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Ina Fried predicts Microsoft might have trouble getting people to upgrade to Longhorn, due to a problem the Office group has dealt with for years. The problem being: Windows XP doesn’t suck enough.
Wordpress, the organization that creates the blogging software used by this site just got bitch-slapped by Google for some really sneaky ways of scamming the Google AdWords system.
I don’t think that what they did was horrendous or anything, but it was definitely sleazy, and undignified. And it brings up a good question about open source software development.
I’m all for open source software, if you choose to go that route with what you’re developing, but it’s not the right business model for everything - even if you don’t want to make money. If you’re offering a service that requires substantial funds to simply continue its existence (major bandwith, hosting, etc.) , deal with the reality of the situation, and charge what you must to keep in business, so you don’t wind up in a situation like this. Surely, there is a big enough loyal WordPress user base that if they were simply up front about their financial needs, enough folks would pitch in a few bucks to keep the site up and running - with dignity.
All of Panera’s sins are forgiven (See previous post). I’m posting this from inside a Panera restaurant right now, where they offer free, no-nonsense WiFi. They’ve certainly earned my business by providing this service.
I would imagine that providing WiFi costs the restaurant less than it pays for electricity, water, or the Muzak being piped in above my head, so why do other places charge for it using ridiculous pricing schemes? The loyalty they’ve generated is worth 100x more than the nickels and dimes they’d get by charging per-minute rates for Internet access.
Check out how easy it is to get online when you’re at Panera - Screenshot. You just click “Go Online”, and you’re up and running. They even have a toll free Help Desk line if things go wrong. Now, excuse me while I finish my bagel.
And, oh yes, they do have the aforementioned flatbread here… I can’t wait for lunch time…
Update: Panera’s WiFi blocks Fark.com as ‘Forbidden Category “Adult/Mature Content”‘. Dang.
If you’re going to solicit customer feedback on your web site, perhaps you should actually feign interest in what your customers have to say.
Consider this exchange between myself and the Panera Bread corporation, in which I inquire how I might obtain a certain product and GIVE THEM MONEY FOR IT.
Me (via web form):
I was driving through Connecticut and stopped at a Panera Bread where they gave out samples of a new pepperoni flatbread. It was absolutely incredible, but I wasn’t really hungry at the time, so I just figured I’d stop by a Panera back in my native Massachusetts (north shore area) the next day to enjoy one. I don’t see any mention of these on your web site. Are they available anywhere in northeast Massachusetts? I hope this isn’t just a test-marketing thing in one or two stores… I really have to have another one. It was delicious!
Response:
Thank you for contacting Panera Bread and for the compliment on our flatbreads. They really are delicious. I am sorry I do not have a list of which stores are testing the flatbreads at this time. We hope that you continue to enjoy Panera Bread and have a nice day.
Tracy
Customer Comment Coordinator
Of course, someone at Panera Bread, Inc. knows the answer to this question. A nationwide franchise system tends to keep track of this sort of thing. The reality is, this “Customer Comment Coordinator” either A) Doesn’t feel like actually inquiring with a co-worker or B) is not “empowered” to ask the simplest questions of anyone else with within the corporation. Either way, Panera Bread gets a huge thumbs down for this aborted effort at customer service. But those flatbreads are damn delicious… If they happen to offer them at a store near you, don’t buy any of them, because I’m mad at them. But, damn, are they tasty.
Update: I wrote back to express my discontent with the response, and “Tracy” somehow managed to find the list the second time around - the flatbreads are being test marketed in R.I. and Connecticut only. So, if you’re in those states, go eat ‘em up.
Originally uploaded by Jeff Chausse.
Blogging an image from Flickr. This is cool. Cute doggie, too, eh?
Cranky* former Netscape developer Jamie Zawinski has posted his thoughts on how developers should go about promoting “social software”. The key line is this:
If you want to do something that’s going to change the world, build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy.
Being someone who fled from the software development life into a career dealing with much more earthly delights, Jamie has a great grasp on the grisly details of How Things Really Work.
Or, put another way:
Your “use case” should be, there’s a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?
An excellent article, and the great thing about being a former software guru instead of a Respected Industry Analyst is that you can get away with using language such as the following in your “analysis”:
“Jesus Mother of Fuck, what are you thinking!”
* Jamie, if you’re reading this, I’ve watched Code Rush - you’re cranky… but in a good way.
Visual Studio developer (and thus Microsoft employee) Korby Parnell had this (and many other nice things) to say about Groove.
For end-user application designers […], Groove is like one of those folk singers that most people have never heard about but which nearly every popular musician counts among their top five role models. Groove has inspired and informed my work in countless ways.
Now, I can’t really take credit for the bulk of what Groove is, but I’ve been there for over 5 years, I’ve watched it grow, and I’ve helped drive how the Groove message got communicated to the world, and stuff like this really reminds me what it’s been all about (and hopefully what it will continue to be about).
Today precisely marks the 5 year anniversary of the highest point ever achieved by NASDAQ (i.e. the day the “dot com bubble” burst). Let’s pop a cork (or spill a “40″) in honor of those who gave it their all to make it big in this new technological age, and couldn’t quite pull it off.
He may not know it, but Evan Williams is one of my personal heroes. He started an internet company (Blogger), promoted it on a shoestring, was pivotal in creating a society-altering phenomenon (blogging), and cashed out big (Blogger got bought by Google).
Now, it seems, he’s wagering on Podcasting as the next big thing, with a company called Odeo. I just love seeing these “stealth mode” placeholder sites again. It reminds me of my own company, circa 5 years ago.
Hey, Apple, nice mention of the death of Macintosh designer Jef Raskin there on your homepage. Oh wait, you don’t have one. Think different. Think ungrateful.
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