Eating Bees

Google gets in the act. GoogleSpaceBook!

Wonder what this will do, if anything, to the walled gardens.

FWIW, my vote is “not much.” Look at internet dating - you have eHarmony and Match, and you also have Jdate and Atlasphere. (The latter is a site, with a dating service for people trying to live their lives by Ayn Rand’s philosophy. Wow, a dating service for those who say they’re into open marriages, but later turn out to be less enthusiastic when they get moved to the back burner for a younger sex toy?) Look at internet news. You have the CNN, the BBC, and yet people read Matt Drudge on purpose. Just saying, sometimes people want to specialize.

- You delete anything that isn’t porn, advertising, or one member calling another member a “faggot retard.” If you are deleting things because someone posts that such and such a decision is “poorly thought out,” you are too sensitive and need to not be online. Ever. Read the rest of this entry »

When you say that the ideal candidate has nine years of experience and will be responsible for your online message, your product’s online look and feel, your communication with customers, your first contact with disgruntled customers, a team of not less than two other people and possibly a dozen, contributing to your marketing strategy, managing live events, and building global partnerships…

…you cannot seriously think you’ll only pay that person fifty fucking grand a year.

This list does not replace sensible exit polling, quit surveys, thoughtful CSRs, or community people. This isn’t just about games. This could apply to any product or service, to the point that I remember seeing similar principles in b-school textbooks. Also, if anything on this list is a shock or a surprise to anyone who has been in the workforce more than a year, kittens will be killed, drowned by the tears of the baby Jesus. I am blogging this only because I have managed to be trapped in a conversation on this topic TWICE since the year began. Twice, people. That’s embarrassing for everyone involved.

People quit games, products, services and relationships because:

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This exercise is taking place entirely inside my head, since I don’t know any software company that actually does it this way. Also, since this is MY dream, everything has been set up for the convenience and peace of mind of a community weenie. But I admit… I’m being a bit disingenuous when I say that. See the question at the very bottom of this post.

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I really hate the term “in real life.” It’s commonly used to denote an activity or a relationship that occurs offline. But the term marginalizes we who enjoy online pursuits, as much as “girl gamer” makes an ordinary person with flaws and strengths into a circus freak. If a real person is doing it, then whatever he’s doing is happening in real life.

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I wound up on four panels at AGC. One of them was an accident. On the website, I was on two, and in the program, I was on… a different two. Oh, well. We don’t go to AGC for the rational planning. Hell, community is lumped in with marketing according to the people who nominally run this drunken orgy. (Incidentally, the way marketing and community fight for the same resources - resources they MUST use towards different ends in order to succeed - is how I got the word “cock” into the microphone. I referred to this scenario as a “total cock-up.” And no one would have realized it was part of a bet if the entire panel hadn’t started laughing. Well, that, and if Certain People hadn’t been holding up signs that said things like “SAY COCK! YAY FOR COCK! YOU ROCK AND THAT RHYMES WITH…”) But I digress. The following is taken from my notes for one of the panels (Community 101).

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Man. I’ve been either on the road or typing for a month now. Three random thoughts before I get back to posting:

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