Devoted to online marketing, viral marketing, and web marketing

While it probably won't have any impact upon the sales of the book, there has been some disappointment that people have put the ending of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final book in the series, online for people to see.

It's not for certain, but it probably was a result of two book distributors who distributed the copies of the book before it was to go on sale on July 21. In response, Scholastic says it will bring legal action against the two companies.

The two companies guilty of the infractions are online store DeepDiscount.com, and Levy Home Entertainment. They were under contract to hold the book until the official release date.

"We are also making a direct appeal to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on July 21st," Scholastic said.

From the point of view of doing business, this is a stupid move by these two companies. They may have received a quick windfall from the actions, but it brings them a reputation businesses shouldn't want: they break their agreements. I know I'll be marking them and watching the progress of the legal action against them.

If they have been found to have broken the agreement, I won't want to be doing business with them.

As far as the ending goes, damage control has kicked in, and attempts at covering up what the real ending is has already begun. Scholastic points out that they've found three endings online, and it can't be known which one is real - if any.

What is interesting, is it could accidently create more buzz (if it's possible) for the book, and anticipation of how it will end.

For online marketers, it shows how something can be leaked - whether accidently or on purpose - and create a buzz that draws a lot of interest. It's a powerful tactic used by marketers for a long time, and it works.