Shawn, almost everybody is there right now. Now, I go over the ground like a magnet getting black sand and pull you up. :-) - Louis Gray
About half way through the new FF curve (Decided the do the revisit Facebook thing today instead) but definitely a dramatic improvement now that there's lots more people here. Wait, does that say Techie?? - Charlie Anzman
"Popular, brand-name users"? What are those? I thought this was FRIENDFeed, not FanClubFeed. - Avdi Grimm
I suppose this is inevitable and an almost must-do for folks with too many follows. Even though I only subscribe to about 90+ folks here, I can feel the noise creeping in at times too, and have wondered if I should use the lists more proactively. But like cleaning up an inbox, it would take time to do it.. Well, at least I have one list right now - a list of all my colleagues. And, I think you have a good process there in sorting your follows. - Winston Teo
Avdi, the idea is as it says, to take the high traffic out and better reveal those who need more attention. Anybody here will say I treat A-List and Z-List the same... - Louis Gray
I'm updating my lists as a I go along. I'm basically on the main feed, and my lists Awesome Pix and Enterprise 2.0 a lot. Will continue to refine these over time. - Hutch Carpenter
My problem is that everyone posts on many topics, so I can't sort by the genre of the users posts. All of my subscriptions are people I know ONLY on friendfeed, so I can't sort them by source of contact. They're all on at random times of the day or night, so I can't sort them by apparent location. All I have is my home feed, a list for the ones my stats say I find interesting, and a list for the ones my stats say are interested in me. Any tips? - Slippy Lane
Slippy, you need to recruit your real-world friends into FriendFeed. - Ernie Oporto
lol, -1 for assuming I have real-world friends - Slippy Lane
i love the lists, give me access to much more info quicker - MG Siegler
Louis, excellent post as I happily find each time I read your blog! :) This list concept is really a great feature of FF and I am glad you're liking it. I need to fine tune mine some more... but it really does help deliver the best content to me and I am incredibly grateful for the filtering this provides...very neat! Thanks! - Susan Beebe
"At work and at home, I file all my e-mail. For example, I have top level folders for "Personal", "Family", "Commerce", and "Blog", and thinking of people on FriendFeed the same way isn't that much of a stretch." I never thought about it quite that way before. Nice post. Thanks - Roberto Bonini
I am thrilled that FF offered the list functionality, but as a result, I've found myself looking at my "favorites" list 95% of the time and the other lists 5% of the time, so it's almost the equivalent to unsubscribing from most of my list. Then again, maybe that's not a bad thing. It avoids hurt feelings, it gives me an out, and I feel less drowned. - Adam Lasnik
Is anyone like me becoming increasingly alarmed that maybe as a nation we are starting to forget 9/11 as the years go by? Perhaps it's my imagination. But I will never ever forget how I felt that day and where I was. I still choke up when I watch the footage. Those jerks are still out there eager to kill us all. This is the #1 factor in who gets my vote. - Steve Rubel via Bookmarklet
steve ,, Im a canadian firefighter for 28 yrs ,, I was in NYC for the Memorial in 2002 , We Will Never Forget ! - John Piercy
Steve, kinda agree with you, especially since I took a flight from DC to CA that very morning and spent the day trying to track down a cousin who worked in the complex. But you also need to ask a simple question. How could a country that had the entire world behind it at the time manage to get the world against it so quickly. - Deepak
@Chiara you can't. But people don't talk about 9/11 like we used to. Some of that is healthy, but I worry people think it won't happen again because it's been so many years w/o an attack on US soil. I think about it every time I get on a plane (which is often). And often when I commute into Manhattan - at least in passing. - Steve Rubel
I wonder how much of it is due to certain organizations, on both sides of the political spectrum, using it for purely partisan political gain. Maybe the images has been so associated with things removed from the events of the actual day people just block it. I will never forget, I just sometimes want to be able to choose how I remember... - John Worthington
John - I agree with you. The act was horrible, inconceivable. In a way, whenever anyone in politics who invokes it for any reason other than to humbly respect history, from Rudy to Bush to anyone, I kinda wish they wouldn't. - Phil (scribkin)
Memory fades and softens with time. Eventually Mel Brooks will make a comedy about 911. The big question is "exactly what are we supposed to remember about that day?" The horrible way that we all felt? The damage that it did to all of us as a nation? The way that we came together for a brief moment in history only to be separated again by the politicians that used it to sow fear and as a reason to start a war we couldn't afford? The problem is that recent history has muddied what 911 means for all of us. - AlexScoble(Robert'sBro)
@John Worthington: At times 9/11 has become to political. 9/11 wasn't a Republican event and it wasn't a Democrat event. It was an American tragedy that effected the world. Politicians may disagree on how to fight the war on terror but it should be understood, in my own opinion, that most of the politicians want to eliminate the threats over advancing their own career. At least I hope so. - ChiliMac
Steve, those jerks are sitting on US soil running our country... FYI: the US government. - Michael Forian
I don't think there was a lot of hand wringing about invoking Pearl Harbor during WWII. No matter how much you want to depoliticize this event, the people who did this were motivated politically in the classical sense, not the bullshit sanctimonious partisan way. To down play it for political gain is even worse, somehow more cynical. - Jay Tannenbaum
Steve, it may be a good time for us to help build a UGC type of site to remember the attacks. I have photos somewhere; we should all share it on a single site (or dispersed among many) to remember. - Tamar Weinberg
@Tamar somehow I thought several existed. I don't have photos from that day. Pre-cameraphone. - Steve Rubel
Steve, I don't think the majority of people will ever forget, even if they didn't lose anyone themselves. Frankly, I hate to see it used to justify some truly un-American attitudes and actions. - Harvey Simmons
Steve, I don't think anyone alive then will ever forget. - Ramona Bates
My memories are vivid as it was my son's 4th birthday. It's actually the only birthday of his that I remember in such great, and sad, detail. Ironically, it's also my finacee's birthday, so between Barb and Tyler, I'm sure to never forget. I did take the kids to Ground Zero two years ago... I think it's important that they see this tragedy at various times in their lives. - Kevin C. Tofel
I sure as hell don't know anyone who was around on that day who's anywhere near forgetting. I don't think "remembering" means "being angry, fearful, vindictive and irrational", though, which is how I think I'm being told to feel a lot of the time. - Nathan Rein
I lost a friend in one the planes. She was returning from dropping her beautiful twin daughters at college. I am still sick and angry. - Jay Tannenbaum
how could I forget being taken in by the federales as a terrorist for being a Jew in Mexico after 911... my family were evicted from their co-op by panicked leftists in NYC and arson in my building that was blamed on me because of the Anti-semitism that erupted in the city... those that survived the event experienced some bizarre drama. thank g-d it ended up ok and almost comical from my end. still listening to freaks online talk about conspiracies still... almost laughable. I knew people in the building - Noah David Simon
I tried to turn my experience into a comic book. it is on my blog http://simonstudiotheatre.blog... that was the experience that changed me. before I was only interested in sex drugs and rock n roll... I got a job after all that. ...now I suppose I have regressed a little to the pre-911 Noah... - Noah David Simon
The no. 1 factor in who gets your vote? Do you perceive one party as better at national security than the others? I have not forgotten 9/11 at all, and that's all the more reason why I'm voting for Obama. The Republican Party under the Bush Admin., supposedly the party that would protect us from future incidents, has done an abysmal job, squandering our human and financial resources in a totally immoral, misguided war that takes away our military, focus, treasure and other resources from protecting us. - Cathryn Hrudicka
@Cathryn I am not sure who has the better policy here. McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush in some ways but not others. What I keep thinking is: who will ensure this never happens again. I don't have an answer yet and it keeps me undecided. - Steve Rubel
it's one thing to "not forget" 9/11 - that's important. it's entirely something else to "overload" the meaning "9/11" for political gain. let's just pass up the chance to rattle sabers, make the citizenry fearful, and offend others around the world. pearl harbor is not a day to hate japan or convince people to vote a certain way. let's be sure to remember the vitcims, the heroes, and the families of 9/11 and give them the respect and admiration they deserve. - MikeAmundsen
Still amazes me how fast all those flags came down. Even in an event like this. It's like the country was united for a week. Sad. - Charlie Anzman
I think the truth is that no one can make sure it never happens again anymore than anyone can stop hurricanes. Our security system is very reactive and not very good at stopping "innovative" attacks. Plus it's often so hard to know what the good intelligence is, so it's likely that attackers will eventually fall through the cracks of our anti-terrorist system again. - AlexScoble(Robert'sBro)
9/11 will always hold a special place in my heart and prayers - I worked at the WTC for CSFB when I was in finance and then later in life, 9/11/2001 was supposed to be one of the happiest days in my life - little did i know 2 hrs after the happiness, the worst sadness would follow. - Allen Stern
And every patient has insurance..... - Bwana McCall
I just started getting into House. I like Hugh Laurie. A lot. However, I'm noticing that the episodes tend to follow the same formula. Sick patient, House and team brainstorm, no one believes House, Head Doc lady goes around flapping her arms, and then the patient is cured after they sort through some diseases and treatments. I've now switched from the House marathon to I, Robot. :) - Yolanda
oh that's funny. never heard of the show, but James White has this series of books about Sector General, an intergalactic hospital and every case has some trying cure the patient with the exact thing that antagonizes it. - faboo mama
In each episode the patient must go into convulsions. @Glenn: +1 for Lupus. My wife and I both wait for the convulsing and for the Lupus reference. Thing is - the show still rocks. - AJ Kohn
We've got fluff, but I like the fluff. I don't miss the inane apps. - Hutch Carpenter
I'm telling you what, Hutch, there's not a day goes by that I don't get some request on FB to play some game or share "gifts" or somesuch. - Joey Gibson
Andy Murdoch threw a zombie at Joey Gibson. Click here to throw a zombie at your friends! - Andy Murdoch
Disagree...Facebook isn't really a forum for creating conversations...friendfeed seems to be all about conversations - AlexScoble(Robert'sBro)
I keep FB so people can find me, and then I direct them to my email or to FF. I prefer the convos on ff - WarMaiden
In place of the word fluff, I would have said crap. - Ernie Oporto
I have to disagree. There's plenty of fluff on FriendFeed too. I'm just more focused on following people that stream particular topics, unlike what I use Facebook for. - Corvida via twhirl
agree no zombie bites, sheep, or superwalls here. - Jason Kaneshiro
Disagree. The filtering and aggregation methods of information is way more intuitive on FriendFeed. Plus, my Facebook is mainly for individuals who do not involve themselves in Social Media and still read newspapers in lieu of RSS feeds. Or simply, my real life friends. Facebook is only good for one thing - throwing Gummi Bears. ;) - Mona N.
Looks like more than half disagree so far... - Mark Dykeman
FF is a completely different application for me than Facebook. FF needs to add "throw sheep @" feature! <just kidding> - Susan Beebe
klecu has thrown a Gummi Bear at this conversation - klecu
I use Friendfeed to follow a different crowd than Facebook. Facebook is more personal to me. I don't want to friend someone on there that I don't know well. Additionally, there are some friends I want to follow who don't put everything on Facebook, so I keep tabs on them with Friendfeed's imaginary friend feature. - Dave Huston via twhirl
disagree ... one is your locker (facebook) the other (ff) is a way you pass notes in class - Scott Moskowitz
Friendfeed is the PRO version of Facebook. It's like MLB:Triple A - Steve Rubel
Steve: what app would the real "big show" be, then? - Mark Dykeman
@Mark I am not sure, but Scoble is Big Papi. - Steve Rubel
I dunno - no profile, no email, no "requests", no "apps" only following, blocking, posting, liking and commenting. I'd say it's very unlike Bookface. - Richard Walker
Two different uses for me entirely ... but Friendfeed is still home base with the new stuff (Agree with Hutch ... like Fluff!) - Charlie Anzman
Ok, it is sad when Tila Tequila is amoung the best dressed... - Michael W. May via twhirl
and my wife said mini skirts were going out of style this year :) Man, Lindsay looks like she's been through re-hab or something ! .... - Charlie Anzman
Is Michael Phelps high or something? or does he always look like that? - acedanger
I think you know when you're getting older when you haven't heard of over 50% of the guests at the MTV Video Music Awards... - Nathan Chase
acedanger, i'm pretty sure he always looks like that. - edythe
Freindfeed. Pity google isint still a startup. Can't think of any more that have made an impression on me. - Roberto Bonini
There are three things every startup can benifit from and if you have at least any two of these, it puts you in a pretty good position: 1) Be the first to market, 2) Be the best, 3) Be the most unique. Again, if you have any two of these, you are in a good position. All three? Sweet. None? :( - Andrew Baron
37signals. not as a service per sé, but they are succesful in internet business in every way - Michiel Sikkes via feedalizr
Seesmic is another service you enjoy right? :) - Daynah
Is there an accepted definition for "startup" than anyone can point to? - Brian Sullivan
Friendfeed, Twitter, Shozu - that's what I'm using almost every day. - Benedikt Koehler
Seesmic, twitter, friendfeed, viewzi, tesla motors, linden labs - Chris Brogan
microsoft was a killer startup .. apple too .. yahoo was a great startup .. almost none of the ones in the list above will go that far .. - Gregory Lent
Tech companies that that went from 0 to very substantial (and back to 0 perhaps) during the time that I have been involved in computing: Microsoft, Compaq, Apple, Google, Dell ( there are probably a few that don't spring to mind). Most I see mentioned are more of shut downs than startups in my mind. ( you did say over the years right?) -- Intel was not on the list but should have been - Brian Sullivan
Brian: I want more recent startups. Over past three years. That qualifies everyone on your list. - Robert Scoble
Meebo is the first one that comes to my mind, probably because I saw that interview Scoble did. Plus, I use it every day....most desktop IM clients have become extremely bloated. - ....
Robert: I assume you meant disqualifies? So you are interested in "startups" that have not yet succeeded as businesses? - Brian Sullivan
Mint, Seesmic, Qik, Apture, FF, SocialMedian, Brightkite, Entrecard, iLike, Disqus, Animoto, Magnify.net, Speeddate, Posterous, Tumblr, Dopplr, Facebook, Sevenload, Fon, Flixwagon, G.ho.st, Secondlife, Muxtape, PicLens, Shareaholic, Evernote, Etsy, etc... These are first effects in my mind when you said gold standard. - Erhan Erdogan
Brian: yeah, meant disqualifies. No, I want to stick with companies launched in past three years or so. Almost all of these mentioned here have seen some success. - Robert Scoble
AccuRadio. This year's People's Choice Webby winner. Kurt Hanson, very cool CEO - Dave Martin
Every time I come to the home feed, i see "Scoble Sucks" like four times. Guess he hasn't had a good day. - Shawn Farner
Don't you think a lot of people take jabs at him just as link bait? - Trish R
Probably. That's a big way to get some traffic. I may not have agreed with the post that caused the bedlam but saying he sucks and whatnot is stupid. Everyone makes mistakes. Ehhhh give it a break, yeah? - Candace Holly
That's it! ... Sleeping pills for FF diehards. 72 hours ... Check Amazon ... making calls now. VC's ?? - Charlie Anzman
I'm starting to get sleepy but I don't want to goto sleep. I don't like it, it takes up too much time. I can be doing other things. But, alas I will be down for the count sometime. - Mathew Ballard
Hello from Ohio... Back after 2 weeks. Everytime after I come back to FF after a break, it seems cozier. :-) - Mitchell Tsai
I'm in Kent, Ohio for the next few days. Did you spend anytime here? I'm envious of you're being in Nashville. I so miss the music there. Took my sister there after graduation to hear the live music. :-) - Mitchell Tsai
How are you liking Nashville? My fav cities for live music are Nashville, NYC, and Boston. I love walking past 20 clubs with a severe case of ADD or I'm-a-music-snob and finding really cool musicians & bands to listen to! Hi to Polly & Yuvi also... - Mitchell Tsai
Ech. Sleeping pills are baaaaad. When I have to take them, they leave me unconscious for 12 hours, I don't sleep properly and I spend the next day and a half wandering around in a daze. - Slippy Lane
I am often tempted to post the single word "penis" or "vagina" in twitter, just to see how much and quickly my follower/subscriber counts change. But I cannot bring myself to do it :P - Michael W. May via twhirl
@Trish - Did I miss anything when I wasn't on Night Shift? - Yuvi
“Just saw the MSFT commercial for the first time. Gates and I are the same age. Man he got old lookin'?! Even my wife agreed I look better ... I'm good for at least a week :)”
On the Plasticlogic site Product page, the main image appears to be 2.3 MB. A tad heavy, perhaps? - Chris Baskind
will have a big custard pie waiting for you at MAXroam stand Robert :-) - Patphelan
Pat: one thing to remember: I've given hundreds of startups free publicity by doing completely free and no-strings-attached video interviews and demos. That's something that neither TechCrunch nor Demo can claim. - Robert Scoble
Robert, I 100% agree with you, no one has done more for the "community" that's why I am so upset at that post - Patphelan
Well at least negative responses like this tell you that people still care lol - Dean Clark
Robert - remember trust takes a long time to build but can be destroyed in an instant. You've made a bad public statement and then continued to defend your lambasting of 70 startups based on something as trivial as web design. Not your best move ever, and goes beyond your normal grade "foot in mouth." - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Mark: it wasn't based on just web design. And if you think that's "trivial" you shouldn't be in a place to judge web companies. Dude. Think about what you just said. - Robert Scoble
By the way, Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, in a separate post here on FriendFeed, said the same thing that these sites really sucked. So did Andrew Baron, founder of Rocketboom. I'm not alone here. - Robert Scoble
I guess Robert got tired of the "Blame Scoble" meme and needed to start a new one...hence "Scoble Sucks" was born. - Mark Krynsky
He is still giving publicity to these start-ups. It may not be good publicity, but I would have never went to the sites if I hadn't seen this "Scoble Sucks" tweet, and probably would have never visited them - Matrixx333
There you go again, Robert, questioning my credentials. Not everything is about graphic design, particularly when it's concerning a hardware company (for example), as many of these companies at DEMO are. You're smart enough to know that, but dumb enough not to think of it before you spout off. You're wrong in this case, Robert. Everyone thinks so. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
The difference between Kevin, Andrew and you, Robert, is that they had the brains to realize the difference between bad design and bad work product. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
You don't suck...I think this post was more uncharacteristic than anything else...I've appreciated a lot of advice you've given, and really taken it to heart...I just think in this case, it's hard to really understand everything about a company from a 30 second glance -- some of them very well may have 'winged' an application to DEMO with barely enough time to get an early beta of their product together - let alone a co site...that's still better than waiting endlessly until everything is perfect, no? - Michael Broukhim @TotSpot
Mark: I didn't just talk about graphic design. I talked about the content on the page (or the lack thereof). It's like you didn't even read what I wrote. And, no, Andrew and Kevin didn't make any distinctions. They wrote that these sites "sucked." They didn't go into it further. Glad you are putting words in their mouth. - Robert Scoble
i'm going to copy & paste this here since I think this is where the discussion is continuing... - Zee at WeDoCreative
Michael, surely if you were going to go & spend $18000!!! on a product launch at DEMO. And you knew that your company was going to be mentioned before the actual event...you would create a really well designed intriguing, inviting, impressive landing page which made potential journalists & bloggers think "woah, this look interesting & impressive...i'll look out for these guys". - Zee at WeDoCreative
No such thing as bad publicity. Just spell my name right. - Steve Follmer via twhirl
I tell you what sucks, this does. I could discuss this until the cows come home without getting bored but alas I think this discussions over for the day since the Valley have to sleep at some point.... - Zee at WeDoCreative
Robert, you really are turning into a grade-a asshole, you know that? Look- the people you cite? They said the sites sucked. You said the companies sucked. I read what you wrote (as did the whole world) - it is you who seems to have forgotten. The bottom line is that good design and perfect sites are important for some kinds of companies, and less important for others. What you don't seem to understand is that their design department has no bearing on their engineering department. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Whenever you realize that, you'll understand how you pissed everyone off so bad. I'll spell it out for you - NOT EVERYTHING IS A WEB BASED BUSINESS. THERE ARE ACTUAL BUSINESSES BASED AROUND TRANSACTIONS AND PRODUCTS THAT AREN'T ELECTRONS. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Mark, by saying the companies themselves sucked, he cocked up there - no doubt. But to say that good design doesn't matter for these businesses is wrong. No matter what kind of business you are, if you care about your image - you are going to care about your site...absolutely no doubt there. - Zee at WeDoCreative
In a perfect world, Zee, everyone would have a great website. I agree. I'm a design snob as well, and while my design skills have severely degraded from the time I was a professional designer, I still have aesthetic appreciation. To say that a website is indicative of anything other than a good design department isn't a surety. For instance: Does this website make you want to buy beer? http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ Care for image takes on all shapes and sizes ... - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
... not to mention that many of these are ideas at DEMO created and run by engineers. When was the last time you ran into a hardware engineer or a hardcore coder who either had great design skills or even a sense of aesthetics? Just because their site may suck doesn't mean the product sucks or that they don't care about it. Not everyone shares you and Robert's value judgements on what's important for their company. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
its not entirely fair to bash Scoble so bad. We are all allowed errors in judgement sometimes - blogging gives ample chance to foul up (no fact checkers). However, in saying that Scoble does have an awful lot of reach. His blog, Fast company shows, the magazine column and general celebrity status in the tech space. With great power comes great responsibility. Will this affect negatively the DEMO startups? Thats the larger question. - Roberto Bonini
Mark, firstly thank you, great to see you reply directly - unlike Loic who just seemed to ignore everyone apart from Robert in the discussion & leave as soon as it had appeared Robert had left. To be honest, no, the fact that Anheuser-busch have got a particularly nice site doesn't immediately make me want to buy their product - however, had it been a complete disaster & very little care put into it whatsoever then it would have an impact on my thoughts & the image of the product in my mind. Secondly... - Zee at WeDoCreative
Secondly... Anheuser-busch aren't just about to launch at one of the most prestigious startup events in the world. Thirdly, I imagine majority of the products at DEMO will have a UI of some sort - whether it's a webapp or offline device, there will be something the user will have to use. That being the case, the fact that the first page anyone is likely to see about the product is a distinct displeasure to use...it does not support the notion of the product being something which will be a pleasure to use. - Zee at WeDoCreative
I went through about half the list - I will cede that the second half looks like the first half - but I wanted to try out some of the services and play with them and really get an idea of what they did. That said, many of the ones I looked at in depth have business models that really only need the website as a business card, and it isn't integral to their business. Plastic Logic, for instance, isn't going to sell anything thru the website for a long time. They'll be directly dealing with much larger ... - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
... manufacturers just like e-Ink does. You'll see the final product being sold by Sony and Amazon and Nokia and others. They're using DEMO to get the contacts and credentials needed to set up those meetings or get funding to continue research and development. In short, these aren't B2C companies by and large. Their web design is irrelevant. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Could they benefit from better web design? You bet! Everyone could. Sometimes, particularly in a small startup, you have to look at the opportunity cost... is it worth the expenditure? Could that $20-50k be better spent on a someone's salary? I've been in underfunded startups before, and these are the things you think about. The function must come before form. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
But Mark, these guys are paying $18000! Honestly, come to WeDo - for a grand or so and 2 days...you'll have glorious landing page which will have both press, competition & potential contacts/investors impressed, intrigued & excited to learn more. - Zee at WeDoCreative
hey, all he said was that the sites were bad. it is like saying a painting is bad. - Gregory Lent
Again, though, when was the last time you found an engineer with a sense of aesthetics? You deal with clients, you know that in the web design business, the client is almost always wrong. Half the time they don't even know that their site sucks, and the other half they're asking for an animated .GIF to go in the logo. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
I hear you, no doubt, but I just think that going into an event as large as DEMO. They should have spoken to a designer, an experienced industry professional or at the very least friends & family and said "listen, we know we've got a great product - but we want to be noticed by people at the event but also people who hear about us and just visit our site...do you think this site does that?" If whoever they were speaking to was honest, a flat out "no" would be the right answer. - Zee at WeDoCreative
saying a website design is irrelevant is like saying a business card design or a brochure design or a catalog design or a phone system or a logo design is irrelevant. i don't think so, mark hopkins - Gregory Lent
for one thing, it got people to click on their sites ... :) - The Pageman
WOW....when did he say the companies SUCK? He said their WEBSITES suck...in fact...repeatedly, he's said that he would reserve judgment on the products until Friday...(Hell, Scoble's site used to suck (design-wise), but I still went to it cuz I liked what he had to say...) - Sean McGee
Sean, I assume the reaction there is because Robert insinuated their products were likely no better than their sites. - Louis Gray
Louis: with people you often only get one impression. That is what I was saying. If the site sucks the liklihood that you will go deep isn't very high. - Robert Scoble
well, yeah...it could have been read that way, I guess...But it's a valid point...if you're selling a product/service, you have to give 110%...you have to be so enthusiastic that people will think that either you're crazy, or they're crazy for not giving you a try...and he's right...most of these websites epically FAIL in that department. I went to each one and felt, "Meh." Most early adopters don't give a damn who you are, it's what you have that counts, and each of these sites were in no way engaging. - Sean McGee
That's a tad superficial. I mean, what if they poured their money into the product and made that the priority? - Vincent Ferrari
@Vincent: It costs NOTHING to evangelize...and you can pour all the money you want into a product...but if no one is interested in it because of "meh" marketing skills, the you have a failed product. Marketing and evangelizing are just as important as research and development. - Sean McGee
Is he really being an unfair jerk, Marshall? I mean....the sites DO generally suck. How is saying so unfair or jerky? - David Rothman
I don't think saying the sites are crap is what's causing the problem, it's as Louis says, the implication that because the sites are crap, their accompanying products are also crap. - Vincent Ferrari
my take "no such thing as bad publicity. just spell my URL right." - Steve Follmer via twhirl
sorry robert if i was an unfair jerk in saying you were being an unfair jerk. the advice you give is very much like the advice i give companies too, i was just put off by the tone for a few reasons. i think the pre-event silence requirement doesnt help (nor does it justify these shortcomings, though threats to kick co's out don't help either - Marshall Kirkpatrick via fftogo
i've also had a lot of good times at demo (had a lot of criticisms as well) and am concerned about people being bullies to chris & demo. u have been so positive about tc50 co's that this latest post rankled me a bit as i read it while walking to the store on a beer run. your critiques are right on, but i'm cheering for all these startups. - Marshall Kirkpatrick via fftogo
I'm with Sean here. It was a little 'harsh' and sure Scoble is a judge at TC50 (I think) .. but they were still valid points. Throwing people a heads up isn't necessarily trashing them especially with 'the style' some bloggers use today. Marketing is as important (if not more important) as the product. -
