One of my criticisms of myself is I share too much at times and my issue with the Tacoma 4G leaks is exactly that. I should have kept my mouth shut, however, if you want to know why I was upset in a video on the 2024 Tacoma pricing, here's why.
First, there is such a thing as being first in this business. The first one with a review, new truck, exclusive news, etc... So when a leak happens it really creates an unfair advantage to the outlet that leaked it. It also causes all the other media outlets a gigantic headache since we have to stop what we are doing, try to get confirmation if the leak is accurate and then run content as quickly as possible with that information.
With that said, this wasn't the first time Tacoma4G was at the center of a leak.
I guess it was March when I first heard of that forum through an email I got from the what appeared to be the site founder. I was at the airport and in the United Club waiting for my flight home. About an hour earlier, I got an email from the Breaking News team at Vertical Scope (a big company that owns a lot of brands). They had an exclusive photo of the Tacoma interior. Now, I'm pretty excited for this information and, like I said with the race to be first, I did a quick video on it. It was too late in the day to get confirmation from Toyota and I had seen other teasers from Toyota perform really well.
Turns out that image was a fake. Dumb ass mistake on my part. If I would have held off for even 30 minutes, I would have found out it was a fake.
Anyway, that forum emails me and is floored I would run a photo that was obviously from them. They wanted me to give them credit for the photo and they were pretty insistent. Hell, I didn't even know who they were at that point and sorry, I can't just change a video. Let's just say those email exchanges weren't my best and I have some regret on how I handled the whole thing. I'm still a little pissed at that turn of events.
Flash forward to May when about every media outlet under the sun was in Hawai'i driving the Grand Highlander and, well arguably more important, getting a first look at the 2024 Tacoma. This was a BIG deal and I was thrilled to check it out. I don't care all that much about Hawai'i, I was there for the Tacoma.
Now the embargo for this news, the time when all of us media can publish the information making it fair for everyone, was later that night. I had spent the afternoon editing the videos, writing the posts, editing the photos and was uploading the video when I got another email from the Tacoma4G forum. They had the entire media package with press releases, specs and photos. Not only that, they had published everything hours before the embargo. And they wanted to be my "inside source" for all Tacoma4G news.
Imagine sitting there screaming at your computer to upload faster meanwhile other people's videos and posts are taking off because they uploaded earlier than I did. I couldn't do anything since I'm on a hotel's internet and I can't just leave.
I was pissed. All my work, the time it took to travel there, time away from kids and family was going to be negatively impacted by this forum's leak and they had the gall to ask me to make sure I linked to them for the leak. Needless to say, my videos did poorly, the business lost revenue and I was pretty dejected.
Later that night we went to the official unveiling with twirling fire sticks on stage in Hawai'ian fashion. I couldn't even look. All I wanted to do was leave and go to the plane for the next event in Flagstaff, AZ.
Now, I shared with Toyota PR the email from the forum and found out later they had broken into an agency's website to steal the information. That was what I was told. Toyota PR was pissed, engineering was pissed as were all the other media outlets. All that work, expenditure on travel and months of planning were undone by a leak.
I also found out AutoGuide, the company that owns the forum, lost out on the first drive invites because of that leak. Imagine this forum owner who wanted to be everyone's inside source literally torpedoed the business in one email.
Flash forward to the leaked 2024 Tacoma pricing I saw first on that same forum. Needless to say I'm pretty hot and I, unfortunately, mouthed off on some of that frustration in the video. Clearly the audience didn't understand it and I'll probably edit it out of the video at some point.
I'm sure there's more to this story on how they get the information and I'm sure my facts aren't all accurate, but that's what I know.
That is why I was upset and that's why I called it unethical because I believed how they got their information was wrong. Now, I HAD to run a video with pricing and I had to cite them as the source. I had no choice. If I don't run it, people are going to wonder why and send me emails letting me know about this breaking news. If I do run it, I have to give them credit. Not great choices.
In hindsight, that's where this forum will hopefully come in handy. I write out my frustrations here and then keep the videos more professional aka not air dirty laundry.
I know people are eager for news and they want to know everything immediately. However, there's a fair way to do it so everyone benefits and that forum doesn't follow it. Plain and simple.
First, there is such a thing as being first in this business. The first one with a review, new truck, exclusive news, etc... So when a leak happens it really creates an unfair advantage to the outlet that leaked it. It also causes all the other media outlets a gigantic headache since we have to stop what we are doing, try to get confirmation if the leak is accurate and then run content as quickly as possible with that information.
With that said, this wasn't the first time Tacoma4G was at the center of a leak.
I guess it was March when I first heard of that forum through an email I got from the what appeared to be the site founder. I was at the airport and in the United Club waiting for my flight home. About an hour earlier, I got an email from the Breaking News team at Vertical Scope (a big company that owns a lot of brands). They had an exclusive photo of the Tacoma interior. Now, I'm pretty excited for this information and, like I said with the race to be first, I did a quick video on it. It was too late in the day to get confirmation from Toyota and I had seen other teasers from Toyota perform really well.
Turns out that image was a fake. Dumb ass mistake on my part. If I would have held off for even 30 minutes, I would have found out it was a fake.
Anyway, that forum emails me and is floored I would run a photo that was obviously from them. They wanted me to give them credit for the photo and they were pretty insistent. Hell, I didn't even know who they were at that point and sorry, I can't just change a video. Let's just say those email exchanges weren't my best and I have some regret on how I handled the whole thing. I'm still a little pissed at that turn of events.
Flash forward to May when about every media outlet under the sun was in Hawai'i driving the Grand Highlander and, well arguably more important, getting a first look at the 2024 Tacoma. This was a BIG deal and I was thrilled to check it out. I don't care all that much about Hawai'i, I was there for the Tacoma.
Now the embargo for this news, the time when all of us media can publish the information making it fair for everyone, was later that night. I had spent the afternoon editing the videos, writing the posts, editing the photos and was uploading the video when I got another email from the Tacoma4G forum. They had the entire media package with press releases, specs and photos. Not only that, they had published everything hours before the embargo. And they wanted to be my "inside source" for all Tacoma4G news.
Imagine sitting there screaming at your computer to upload faster meanwhile other people's videos and posts are taking off because they uploaded earlier than I did. I couldn't do anything since I'm on a hotel's internet and I can't just leave.
I was pissed. All my work, the time it took to travel there, time away from kids and family was going to be negatively impacted by this forum's leak and they had the gall to ask me to make sure I linked to them for the leak. Needless to say, my videos did poorly, the business lost revenue and I was pretty dejected.
Later that night we went to the official unveiling with twirling fire sticks on stage in Hawai'ian fashion. I couldn't even look. All I wanted to do was leave and go to the plane for the next event in Flagstaff, AZ.
Now, I shared with Toyota PR the email from the forum and found out later they had broken into an agency's website to steal the information. That was what I was told. Toyota PR was pissed, engineering was pissed as were all the other media outlets. All that work, expenditure on travel and months of planning were undone by a leak.
I also found out AutoGuide, the company that owns the forum, lost out on the first drive invites because of that leak. Imagine this forum owner who wanted to be everyone's inside source literally torpedoed the business in one email.
Flash forward to the leaked 2024 Tacoma pricing I saw first on that same forum. Needless to say I'm pretty hot and I, unfortunately, mouthed off on some of that frustration in the video. Clearly the audience didn't understand it and I'll probably edit it out of the video at some point.
I'm sure there's more to this story on how they get the information and I'm sure my facts aren't all accurate, but that's what I know.
That is why I was upset and that's why I called it unethical because I believed how they got their information was wrong. Now, I HAD to run a video with pricing and I had to cite them as the source. I had no choice. If I don't run it, people are going to wonder why and send me emails letting me know about this breaking news. If I do run it, I have to give them credit. Not great choices.
In hindsight, that's where this forum will hopefully come in handy. I write out my frustrations here and then keep the videos more professional aka not air dirty laundry.
I know people are eager for news and they want to know everything immediately. However, there's a fair way to do it so everyone benefits and that forum doesn't follow it. Plain and simple.
