The Perils of Punditry

If you’ve ever been to a bar camp, you know that they’re conferences that are planned and executed in a radically decentralized fashion. I’d never been to one before, but when some folks in the Santa Cruz tech community came up with an idea for one, we at productOps decided to pitch in as a sponsor. I’m glad that we did.

While I only attended the morning sessions because of family obligations, the general feeling seems to be that Freelance Camp was a success. Held on Saturday, the event brought freelance professionals of all stripes (I met programmers, graphic artists, a sculptor, career coaches, and writers there) and from surprisingly diverse points of origin (is Toronto far enough away for you?). They exchanged ideas, learned from each other, and networked in a fun, relaxed environment.

Several local businesses pitched in to support Freelance Camp, and it was exhilarating to see so many entrepreneurial, creative people together under one roof. Speaking of roofs, the Santa Cruz Art & History Museum was the venue, and it was an inspiring (if somewhat cozy) setting for the small group discussions, which were lively and engaging. If I never have to go to another conference that is held in a sterile, dull, conference center, I’ll be happy. If every conference were held in a museum, I think people would enjoy them much more.

I’ve posted a few photos from the event, and you can look for more photos online with the tag #freelancecamp.

There’s an excellent article by Paul Boag over at Vitamin, entitled The 5 hidden costs of running a CMS. Content management systems can be a great way for site owners to manage their sites, but they do come with hidden costs as well. I know this from experience.

As Boag explains, he is not against content management systems. But knowing their drawbacks is important when determining whether to take the CMS route.

Yahoo acquired the social bookmarking service del.icio.us two and a half years ago, and essentially let it lie dormant. Yesterday the company rolled out a thoroughly overhauled del.icio.us, and the results are marvelous. If you have heard of del.icio.us but were put off by the austere interface and geeky URL, now is the time to give it a try. Check it out at the new and much less offputting delicious.com address.

The Information Architecture Institute has a vibrant listserv, filled with insightful comments and thought-provoking questions from skilled practitioners. Often the questions have to do with how to get a grip on what a client really needs. Steve ‘Doc’ Batty has just posted his response to that question as it relates to a User Experience project.

Batty’s list of User Experience questions is excellent because it helps clearly define the “why” of the project. This makes defining the “how” much easier.

Jack Shedd and Merlin Mann are on to something. Blogging (aka “writing on the Web”) has become an Official Industry, and as such has for some people become a soulless search for links, traffic, and advertising dollars. My experience running Mac Law Students has shown me that the right kind of small numbers beat the wrong kind of big numbers every time. It’s better to stay small and focused than attempt to be all things to all people (and advertisers).

As Merlin puts it:

Want to build a great audience, composed of people you respect? Be picky about who you decide to overserve. Then do it with all the skill and enthusiasm you can muster.

It’s good advice for anyone writing on the Web.

When is the last time you heard someone crow about their mobile carrier? More often than not you’ll hear them complaining instead. They complain more often than not about how difficult it is to interact with these companies, rather than the cost of a mobile plan.

For example, in spite of the fact that I have a Verizon account, I don’t want to handle my interactions with them via my phone. The quality of call center personnel is always hit or miss, and frankly I’d rather just be able to look up my question on line and not waste time speaking with someone.

The other day I tried to find out my contract expiration date. I jumped through several hoops to get signed up with a My Verizon account, which they continually push customers to do. “Great,” I thought. “They’ll certainly have that basic piece of information available in My Verizon.”

Wrong.

I understand the reasoning. Why would they give me access to that information, when the odds are high that I’m only going to use that info to make a decision about whether to switch to another carrier now or at some point in the future? It’s 20th century business thinking at its worst.

Annoyed but determined, I used their email form to ask the question. Lo and behold, it’s actually a commonly asked question! So common, in fact, that it’s a menu selection in the email form. Who would have imagined? Gee, it’s almost like they want to make it more difficult for me to find out this important and rather rudimentary information. 

I’ve heard that other carriers do the same thing, and I’m not surprised. Contempt for customers seems to be a common theme in the telecom industry. Perhaps it is part of their conventional wisdom, which implicitly treats customers as rodents to be caught, caged, and placed in a Habitrail. I assume this approach has worked thus far. But it won’t work forever.

It reminds me of AOL in the 90s (and perhaps now, for all I know). They made you go through countless screens to get to a phone number they made you call in order to terminate your account. At one time AOL was a colossus. Now they’re a limping also-ran, run over by competitors who provided more for less, and listened to their customers.

Discuss, according to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, means:

a: to investigate by reasoning or argument
b: to present in detail for examination or consideration
c: to talk about

We Americans have forgotten how to discuss politics. We live in red communities or blue communities. We listen to Rush or NPR, but not both. We love the smackdowns between Malkin and Olbermann. So politics, the vehicle by which the future of our republic is determined, has become akin to professional wrestling. It is all style and no substance.

Is it any wonder we are so woefully bad at discussing politics with those who don’t share our opinions? My 4th of July Resolution this year is to be a better citizen by engaging in more discussions with people whom I know don’t share my politics. Not to change their minds. Not to bad-mouth them. Just to respectfully share ideas.

The Economist’s Microsoft After Gates briefing mentions that the company has hired “one of America’s coolest advertising agencies, Crispin Porter+Bogustki” to launch a $300M ad campaign.

I’m left wondering how this $300M, no matter how adroit the folks at CPB are, will change attitudes toward Microsoft. They’ve tried repeatedly to change their public image. They even tried to disassociate themselves with the Zune in the bizarre ad campaigns for the device.

A $300M marketing campaign will work wonders if Microsoft comes out with some new products that show a new product development philosophy. If Microsoft continues to turn out bloated monolithic apps with overly complex UI, I’m scratching my head as to how Microsoft will ever be thought of as anything but the General Motors of computing – big, financially successful, and representative of a bygone era that is rapidly coming to a close.

If you’ve read Naked Conversations, the blog marketing book by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, you know that blogs are a great way to interact directly with customers. You also know that to do it right you need to be accessible and open to criticism.

Ken Case, the CEO of software maker Omni Group, demonstrates how to effectively respond to criticism and engage with customers in a constructive fashion. In Matt Neuberg’s review of OmniFocus, Case deconstructs Neuberg’s review. He is thorough, thoughtful, and respectful, and he doesn’t pretend that OmniFocus is a perfect product.

Things get interesting in the comments to the post. Instead of merely posting his thoughts then retreating, Case stays engaged with his readers and encourages them to continue their own critiques of the product. He’s not asking for punishment, and he explains the reasons behind some of the company’s design decisions, but he appears to honestly welcome direct, detailed feedback from customers. I happen to use three of Omni Group’s applications pretty much every day: OmniFocus, OmniGraffle Pro, and OmniOutliner Pro. But even if I didn’t like Omni Group’s applications, after reading Case’s blog post I’d likely want to give them a try.

No spin. Just direct, respectful interaction with customers and critics. If only we had more of that online and in the physical world.

Tip o’ the hat to John Gruber’s excellent Daring Fireball blog for the link to Case’s post.

Image Credits

Cropped version of having a discussion by Erik Kristensen - http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikkristensen/293638211/ - Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license 

My friend Charles writes:

Boy, there’s just a sort of background hum in everything about getting too big and trying to be too many things.

IBM was crushed in the 80s and had to reinvent itself.

Microsoft looks like a utility that occasionally tries to dress up for the ball and ends up wearing last year’s Prada knock-off from the Dress Barn.

AOL was so ahead of the curve back in the day that it ran itself into a ditch.

Sun was the backbone. Now, it’s a cup of coffee.

Yahoo opened the door to wasting your whole life online until Google made general portals irrelevant.  (We waste away, all the same.)

Facebook and MySpace have the kids enthralled, but it still feels like kid stuff.

Apple looks like a juggernaut today, but….

So let us not badmouth the Yahoos of the world too much.  In their day, they rocked.  Now, they’re rolled.