The Generalist

TripIt!

In week 2, I'm exceedingly glad I joined the TripIt team. The product is awsome, this launch we're working on is going to be a game changer - travel will be more fun,  and more social, than ever. And I'll be able to compete at who amongst my highly competitive friends travels most.

Can't wait to see what comes next - and to make it happen.

Regret

Went to the San Fran Music Tech Summit today, on behalf of good ol' Audible Magic. Great conference - always thrilled to be there. Pity, all of those NDAs that I'm covered by, or I'd be able to offer some color commentary.

I went to the last conference they threw, also at Hotel Kabuki, right after I started at Audible Magic, and I'll admit - I had low expectations. Til it blew me away. When do you get to grab an unplanned lunch with someone from a company that just acquired another company, someone from the acquired company,  and be the third piece of the puzzle yourself? The sessions weren't bad, either.

Fast forward to today, and I can actually say I regret not going to a conference event. Usually I'm the guy who either flits in and out, or sits in the back pounding on his blackberry and/or laptop, totally oblivious of his surroundings, until cocktail hour (which, for anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, always starts about half an hour before they say it does on the schedule, if you're nice to the staff). But today was different.

I was captivated by the discussion between Fred Von Lohmann of EFF and Zahavah Levine of YouTube, and a few other people, on the subject of copyright issues in music law. It was awesome. You'd think that after this long in online media I'd know that stuff cold. I do. But I feel like most of that coldness came from today.

So what's to regret? Thanks to work, I had to peace out midday - halfway through the social networks and music panel, and it helped that it didn't seem great - but then again I only lasted for four minutes of it, and I was pounding away on the blackberry for 3.5 of them, until I realized I had to go anyway. So perhaps I judged too quickly. But the regret - the regret.

Tim Ferriss, who wrote "The Four Hour Work Week", was interviewed by Derek Sivers of CD Baby, after I left. Wish I had been there for that. I actually regret it.

I was reading about his diet... the slow carb diet. I happen to know one or two things about diets, and I'm in pretty good shape. Not insane shape, but pretty good shape. The knowledge he has of diets, nutrition, etc. (you've got to read at least a few of the 800+ comments to get a sense for the depth of it) is astounding. If he approaches everything in life with that kind of intensity (which he seems to) he's on his way to being downright wise. Like I said: impressed, and I regret not being there for it.

Finally! Yahoo does something good for a change!

After some kind of long overdue divine intervention, Yahoo! finally did it.Having once met Lloyd Braun and witnessed the purest of idiocy, I wondered why he was still there. Reason: he was Terry's friend. Which then made me wonder why Terry was there. Terry being around for so long (whatever they were paying him) made me wonder why the board was still there.

And then there was last week's WSJ article (no link 'cause it's subscription required) and like that, he's gone!

"A" for conclusion, "F" for effort

Facebook is going to kick ass Google-style.

'nuff said.

The web spectrum

There are two intersecting continuums on the internet. The first, primary axis is the range from broadcast (e.g. NYT online) to community (e.g., Facebook). On the broadcast end, nearly 100% of a site's content is created by that site; in the case of the NYT the only thing that isn't are "letters to the editor". The opposite of course is the Facebook, where nearly 100% of the site's content is created by the community. MySpace has been drifting away from community towards broadcast, as has YouTube (if it every really had "community" to begin with).

Digg, Yardbarker and other sites like them, curiously, fit in the middle of this spectrum. The content is added by the community and chosen by the community, but it has a pedigree more like that of broadcast editorial.

At this strange middle comes another, perpendicular axis: aggregation vs. niche. The ultimate aggregator is Google, taking content in on literally every conceivable subject and letting users filter to find what they like. The ultimate niche sites cater to only a handful of people - perhaps a family home page, with a maximum audience (barring newsworthy family drama) in the single or low double digits (I offer no comment on that last link, by the way). What the niche site lacks in broad appeal it makes up for in specificity. My axes may have to bend a little here... is an individual Facebook or MySpace page - or Dabble user page - a niche site?

More on this later...

The Third Place Online

It's been a while - perhaps too long - since I pontificated. Thanks, Jack, for pointing that out.

I read an interesting WSJ article on whether or not the "third place" can be a place online. Like the famous Starbucks analogy (apparently it wasn't Howard Schultz but rather Ray Oldenburg, a sociology professor, who came up with it) we have our work and our homes, but both are stratified and stressful. Where do we go to relax? Starbucks' answer was, the coffee shop. Some would probably suggest a bar, or maybe a gym. Jason Fry suggests we should also consider places online to be the third place people go to to get away.

It's so obvious it's almost self-evident.

But then again, I read an analyst report where the analyst said that video games are escapist, and therefore Electronic Arts, Activision and the gaming industry in general wouldn't do well, because things in America are so great people don't need any escape. Hey, dude - whatever you're smoking, please pass it to the right!

So back to online. Perhaps, as my friend Blair has always said, video games really are "digital crack" cocaine, but they do fill that void. You don't have to be tall, short, male, female, smart, dumb, or anything else - you can choose from the outset what to be. Of course, if you're stupid, you probably won't ever amount to much. And if you're not a risk-taking leader type of person, you'll end up begging your friends for tips. But those people online, they're real people. It doesn't matter how smart you are, some of them are at least as smart as you - and they might beat you, if you don't really try.

The situation is different for websites, and social activity that draws on the real world. Take Yardbarker, a great site if you're a sports fan. Not just an armchair sports fan, though - a hardcore, bleed-the-color-orange sports fan. Let's face it, even if you own the team, you're only a skosh more important than any one of the other 60,000 people in a stadium (except, of course, if you're a player and at work). And for the other 59,999, season tickets, luxury box, whatever - you're still at someone else's show. That kind of escapism - for the president and a carpenter to have a burger off of the tailgate of a car - is the kind of thing that keeps the fabric of regular society functioning. It's great that that can happen online, too. Just remember: online and off, i'm an amateur chef. So don't take my advice there too seriously. And, try though I might, I'll never achieve "hardcore" status in videogaming. Even in Mortal Kombat (damnit, Jon Delshad!).

Are we doing something right at Dabble?

Having been at Dabble for 10 weeks I'm pretty used to surprises. But today is different.

Yesterday our alexa numbers were going nuts. Tons of new people checking out the site, poking around, finding some cool online videos. But today's Alexa numbers are even more nuts. It's making it hard to focus on actually getting stuff done!

Anyway, to the five of you who read my blog every day (it's down from a high of over 10, one day, back in August or September) just know that I can get people to check out a website, even if it isn't my own.

Dabble Challenge starts today!

Dabble's hosting a cool contest - somebody will win every day all month long, and a couple people will win big - $500 or a video iPod.

Check out the dabble site at noon today for more info!

Does Entellium use CRM?

Here at Dabble we're shopping for decent CRM. Seems like there are only really three options out there - Salesforce, SugarCRM, and Entellium. (Forget Siebel.)

We all know trusty, dusty Salesforce. It has issues, but it gets the job done. And the sales guys there are top notch. The community is also nice to have around, though most in it want to be paid. Given that Sugar is, well, free, it has a certain appeal to a cash-deprived start up, too, especially as we're a software company and wouldn't have too much trouble managing our own instance, rather than using the hosted Salesforce-style operation. So far, fairly straightforward. But then there's Entellium.

Entellium is harder to pin down. Their website is downright awful. A complete waste of everyone's time and money. It teaches a prospective customer nothing, and would be better if it were simply a blank page with their logo and an 800 number.

Wanting to make a good decision, I went out of my way to call them and set up a demo. Someone (I forget now who, exactly) said that the product was the best of the three. We scheduled a time, and then they screwed it up and we had to reset a time because they wrote it down wrong. Then someone else called or emailed to "schedule" the already scheduled demo, later last week. Then this morning, the morning of the scheduled demo, an entelium "consultant", Lee, woke me up at 7:30AM on my cell phone to schedule the same demo for a third time, and sent an email asking me what I needed CRM for - and inspired me to cancel the demo and never speak with them again. I wondered as I lay in bed at 7:31 if entellium even used CRM. They must not.

Anyway, I reprint the email exchange below because it's a fantastic read. Seriously. Who trains these salespeople? If I wasn't so totally blase about this and their miserable company I'd put some effort into getting Lee fired - along with whoever trained him, whoever manages him and probably the VP of Sales and Marketing, as well, who must be totally incompetent. Apart from wondering whether entellium uses CRM in its own sales process, the whole experience also made me wonder: did the ex-VP of Marketing at Friendster end up at entellium?

Feel free to email your thoughts directly to Lee, by the way. And, it makes more sense if you read bottom-up.

From: Sang-Do Lee [mailto:lee@entellium.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 10:51 AM
To:

alex@dabble.com

Subject: RE: Entellium CRM Demonstration

 

Dear Alex,

 

Apologies for the misunderstandings.  The number you gave us from the initial phone in was your mobile number.  Going forward, please specify the correct number to reach you, not only with us but anyone else your prospecting with.  7:30AM?  Most successful business that we talk to are up and running at 6AM, M-F, and connected to an office land line.  Sincere apologies again. 

 

As requested, I will take you off our database.  However, I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt and if you can do the same for me to start over.  I truly would like to help you find exactly what you are looking for in a CRM. 

 

If no response from this email, you will no longer be contacted,

 

Sincerely,

Lee

 

Sang-Do Lee  |  CRM Consultant

206.245.2327 - Phone

lee@entellium.com

206.262.9554 - Fax

 Powerfully Simple CRM™

Rave Reviews  |  Executive Blog  |  Think Outside the Browser

---

From: Alex Shartsis [mailto:

alex@dabble.com

]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 10:08 AM
To: Sang-Do Lee
Subject: RE: Entellium CRM Demonstration

 

You really, really need to work on your own sales process. Do you know you called my cell phone at 7:30 in the morning today?

 

Forget about the demo. We already scheduled it – twice – for the same time. It’s ridiculous that you’re asking me to schedule it again. Does your company even use CRM software? I’ve also answered your questions below already, on my first phone call. I’m so unimpressed with your company that I find it hard to believe you have any idea what CRM software looks like.

 

Please delete all of my information and my company’s information from your database, and never contact us again.

 

Sincerely,

 

Alex

___________________________________

Head of Business Development

alex@dabble.com

---

From: Sang-Do Lee [mailto:lee@entellium.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 7:38 AM
To:

alex@dabble.com

Subject: Entellium CRM Demonstration

 

Dear Alex,

Hope your having a great day!  I am following up to the voice that I just left and your request to schedule a personalized demo.  Please budget one hour and let me know when would be a great time and date for you.  My contact is below. 

Also, what are your Top 3 CRM needs?

1. 

2. 

3. 

Thank you!

Best Regards,

Sincerely,

 

Lee  |  CRM Consultant

206.245.2327 - Phone

lee@entellium.com

206.262.9554 - Fax

Friendster Irony

Imagine my suprise when I found my self paddling along in a kayak next to Friendster's new Product Manager one nice Saturday morning two weeks ago. The sheer randomness and irony of it. Friendster, apparently is doing well. I won't say more than that, or color my comment in any way.

Meanwhile my college emailed me - Friends of Dartmouth Rowing, actually - to say they're ready to push for more and better involvement. I suggested they check out TypePad and get a blog. This whole blog thing is awesome. What other way can you connect with everyone you need to, in a custom format etc. for $15 a month? Or for free if you don't mind Google. This is the future.