Microsoft and Samsung Try Out Apple's Secret Sauce There is something different about Microsoft's event scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles, but also something very familiar. The secrecy surrounding this particular product introduction feels a lot like Apple's. Microsoft sent out invitations to the event on Thursday without saying a word of what it was about. In the past, it has been transparent with the topic of the event, like updates on the Windows Phone 7 platform or news about Windows 8. At the very least, they'd brief reporters on background just so they'd know what to expect, or usually there would be some loud-mouth engineers eager to spill what they've worked on. But this time, Microsoft's employees and press relations team stayed mum. It's a bold move coming from a company whose recent offerings haven't been nearly as captivating as Apple's, especially when you consider that many tech journalists attending the event will have to book expensive, last-minute flights to Los Angeles. The uninformed writers are banking on this being a big deal because Microsoft is making such an extreme effort to keep this secret. "Dear Microsoft, you can't pull this last minute presser in LA with zero context," complained Peter Ha, the managing editor of TechCrunch, on Twitter. "$$$$$ for us. Blowback could be severe if dumb. I wouldn't be surprised if the software giant continued to take this approach with future product announcements. The lack of information generated dozens of blog posts with writers offering wild guesses and unconfirmed rumors about what's to come. Microsoft is experiencing the power of a well-guarded secret, a press strategy that Apple has turned into an art. It creates buzz that is perhaps the natural result of a tech press anxious to say something, anything, to seem informed on a topic. You are reading this, aren't you? Microsoft isn't the only company giving secrecy a try. Samsung, the Korean manufacturer who recently surpassed Nokia to become the world's biggest phone maker, is (perhaps ironically) being transparent about how hard it tried to keep secret its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S III. It published a pseudo news story quoting engineers who say that they hid the development of the phone even from friends and family - a standard for Apple employees working on new projects. Duly, this new phone has stirred plenty of buzz as well. Apple's culture of secrecy is probably stronger than the C.I.A."s. Will its competitors continue to raise their restrictions? Because Apple has $100 billion in cash reserves, and has surpassed Exxon Mobil to be the most valuable company in the world, I'm betting its rivals will keep trying this strategy in hopes of producing similar results.