If you were not already aware, an unauthorized party compromised the Sony Playstation Network last Thursday resulting in bringing the powerful Sony network crashing down. Users have not been able to access any online content since that time last week and any online services that are running through the network are down as well. Using your PS3 to stream Netflix, MLB.tv, Hulu Plus and others? Not while the network is down. It is not so much the downtime that has users frustrated, well it does actually, but the main point of contention seems to be really aggravating users is the lack of updates from Sony.
With all of the social media channels available there really is no excuse for not providing your customers with continuous updates to keep your fans in the loop even if there really isn’t much of an update to provide.
I have but three words for Sony and they are: “Effective Crisis Management.”
Patrick SeyBold (@SeyBold on twitter for those interested) is the Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Social Media. That is his title and he has provided us with 6 updates as to the status of the network via Twitter.
It was brought to light today that user information such as name, address, telephone number and oh CREDIT CARD INFORMATION could have been stolen by this 3rd party. In Sony’s latest update they kindly refer us to the three credit reporting agencies so that we can keep an eye on any suspicious activity. Gee, thanks guys this is just what I was looking to do, spend my afternoons monitoring my credit reports.
In not so many words you almost make me feel like it’s my fault that my credit card information was hijacked.
The beauty of social media is that you can leverage those channels to manage a pr crisis like this appropriately, that is of course if you choose to actually use them. Sony should have started a specific Twitter handle to deal with messaging specific to this issue. This would of directed angry users away from their core Sony PlayStation identity to their new, temporary, crisis identity in which users can watch for updates, vent their concerns and engage with Sony specifically on these issues.
10+ Years of SaaS 