The blogosphere has the power to start stories like nothing else. I came across a great, still-developing example today from the blog The Consumerist via Robert's shared items in Google Reader (which is Robert Scoble's link blog.)

It's a post titled "14 Hewlett-Packard Company Secrets From A Former Employee." Here's a quote that cites the first few:

1: Many HP Printers, like their laser printers, have a built-in page-count after which they won't work. This resides in the a transpart sometimes called image or drum kit. Rather than get the printer fixed, it's often cheaper to buy a new printer, OR you can do a NV ram reset. It resets everything in the printer, including all the page counts, but it's not without risks.

2: To get past the voice prompt system, repeatedly say "Agent." It will take two or three repetitions, but it will get you to a human.

3: If a set of cartridges cost more than the printer, don't buy the printer. It's considered a "throwaway" printer. HP service techs are told to spend no more than 30 minutes working on these because at that point, you are costing HP money.

Not only does No. 1 in particular annoy me -- if true, how many pages does my laser printer have left? -- but the whole thing makes me wonder how HP will respond. (As of this writing, I didn't see any reaction on the HP Newsroom.) The company's reputation is already suffering from last year's reporter/board member spying scandal, which we've posted on before. So it stands to reason they won't get much benefit of the doubt from others, particularly the press.

What to do? Typical PR tactics aren't always effective in the blogosphere, as they're often seen as ham-handed efforts by people who don't get the online conversation. In truth, the best way to respond often is via a company's own blog -- but that blog must be established and have credibility to begin with. So, we'll see what happens. It should be interesting.

BTW, The Consumerist has already followed up with "9 More Hewlett-Packard Company Secrets From A Former Employee."

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