Tuesday, February 26, 2008

iPod shuffle now just $49.99

STEP 1:

PRESS RELEASE SITE:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/02/19shuffle.html

STEP 2:

http://techsheep.com/2008/02/19/ipod-shuffle-now-just-49-new-2gb-model-priced-at-69-christine-monaghanapple/

This is an article from TechSheep.com on the iPod shuffle’s price reduction to $49.99. This article is 100% positive and lauds the change. It is a really short article but it gets the needed point across while giving you a couple of links to additional news information from Apple.

Another aspect that needs to be address is the professionalism of the website. I had never heard of techsheep.com before I did research looking for articles that came from this press release.

My first reaction to the website was that it was not that professional. The color schemes and the use of the sheep is not that professional and takes away from the credibility of the website. The slogan used by the website is “the sheep make us look unique”. This definitely does not help with the professionalism and credibility of the website. I would not use this website to look for information on electronics.

http://digg.com/apple/iPod_shuffle_now_just_49

Once again this is a very short article. The message in this article is more neutral. It implies that Apple is only changing the price because they are planning to phase the shuffle out and replace it with something new.

Dig.com is a lot more professional than techsheep.com. At first glance it gives you a lot more confidence in the information you will find on the website. The color scheme is more professional.

Another aspect is the fact that this website has professional advertisements for respectable companies. When a company is willing to advertise with a website it tells you that the company obviously has confidence in the website and the information contained therein.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=akcg5oLRrX1s&refer=us

This article from Bloomberg is very informative. They look into and explain why Apple decided to reduce the price of their best selling iPod. Overall the article had a kind of negative feel to it. It implied that Apple had basically been charging a lot too much for the shuffle and the backed that up by looking at the total sales of the shuffle and by looking at how Apple’s stock plummeted during the first quarter of this year because their prices were just too high.

My first thought when I saw this website was professional. Obviously Bloomberg is a respectable worldwide company with a great reputation. This alone would make me consider the information I find on this website as truthful. The color schemes on this website are the best of the three by far. I would definitely look to this website for information before I would ever consider the other two websites we have looked at.

STEP 3:

I obviously chose to use Apple to find a press release. I searched a number of other companies and I found it difficult to either find a press release, or find an article to supplement the press release. With Apple there were a ton of press releases to choose from and a lot of different articles to select.

To find a press release for Apple, all you need to do is go to www.apple.com. From there all you need to do is click on the media info link at the bottom of the page and that will take you to the press releases from Apple in chronological order.

I clicked on the most recent press release for February 19 which said “iPod shuffle Now Just $49”. It took me to the press release and gave me the press contacts I needed to find articles written from this release.

After reading the press release and noting who the primary contact was, I googled the primary contact name to find articles about the press release. I actually tried to google the name of the press release first, but almost no results came up. Then I googled the name Christine Monaghan and a plethora of results came up.

I then tried to find a positive article, a neutral article, and a negative article from the press release. I found it very interesting that the negative article came from the website that was the most professional and trustworthy.

All of the articles written from the press release were very pertinent to the information given in the press release. The press release from Apple announcing the price reduction of the shuffle was effective because all of the article written from the press release hit the main point that Apple was trying to get across.

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