One of the often-cited benefits of the web is the ability to update websites in realtime. Or, failing that, on a daily basis. Or now and then.
Or, in the case of www.lehman.com, not at all. Apparently, the bank is still open for business, and thriving as ever. The latest press release available on the site is the bank’s third quarter results.
Go to the careers section, and you would never know that 25,000 people are out of work. The site exhorts you to “Experience Lehman Brothers: Make an impact. Engage your passion. Realize your potential. Around the world, the Lehman Brothers team is growing. Explore these pages to learn how you can build a career with us, and experience Lehman Brothers for yourself.” The misplaced optimism is almost too much to bear.
Aside from the obvious detachment from reality, this raises the question of what lehman.com should actually look like today and in the future. Should it be a holding page simply stating that the bank is bust? A press release to the same effect?
Certainly the company results and history are still useful, and should be archived in some way. But I would suggest that the best use of Lehman.com would be for the employees to post their CVs, and perhaps a message board for epitaphs of one of the oldest investment banks. Memorial sites are very popular – you might even sell an ad or two.
