Kryptonite Lock's Blog Crisis Leaps into the Press

Kryptonite, one of the leading manufacturers of bicycle locks, is in the PR fight of its life thanks to some enterprising bloggers who figured out how to pick the locks using just a ballpoint pen. You can track the blog buzz here.

As Jup analyst Gary Stein notes, this is a living breathing crisis communications PR case study that is worth watching closely. The story, which has been blogged up all week by Engadget, Boing Boing and others, is now swimming "upstream" into the press. Both The New York Times and The Seattle Times covered it today. According to Google News, the story is spreading like wildfire.

The takeaway is simple - pay attention. Stay on top of everything that's being said about your client, their competition and their industries. Those who fail to listen will eventually struggle to be heard. Judging by Kryptonite's official response, it sure sounds like the company failed to take the blogosphere seriously. I bet they are sorry now.