed with the lovechild of Angelina Jolie and Shaggy from Scooby Doo (either the cartoon or Matthew Lillard, as both are equally cool).

It is very smart for RIM to not attack perhaps one of the most resourceful ‘viral marketing’ non-strategies they may have. And sure, this could be somewhat harmful to their current lines (of which it seems the 7130 was a bust and should have been released almost simultaneous with the 8700), although I personally feel that it’s done more good than bad (if the info would have been known and released back in March/April, then I would take the position that it would have been harmful to the 8700 line). The relative dates from leak to launch make absolutely no difference on anything but anticipation and future sales. If they stay on track with a Sept 12 release on T-Mobile and follow up with a pre-Xmas release on Cingular, then this handheld should likely break almost any and all short-term sales records that RIM has.
To jibi

Ok so BG doesn’t work for RIM, my guess is that he must work for the FCC or one of the big carriers. My guess is the FCC because wireless devices need to be approved first.

I’m sure RIM has some legal grounds to get BG in trouble for leaking trade secrets, pretty serious consequences actually. Which then brings us to the question of why BG is doing all of this leaking, if not for the ‘fame’ then what? Pretty big balls if you ask me …
To jibi

Ok so BG doesn’t work for RIM, my guess is that he must work for the FCC or one of the big carriers. My guess is the FCC because wireless devices need to be approved first.

I’m sure RIM has some legal grounds to get BG in trouble for leaking trade secrets, pretty serious consequences actually. Which then brings us to the question of why BG is doing all of this leaking, if not for the ‘fame’ then what? Pretty big balls if you ask me …
penk

if RIM did choose to take action against BoyGenius, the court of public opinion would do what it could to voice their dissent and plea to RIM that the penalties be minor*.

as for a change in policy, i wouldn’t expect to see such leniency happen often. like was metioned above, if this much detail and proof were released too far in advance it would have the opposite effect. (please see exhibit Q)

* except bobolito who would hand deliver the subpoena
penk

if RIM did choose to take action against BoyGenius, the court of public opinion would do what it could to voice their dissent and plea to RIM that the penalties be minor*.

as for a change in policy, i wouldn’t expect to see such leniency happen often. like was metioned above, if this much detail and proof were released too far in advance it would have the opposite effect. (please see exhibit Q)

* except bobolito who would hand deliver the subpoena
To penk

I think its stupid if you say public opinion will be against RIM if they take action against boy genius. Many people have access to important secrets and they don’t publish it even if they can. A lot of people have put their hard work in these products and companies spend huge amounts of money developing these products and to have it published even before launch like this is absolutely unfortunate. I hope RIM takes action against Boy Genius.
To penk

I think its stupid if you say public opinion will be against RIM if they take action against boy genius. Many people have access to important secrets and they don’t publish it even if they can. A lot of people have put their hard work in these products and companies spend huge amounts of money developing these products and to have it published even before launch like this is absolutely unfortunate. I hope RIM takes action against Boy Genius.
Thought

The best thing that could have happened to RIM was for the Pearl to have been leaked in the manner it was. It has ignited interest in the device, much more than a standard pre-launch announcement.

As for the idea that leaks decrease sales of existing products: that concept doesn’t so much apply with the Pearl as this is RIM’s first true foray into the consumer market. There’s no existing BB consumer device for which this can undermine sales. The market for the Pearl consists largely of people who otherwise wouldn’t buy BB, or in the case of those of us on these websites, people who already own a BB and are looking to upgrade or add another simply because of the features of the Pearl.
Thought

The best thing that could have happened to RIM was for the Pearl to have been leaked in the manner it was. It has ignited interest in the device, much more than a standard pre-launch announcement.

As for the idea that leaks decrease sales of existing products: that concept doesn’t so much apply with the Pearl as this is RIM’s first true foray into the consumer market. There’s no existing BB consumer device for which this can undermine sales. The market for the Pearl consists largely of people who otherwise wouldn’t buy BB, or in the case of those of us on these websites, people who already own a BB and are looking to upgrade or add another simply because of the features of the Pearl.

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