November 2005 Archives

Goal. Goal. Goal.

That’s right. Mark me down for 3 goals tonight! Amazingly enough, my team still lost. But, despite the loss, I sure do feel good.

We spent the last few days at a beautiful house outside of London. Thanks to the Calvin’s for a great Thanksgiving dinner. We’ll all be back at work (sort of) on Monday. See you then.

In a mad rush to run back home to grab my passport, catch a flight, and pass through customs at Heathrow (London), I forgot to post about this week’s soccer game.

Well, Peter scored the first goal of the game. Our friend Jeff (teaches English to Czech Businesses) scored two goals. I on the other hand, didn’t score, but actually had two assists and about 7 saves as goalie. All in all, a great night. Everyone, myself included, is learning to play well together and developing our skills.

Win or Lose? – Can’t remember. I might have lost, but dang…it sure was fun.

Matt over at Signal vs. Noise introduced us to Oblique Strategies today. It’s essentially a deck of cards that contain thought provoking questions designed to remind us that there are other ways to solving a problem:

The Oblique Strategies evolved from me being in a number of working situations when the panic of the situation – particularly in studios – tended to make me quickly forget that there were others ways of working and that there were tangential ways of attacking problems that were in many senses more interesting than the direct head-on approach. If you’re in a panic, you tend to take the head-on approach because it seems to be the one that’s going to yield the best results Of course, that often isn’t the case – it’s just the most obvious and – apparently – reliable method. (Brian Eno, one of the cards creators, from A Primer on Oblique Strategizing)

Many times when you get stuck on a tough problem, it helps to step back for a moment and consider what other angles of attack you might take at solving it. The cards could be a great way to help remind you of that.

UPDATE: Check out the cards online here.

I promised a screenshot of Mailroom last week. Well, here it is, just for the readers of this blog:

Mailroom is designed to help very small businesses, including bloggers, designers, developers, and others, stay on top of their email.

We have done a lot already with Mailroom to help take the pain out email for small business, but we still have a lot more to do. In the coming weeks, I am going to start posting more information about Mailroom, how it works, and why it will be the tool you will want to use to handle your business email.

Yesterday after we finished the demo, we went out with our friend Elizabeth to a French restaurant down the street. Tonight after a relaxing day of light work, we had friends from California, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Turkmenistan over for dinner and dancing at our place.

We’ve reached a lot of different milestones in the last week, not the least of which was our first live demo for an “outsider”. Last night and today we got to celebrate the victories.

I told Peter last night that this is why I am into business: to form a team out of nothing, to struggle together, to form bonds, and then to celebrate together when you have your wins. That’s the kind of experience that gets me out of bed in the morning excited to get back to work.

Venture Chronicles points us to a story that hit (no pun intended) a few days ago about a recent demo of the new Mercedes S class:

The new Mercedes S class has a sophisticated radar-based braking system – when it works. A TV demonstration ended up in a 3-car pile-up when the S-class’ safety radar failed. (from Mercedes pile-up at safety demonstration)

This was definitely going through my mind when we demoed our product yesterday. I’ve done lots of demos. Sometimes they go great. Sometimes they are total disasters.

Our demo went great yesterday. Thanks to the hard work of everyone on our team over the last few weeks, we were really well prepared. We even slept in and did some shopping before the demo because we were ready to go.

Media Guerrilla points us to a WSJ poll asking how many blogs you read each week. The overwhelming response: none.

Blogs are definitely an important development in marketing and communications. But it is still important to remember that when it comes to the general public, the majority of people don’t care about blogs. Many of them look at your blog as just a website.

I hope all these Web 2.0 startups are keeping that in mind as they develop their marketing plans.

Scott put Mailroom up on our dedicated server tonight. Up until now, we’ve been testing Mailroom on Scott’s development server. We have a lot to do yet before our launch, but this is the first time we brought the actual hardware and software together that will power our service. It was a sort of like a first date.

Anyway, the server and the software got along really well. We are really happy with the results. Congratulations especially to Scott who has worked so hard to get Mailroom to this point. We are all really excited to finish polishing up this project and make it available to all of you in early 2006.

Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion points us to a new book called Money for Content and Your Clicks For Free: Turning Web Sites, Blogs and Postcasts Into Cash.

There seems to be this ridiculous idea going around now that web advertising will one day power all sorts of free web-based applications. Even Microsoft is getting in on the act.

OK, Google has made a lot of money with ads, but for most websites ads suck. Why? Because people are selfish. We only click on ads when they are useful to us. Google, Yahoo, Boing Boing have built great businesses out of this fact. But it isn’t for everyone. Not every website can make ads useful for their users.

Let me start with an example using Google. Today I needed to find a remote desktop service for our upcoming demo, so I google’d “shared desktop” and clicked on the first ad that came up. They way I look at it, anyone who cares enough to secure the top spot on Google page for their product, must have something at least worth looking at. Ads helped me get what I want. I found a product, a company made a sale, and Google made some money. Everybody wins.

Now let’s say Microsoft did put out a web-based word processor supported by ads. Would you use it? Of course! Its free! But would you click on the ads? Probably not. You use a word processor to write. Unless that ad is going to help you finish your writing project faster, its not very useful. In fact, ads would just distract you from doing your real work, so you will ignore them.

Ads are a great way to build a profitable business on the web if you can attract prospects that will find your ads useful. Otherwise, its a waste of time. No one will click on your ads.

This business model is not new, of course. There are a lot of failed dot coms that built their businesses around ad revenues that never materialized. Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion thinks the growing proliferation of these same flawed business models is a sign of a new bubble. I don’t think that enough people are involved with this Web 2.0 thing yet for a real asset bubble to form. I must admit, however, every time I see a new unsustainable ad-supported business pop up, it feels a little bit more like 1999.

Jones Soda Co. has announced a very interesting direction for the holiday season. They are offering Holiday Packs with flavors that I never would have imagined from a soda. Turkey and Gravy, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, corn on the cob, and last but not least, salmon pate. Mmmmm. “Just like Mom used to make.” At least that is their claim.

Apparently, they have done their research. Last year it was a tremendous hit. One key ingredient in making this happen, I think. They ask for recipes and flavors from their consumers. I haven’t tried any of them and don’t imagine I will be able to here in Prague. Here is a snipet from the bio section of the marketing guru, Peter Van Stolk:

He entered the highly competitive beverage industry, learned the rules and then promptly rejected them. Peter has been able to attract attention by setting his products apart from the rest and developing an emotional bond with his customers.

Getting to know their customers was and still is key to their success. Kudos to rising above the challenge of the status quo.

PS – I really appreciate their ‘Why?’ section, too. Last year they donated over $28,000 just to the Toys for Tots campaign.

TypePad has completely exceeded their customer’s expectations with the following statement:

We at Six Apart understand that you pay for TypePad and expect to receive superior performance in return. At times over the last several weeks, we have not provided that type of experience. We also know that some customers have been more heavily impacted than others. Therefore, we want to give you the choice of how Six Apart should compensate you for any inconvenience we have caused.

Isn’t that amazing? Not only did they admit to a mistake, they are offering to live up to their own standards of quality and excellence. They went up several notches in my book.

It finally happened!

I got my first goal playing soccer, ever, last night at our indoor soccer game. I even made it with my left foot (my weak leg).

And, while I really can’t recall the score, I am pretty sure I didn’t lose. May have tied, but I didn’t lose. Who knows? Next week, I may actually win a game for the first time ever.

I spent most of today styling Mailroom. The app is basically to the point that we can use it for some real work. I’m not in love with our color scheme yet, but later this week I think I’ll try to post some screenshots.

In the past few days our blog postings have been scarce, to say the least. Why? Well, I could feed you all kinds of lines, like:

1. My dog ate my blog post…
2. We were accosted by gypsies on the metro…
3. The British have invaded…
4. We ran out of coffee to keep us going (my favorite)

But, after all that I am sure you would agree that those excuses are horrible. The truth is much more boring… like, we have been working like dogs every day (and night) to prepare for an important meeting this coming week. I told you it was boring. Well, the excuse is, but the meeting is actually quite exciting. But, I can’t tell you about it yet….

As one of our favorite green friends has said before:

“Patience young Skywalker….patience” -Yoda

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory has died according to the WSJ. From a 1999 opinion piece at the Journal:

Before Peter Drucker, most people thought about their businesses with a manufacturing mindset, defining a business based on what it produced. Today, the marketing mindset prevails. It was Mr. Drucker’s critical insight that instead of buying a ‘product’ the customer buys the satisfaction of a need.

You could argue that the information economy we have today would not have been possible without Drucker’s keen insight. The idea of selling software–essentially information–is only possible because Drucker taught the business world to think more abstractly about what constitutes “a product”.

By the way, I really wish accounting would catch up with Drucker’s thinking on management. Most of accounting techniques out there are still focused on the manufacturing type of business.

I saw this article on the Web this morning and wondered what the Sproutit.com community would think: AP Business Writer

By ALLISON LINN

SEATTLE

The technology industry shift’s to Internet-based software and services represents a massive and disruptive “sea change,” Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates wrote to top-level executives in a memo aimed at rallying his troops against the new competitive threats the company faces.

In an e-mail to top executives, dated Oct. 30 and obtained late Tuesday by The Associated Press, Gates urged company leaders to “act quickly and decisively” to move further into the field of offering such services, in order to best formidable competitors. But he also warned that the company must be thoughtful in building the right technology to serve the right audience.

“This coming ‘services wave’ will be very disruptive,” Gates wrote. “We have competitors who will seize on these approaches and challenge us _ still, the opportunity to lead is very clear.”

Gates compares the push toward such services _ which range from online business software offerings to free Web-based e-mail _ to the changes he saw nearly a decade ago. Then, he wrote a now-famous memo, called “The Internet Tidal Wave,” the prompted a massive shift at Microsoft toward Internet-based technology.

“The next sea change is upon us,” Gates wrote to executives.

Gates included a memo from Ray Ozzie, one of Microsoft’s three chief technical officers, which outlined ideas for broad companywide changes that can address the growing competitive threat.

In the memo, dated Oct. 28, Ozzie concedes that Microsoft has not led the pack on Internet-based software and services, and now faces intense competition from companies like Google Inc. Ozzie said Microsoft needs to focus on key tenets of the new model, including a shift toward offering free, advertising-supported offerings and more sophisticated, Internet-based methods of delivering products.

A while back, Jackie Huba at the “Church of the Customer” asked her readers what new laptop she should get to replace her old Dell laptop. I wrote a post suggesting a Mac, so did Shanti, and lot of others.

Well, she made a decision and she even posted a video explaining it. It’s very entertaining. Check it out.

(Thanks to Chris for pointing this out.)

From CNN regarding VoIP phones:

The Federal Communications Commission won’t require Internet phone service providers to cut off customers who don’t have reliable 911 emergency call service.

While I am not directly effected by this (911 doesn’t work in Prague), our VoIP phone service has been a great thing. But, the FCC has asked for VoIP providers to curb their capitalist appetites.

...the FCC said it expected providers to discontinue marketing Internet call service and accepting new customers in areas where the companies are not routing 911 calls to emergency response centers.

I can understand the desired result of being able to connect to 911 in an emergency…but is this the best way? While our VoIP service doesn’t provide guaranteed 911 support (even if we were in San Diego), they made it clear to us that they did not. The best part about this….VoIP service providers will have to commit to that time honored tradition of Innovation.

The Czech’s say proseem for everything. It translates as “please”, but it means so much more: How can I help you? Here you go. Excuse me. May I have that. I think you can go an entire day, say nothing but proseem and get around Prague with no problem at all.

Which brings me to my point: Since we started this blog, Peter, Chris and I have experimented with a lot of different topics. We have written about life in Prague, Web 2.0, our philosophy on business, business trends, and of course, about what we are doing at Sproutit.

But we’d like to know what you want. Why do you read this blog? What stories interest you the most? Tell us what you like, and we’ll try to write more of it.

Proseem?

Well, I took a beating this week. Although, not nearly as bad as last week. I was on a different team than Peter, so he can claim victory. Me…I’ll just sulk in the corner. Well, if you can’t score a goal…at least I can score a drink afterwards. :)

...at least, not yet.

That’s how I start my commentary just published on American Venture Magazine’s website. I do think that venture capital has its place when starting a business. But, my partners and I are funding Sproutit to launch because we think we should prove our business model before we go looking for large outside capital. We also think more entrepreneurs should be doing the same thing.

Read my commentary to find out why.

My patience with Odeo has run out. Odeo: What are you going to do to make your product relevant? (from TechCrunch > Odeo Disappoints)

This is TechCrunch talking about Odeo, a site that got some good buzz going around it when they lunched just a few months ago.

Reviews are a really important part of selling any kind of new software, hosted or not. When I’ve worked with magazine reviewers in the past. Even if your release had some problems, you could get some grace from these guys because they had to appear balanced and impartial.

Online its different. Blog-reviewers say whatever they want. In fact, their audiences often reward them for taking a side. That means that can really tear you to pieces if they want to.

This is just one of the many reasons why selling hosted software online (where many of your most influential reviewers will be online as well) is a completely different business than desktop software.

Ouch:

Microsoft cranked up the marketing hype around Office Live and Windows Live, yet it’s now pretty clear the stuff isn’t ready for the limelight. Office Live services are supposed to go into beta in early 2006, so there’s zero to offer potential customers right now. The Windows Live stuff is glitchy, and that glitchiness compromised what should have been a marque launch for Microsoft. (from Is Live DOA?“)

Microsoft knows desktop software and they do it well. But, as the Microsoft Monitor points out, Microsoft is really out of its element with this hosted software thing. Hosted software is not just a different distribution channel. Its a different way of dealing with customers, a different way of selling…its a different business altogether.

Sure, everyone is going to try Microsoft’s new software, but with some pretty high expectations carried over from their desktop experience. They can also go somewhere else too. If Microsoft can’t manage to keep make their web software really kick-butt, reliable, and useful, they are not going to beat out all the other competitors rushing into this space.

My opinion.

Michael Gartenberg at Microsoft Monitor says:

Let’s also make one thing clear, these services aren’t about replacing Windows or Office nor is this a retreat from the traditional Office applications. If you’re looking to replace your Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook with this set of offerings, you’re looking in the wrong place. Likewise, this is not about a retreat from Windows as the core environment for most folks. (from Windows Live and Office Live – First Take)

In my mind, the big question here is Microsoft just co-opting some new web technologies to further their current desktop/OS products or are they looking at a new business model entirely? Michael obviously thinks not.

Right now, Microsoft makes its money by selling software that people install on their computers, especially to large companies along with accompanying support contracts. The very opposite of what small businesses need. Is Microsoft willing and able to completely change their business model to meet the needs of this new group?

So, almost every blog today is filling your bandwidth with the latest release from Microsoft – Windows Live..

After visiting their website, I must say that I am not impressed. It could be that as a Mac user, I am already web savvy. In fact, I think they must have copied this line from Apple’s manifesto from 5 years ago (from the live.com website)...

Your online world gets better when everything works simply and effortlessly together. That’s the basic idea behind Windows Live. So the things you care about – your friends, the latest information, your e-mails, powerful search, your PC files, everything – comes together in one place.

Let’s go over some of the items listed on the ‘live.com’ website:

1. Mail – It looks like LookOut…I mean Outlook, online.
2. Safety Center – Like Norton online (only for Windows machines, too).
3. Favorites – Get that already with a .Mac account, and have for several years.
4. Messenger – An IM with Skype-like calling built in. Ok, so you are finally able to make an outbound POTS call from your IM. Not bad.
5. OneCare – Online Norton. Again.
6. Search mobile – Feature that combines mapquest stuff, with your cell phone.
7. Live Homepage – Yeah, I get that with MyYahoo already.

Maybe I am missing something really amazing….doubt it. Oh, and someone mentioned the Gadgets that are available now, too. Funny, isn’t it? Apple released widgets when? I guess I am just going to have to wait for something…oh, I dunno….new to really get excited. Good try, but always one step behind Apple. I guess for Windows folks, this is rather amazing stuff. They just don’t know what they have been missing.

This has nothing to do with business….but, Peter and I began playing soccer last night with a group. Half English speakers, half Czech speakers. It was a bit curious because it was indoor soccer. There are no out of bounds, so you can kick the ball off of the walls. And, with a wood floor…no ESPN diving goal saves. But, all that to say….my body aches so much.