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Update: Christian Bailey called me today (from Saudi Arabia) and asked me to take down my original post about him. He mentioned some points which weren’t true, and was a bit nonplussed that Google might pick up on them, leading to further rumor and inuendo. So rather than pull the link down completely, I simply deleted that which he claimed wasn’t true, and left the rest for public consumption.
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1) <deleted> 2) Change your name to something much more American/British sounding, like Christian Bailey. 3) Start a few Internet and Financial companies 4) Go to lots of Republican Fundraisers <deleted> 5) Create a very patriotic sounding PR Firm called The Lincoln Group 6) Get questioned by the London Times for your ethics 7) Win a ton of contracts from the Government worth in excess of $ 6) Do this all before age I don’t know whether to be totally impressed, or slightly ill. For full disclosure, I met Christian when he was showed up in the press room with a card that said he was a reporter from the Wall Street Journal European edition, at Internet World, 1999. I remember him as being a good guy, but he was the first person I’d ever met that kept his head on a faster swivel than I did – i.e., always looking around, always seeing what was coming up next. Was very, very interesting. Not shocked at all to find out what he’s up to now. Still scary, but not shocked. UPDATE… So what does that tell us? It tells us that Christian, like any good publicist, has a Google and Technorati alert on his name, and when it dinged, he called. It also tells us, though, that we all need to be careful how we stay (or don’t stay) in touch with people. Last time I spoke to Christian was about seven months ago, when a newspaper called me, wanting to know if I had any dirt on him, for a story they were doing. I declined to be interviewed, and emailed him to let him know he was being checked up on. Prior to that, I’d heard from him in 2004, during the election season. Now, I blog something with his name in it, and not 36 hours later, do I get a call on my mobile, from Christian, in Dubai, “just saying hi.” Right. Lesson we can learn? Barry Diller used to (before the Internet and the ease of Outlook and email) make about 10 phone calls every morning to his contacts, just checking in, saying hi, etc. So when he needed something, it didn’t come out of the blue. (This comes from the book “They Can Kill You, They Can’t Eat You,” by Dawn Steele.) Anyhow, this might be something to consider. Imagine the shock that i DIDN’T have when I answered my mobile and I hear, “Hi, Peter! It’s Christian!” Good thing I wasn’t sitting down. I’d have to stand up. Anyway, just an interesting PR point, when you think about it. If you haven’t been in touch with someone for the past two years, just be straightforward about it. “Hey, I know we don’t talk anymore, but can we chat about that post you blogged?” As opposed to five minutes of chitter, and then, “So, I wanted to mention…” As if we were talking for the first time since the Jets game on Sunday. Happy Friday, all. |
