SUN logoA historic event occurred a few days ago with the release of SUN Microsystems’ fourth quarter and full fiscal year results, for the year ended June 30, 2007.
They issued the release to the market/public in the following sequence:

  1. on the SUN website
  2. via RSS feeds
  3. through traditional paid subscriber channels
  4. Form 8-K (US mandatory filing)

CEO of Sun, Jonathan Schwartz, is the poster boy for CEOs who blog. He’s just made my job a lot easier, and therefore I dedicate the next block ‘o pixels to his release:

“It may not seem like it, but this is a sea change in how Sun communicates with the world – and sets a path for other public companies seeking to drive greater transparency. I wonder how far off we are from ceasing to issue traditional press releases altogether… after all, no news agency could possibly suggest they reach a greater portion of the planet than the internet.”

The internet is about dissemination and distribution, at a fraction of the cost. By publishing online you won’t accidentally flip a Springfield-Nuclear-Reactor switch which will send out all your clients’ credit card details to adolescent hackers in the Ukraine.

Thanks Jonathan, well done. If everyone was content with “wait and see” then we deserve to be dominated by our technology, viz: fossil fuels, copyright, Office…