Is Nothing Private in Today’s High-Tech Environment? Apparently Not.

Crisis management, public relations, investor relations, financial communications and technology consultants, like those in our New York City PR firm, often talk about the ways in which the Internet has opened a window on private lives. There was a perfect example of this phenomenon this week on the Apple website, where Steve Jobs addressed a new flurry of rumors about his health.

In his open letter, Jobs wrote: “… my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been ‘robbing’ me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. … The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. … I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.”

In 2004, the media breathlessly followed Jobs’ successful battle against pancreatic cancer. In June 2008, his gaunt appearance gave rise to new speculation about his health. More questions were raised when Apple announced a few weeks ago that, for the first time ever, Jobs wasn’t planning to deliver the keynote address at Macworld.

While there are clear standards for disclosure of material financial information, disclosure concerning matters of health has typically been left to the discretion of the company’s board of directors. Not any more, apparently. According to Henry Blodget, co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of the Silicon Alley Insider, “Steve's health is NOT just a ‘private matter.’” He adds, “Steve Jobs is arguably Apple's single most valuable asset. If he's seriously ill, shareholders have every right to know this.”

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Poor Jobs is Dead … Not!

I hope Apple has a crisis management firm on retainer. It seems that an electronic misstep last week at the Bloomberg news outlet accidentally released a partial obituary for Steve Jobs. And the Apple CEO was still very much alive. Oops.

I would characterize this gaffe as rising to the level which requires intervention by a crisis management firm because, not so long ago, when Jobs was battling pancreatic cancer, he had kept it secret for months while he researched alternative treatments — a material issue for a publicly traded company, according to some. Then, according to CNET, “When Jobs appeared onstage at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, his thin appearance led some bloggers and company critics to speculate that he was ill again. … So given a CEO whose health has been discussed so speculatively in the echo chamber of the blogosphere, and whose company's stock has been shown to be far from immune to the influence of the rumor mill, the appearance — however brief — of a Jobs obituary online must certainly have been disquieting for those who stumbled upon it.”

There was no animus in this crisis … no partisan battling … just an electronic glitch. But a crisis management firm can help anticipate and ameliorate the negative effects of even the most innocent of accidents.