I don't know about you but I love the shows on VH1 Classic (and its ilk) about "one-hit wonders" or child actors who seemingly evaporated from the celebrity ranks long before their bar/bat mitzvah. It's not that I like to marvel in someone else's apparent fall from grace, rather these shows give you a chance to see what exists behind all the packaging and the pomp.
Wouldn't it be interesting to turn that "Whatever happened to...?" lens on the world of corporate governance and investor relations? Obviously, it would have to be less about the people (though we could get snarky and name some names) and more about the concepts or alleged best practices. For example, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... WEB DISCLOSURE?
Remember web disclosure? Seems like just yesterday that everyone was arguing about web disclosure (some even argued with themselves about it). Man, last year's NIRI National Conference was just littered with vendors hocking oddly similar looking web disclosure "black boxes"... errr... technology "solutions" that promised instant cost savings, increased investor reach and heightened web traffic. There were white papers on web disclosure, and webinars about web disclosure, and epic Twitter fist fights about web disclosure and... then nothing. Not a peep.
No "new and improved" web disclosure 2.0 solutions (though it could be waiting for us at this year's NIRI National conference).
No webinars on lessons learned in web disclosures.
No "I told you so" chest thumping on Twitter.
Just quiet... as if it had all been a dream.
Weird if you ask me.
So I've got to ask: anyone know what happened to web disclosure? Did I miss something? It's highly possible that I did but, even so, going from "can't get away from it" to "missing something" is a pretty big leap in less than a year! Thoughts on why the conversation on web disclosure seemingly stopped so abruptly (not to mention the Twitter fist fights)? I've got a few theories... would love to hear yours.
Also, any predictions as to what this year's "web disclosure" will be or what we should consider for in the next installment of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... ?
As some of you know, I like to talk to myself... particularly on my morning walks... and particularly on subjects like web disclosure that tend to be as polarizing as Justin Bieber. Well, thanks to the nice folks at Thomson Reuters, I had the opportunity to talk to others about this subject (web disclosure that is, not Justin Bieber) at an NYSE event the other week.
By and large, I thought the panel turned out to be an interesting session. Though, like so many recent debates about IR and technology, I came away from the session with a sinking feeling that the more we talk about web disclosure, the more adamant the advocates will get and the more resistant the doubters will get. Oddly enough, I remain somewhere in the middle - I'm a big proponent of the use of technology for IR purposes, yet I have not heard anything still changes my belief that web disclosure may not be for everyone (and I think it's okay if it's not for some companies). Frankly, I wish the IR community would spend half as much time talking about ways to improve the quality of the content in disclosures as it is talking about the various of distribution channels for disclosures. Just feels to me like we're putting the cart before the horse in some respects.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand... if you find yourself in the middle on this topic as I do, here are just some of the questions that I think you should be asking yourself and your colleagues:
1) How strong and reliable is our company's current Web server and IT function? You'll need enterprise-level hosting and accessibility, plus mobile access. You'll also need a contingency plan in the event of a server outage.
2) Do we have the internal resources - both from a time and knowledge standpoint - to handle the issuance of timely disclosures? Believe it or not, there are many companies that still want their communications firms to oversee the dissemination of corporate news as they simply cannot afford any added distractions the morning of a major announcement.
3) Is our IR website a recognized channel of disclosure (i.e., do you have a Reg FD compliant website)? I suspect this is/will be the biggest hurdle for most companies... and, sadly, it seems to be also the least discussed as most folks - particularly those with a dog in the fight - want to debate cost savings or system security or distribution scope and reach. All important considerations, but none relevant if the site isn't FD compliant.
Have you heard/seen anything relating to web disclosure lately that's swayed you in one direction over another? Are there other considerations you are weighing?
Okay... I don't know if it's the cold medication I've been taking of late or simply a case of whiplash from the ever-shifting political change in the States but I'm to the point where I'm not sure know how to talk to myself about web disclosure anymore.
Help me out - last week, there was a big to-do about Disney's earnings release showing up on it's website roughly 30 minutes before it was supposed to. I guess a similar snafu happened to Dell recently.
Two big companies, right? Two sophisticated and seasoned IR functions, right? Honest mistakes, right?
So... if such a "fluke" can happen to Disney or Dell - a couple of companies that know a thing or two about technology and investor relations - then it can happen to anyone, right?
Okay... so far, so good... but here's the tricky part...
How are these incidents not an indication that web disclosure may not be for everyone (or, at the very least, that it's certainly not risk free)? And, along those same lines, isn't it okay if it isn't for everyone?
Before I dust off my monologue that there is no such thing as best practices in IR (i.e., if it doesn't work for your company's unique investor base, then why should you care who else is doing it) or begin to wax poetic about the subliminal investor relations lessons that I recently discovered in the lyrics of the late Ronnie James Dio, I just want to check myself - are we talking about the same thing?
I have a confession to make - I talk to myself. Not always… but regularly. It mostly happens when I go for my morning or weekend walk. Most of the time, the conversation doesn’t last very long and rarely does it consume an entire walk. This morning’s conversation was quite different - it actually started while I was still in the house and didn’t end until I forced myself to change the subject!
It went a little something like this…
Me: “Hey, have you notice all the talk about web disclosure?”
Myself: “Yeah, I have. I honestly don’t understand what the fuss is all about. You’d think someone had come up with something controversial or something!”
I: “Well, that’s because you’re simple minded.”
Me: “Now, now. No reason for name calling. This isn’t a certain hash-tag ‘discussion’ on Twitter.”
Myself: “You’re right. Sorry about that.”
I: “What’s funny is that I thought that all disclosures were done on the Web these days.”
Me: “They are. It’s a bad name for it. They should call it ‘single-source disclosures’ or ‘self-published disclosures’ to make it clear that it’s about disseminating corporate news directly from the corporate website rather than running the news through a third-party wire service.”
Myself: “Sure sounds like a good idea.”
I: “Yeah, that’s a no-brainer. We keep saying that IR needs to embrace technology more - here’s a risk-free way to do so. Plus, we’ve put a lot of resources into the IR website. It would be nice to get more out of it. I say we do it!”
Me: “Huh?!!? You think being solely responsible for the dissemination of all your corporate news is risk free!!?”
Myself: “Or needing another reason to call IT is risk free?!!”
I: “He’s got a point. It’s been two weeks since your PDA worked right.”
Me: “That’s what she said.”
Myself: “Hey - don’t blame me! I didn’t touch the thing before it got all screwed up!”
I: “That’s what she…”
Me: “Enough… Focus! Does it really make sense to be your own author, editor and publisher? Sounds like a recipe for errors, if you ask me.”
Myself: “Hmmm…that is a really good point. The wire services always catch errors. Doesn’t matter how many folks at corporate proof the release. There always seems to be something.”
Me: “Didn’t I just read that a wire service issued a release on a company that wasn’t actually from the company?”
Myself: “Yeah - but the release didn’t have any typos!”
Me/Myself/I: LOL
Me: “To be fair, there isn’t a security protocol in place that cannot be broken. Remember the couple that crashed the Presidential party? If the Secret Service can’t stop everything, no one can.”
Myself: “I suppose that’s right. I guess it would have been worse if the service had issued the wrong version of a release for the company.”
I: “How’d we get on this topic?”
Me: “I have no idea.”
Myself: “We were talking about the checks and balances of a third-party service provider.”
I: “Riiigghhhttt.”
Me: “We could also build our own checks and balances into a self-publishing system… we could have someone from legal or finance involved.”
Myself: “I like that idea though those folks are just as busy as we are on the day of the announcement.”
I: “True. The entire corporate team is so jammed up with the script and Q&A the morning of the announcement. Shoot, some companies send their releases to an IR firm deal with the wire service!”
Me: “But it’s a good idea, right?”
Myself: “Yeah, it is. Makes a lot of sense.”
I: “So are we saying that companies should do it?”
Me: “We are… sorta… it depends on the size of the internal team, the strength of the IR site, the…”
Myself: “You know, you raise a good point. There are still way too many IR websites that just aren’t up to code. It would be like trying to send a text from a typewriter.”
I: “That’s hysterical. You need to remember to tell Mrs. B that one.”
Me: “Hang on… don’t interrupt me… we’re talking about making better use of the site… we’re talking about driving more traffic to the site… what if the site isn’t ready for more use or more traffic?”
Myself: “It’s a fair question though I don’t know if the point’s completely on target or not.”
I: “Yeah, I think we’re getting into the weeds on this.”
Me: “I told you. For a simply idea, it’s got a lot of wrinkles to it. No wonder there’s so much chatter about it.”
Myself: “For me, it’s another example of why the phrase ‘best practices’ should be abolished from IR - what’s right for one company doesn’t mean it’s right for all companies.”
I: “Hmmmm… the death of best practices… that’s an interesting idea…”
Now - I am not asking you to confess whether or not you talk to yourself. But I would be interested in hearing where you come out on Web disclosure (or what I’d like to call “self-published disclosure”) at this point in time. Anyone… anyone?
