IWC

Jos.
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As I understand from a previous post...

... it's a matter of voluntary self-censorship.

Apparently IWC thinks it has 'enough of a presence' on the interwebs (mystifying to me as a marketer - how can one have enough brand awareness?) and as a result would not be happy if The Purists opened yet another IWC forum.

And as always, forums like The Purists walk a thin line between doing what their users want, and keeping horology executives happy. Which is easy when interests converge (i.e. when the brand feels it needs publicity) and difficult when interests diverge, as is the case here.

Personally I find this fascinating. The world used to be a simple place, with professional journalists and their code of independence; and marketing and PR people whose clear job it was to to see after the advertisers' interests; and consumers, who in principle could always see what's what, to take it all in.

Now the picture's become so much more complicated. We consumers, in the form of bloggers and forum posters have become a major channel of information; but we're essentially amateurs, without the help of training and professional codes of conduct and such. Especially Haute Horology seems to be at the vanguard of this development. Sometimes I get the impression horology UGC (User Generated Content - yes, it's an officially recognised phenomenon so it has its own TLA) has become the most important channel by now, with 'professional' publications coming in a distant second. And the advertisers recognise this, lavishing forever more attention on bloggers, posters and moderators, and providing fewer and fewer free lunches to those poor, hungry journalists.

One hopes that transparency won't become the victim of these strong currents. I get the impression it already suffers to some degree, especially where bloggers do not make crystal clear wo's buttering their bread. But in many cases there's already some balance being found. For instance, I commend The Purists for telling its users clearly that IWC has asked not to start an IWC Forum, and telling them why they made the decision to comply.

Having said that, and speaking not as a marketer any more but as an IWC lover and collector again, it's a darn shame The Purists of al places has no IWC corner and I hope the decision gets reversed soon!

Best,
Jos.

PS anyone from The Purists, if I misquoted your motives and decisions, please correct me!