You probably have heard that your television will one day be a computer. Well, that reality has come to San Antonio, Texas. AT&T;, which is headquartered here, has been laying fiber optics cable like crazy around town in its Project Lightspeed initiative.
They just finished laying some outside the gate of my neighborhood last month.
It also just rolled out its television via IP service, called U-Verse, in what the company calls a “controlled market entry.”
And its PR engine is way behind the eight ball.
My new friend, and fellow PR blogger, Alan Weinkrantz is one of the elect few hundred to get this technology in his household. Now his television has an IP address. Pretty wild. The interface was designed by Microsoft and Alan’s daughter says it’s easier to navigate than the competing cable interface.
I sat down for lunch with Alan last Thursday and he let me in on his plans.
Alan, who specializes in high-tech public relations, is launching a campaign to bring visibility to his firm and demonstrate his deep niche knowledge in this area. He describes the campaign from a PR perspective in a post called, “When I Am The Firm's Client.”
On Saturday, Express News technology reporter Sanford Nowlin wrote an article about the service. Apparently, AT&T; had yet to give him a preview of the service, so Alan happily obliged.
In an article late last month, one reporter wrote, “AT&T; has been tight-lipped about its Texas trial and its proposed U-verse service in general.”
Attention AT&T; and other companies. You can no longer completely control the media cycle by withholding information and access.
Luckily for AT&T;, Alan is pretty happy about the technology, but he does have some quibbles about the level of service and is eagerly awaiting the addition of HD to the menu of services, which should happen in the fall.
Weinkrantz will be blogging about his experience with U-Verse in his SAtechBlog all week from the perspective of a consumer. And he tells me that he will be very honest, with daily tips in his “Memo to Ed,” with suggestions to AT&T; chairman Ed Whitacre.
Should be an interesting case study and a good week to keep up with SAtechBlog.
Diclosure by Alan: AT&T; is not a client of Alan Weinkrantz And Company, but Alan does give a full list of his clients here.
