I missed the HP story earlier this week, but boy - those guys stepped in it. In their zeal to find the source of an information leak, they started dumpster diving on their board members. That raises the obvious question: if they are willing to delve into the privacy of their own board members, just how far would they go with a blogger? Or a reporter? Or a line employee?

I think Scoble said it best:

I’m sure the board of directors at HP is hoping this one just blows over. Here’s a hint. It won’t. Until you get rid of Pat. A message MUST be sent that the ends do NOT justify the means.

Apparently, these bozos learned nothing from the Sony rootkit fiasco: trying to stay silent (or worse, as Sony initially did, trying to justify the mistake) just doesn't work. This is now a PR black mark, and someone is going to have to pay for it - just like someone at AOL had to pay for their mistakes.

Technorati Tags: marketing, communication