This is a screenshot from the game Mass Effect 2. The game was a revelation for me because it reminded me of something I knew, but forgot along the way. See the blue and red bars? The blue bars are paragon points, for being good in the game. The red bars are renegade points, for being bad in the game. In most games, there is one bar showing the total of good and bad (completely hiding bad actions if there were more good actions).

Life does not work that way.

No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and most mistakes should not follow someone forever. In Mass Effect 2, they make it very clear which actions are good and which ones are bad. The player makes the choice to do bad. When I first started playing Mass Effect, I didn’t like two bars. I wanted my paragon bar to be maxed with no renegade because I wanted a “good” character (note her name – Angel). As I played the game, there were situations where I wanted to do the renegade action. For example, a bartender tried to poison my character. Going back and confronting the bartender was clearly marked as a renegade action (which I did). It became clear I had to make a choice: either play the game making decisions I did not like to have full paragon points or I played the game that would be most fun (or made the most sense) to me and have renegade points. You can see what I did.

Real life is the same way.

Goody two shoes…

No matter how good someone tries to be, they’ll end up doing something “bad”. I consider myself “good” but I still do “bad” things, depending on the situation. If someone steps to me wrong, I am not going to be a “good little girl” and take it because I believe people treat you the way you allow them to treat you. The truth: most people know when they are doing a renegade action and they have an idea, if found out, how “bad” the outcome would be. When people talk negatively online about their jobs, they have a pretty good idea that there would be a price to pay if the co-workers they were talking about read what they said. It’s cowardly, to go online and vent instead of speaking up. However, people do it every day and people get fired for it every day. Why? People foolishly believe they will not get caught. This does not change the action of saying something behind someone’s back being a renegade action.

The goodest of the good do bad things. Do you go over the speed limit? Never tell a lie? Pay all of your bills on time? Always keep your word? Ever go over budget or over spend? There are renegade actions littered within good actions. The good actions do not make up or take away the renegade (bad) ones.

The goal to recovering from mistakes

The goal is simple, right? A person should have more paragon (good) actions than renegade (bad) actions. There is one problem: doing good does not equate to wiping away the bad. You cannot change your story, you cannot re-write history, you cannot change your past. Many people do something good to receive the benefit of clouding the bad action. For example, an employee might seem to be hard working but that is only because the worker is trying to cover the lie told that the project was further along than normal. Or a cheating spouse might get a gift for their mate to ease their guilt.

The key to recovering from a mistake is doing good; expecting nothing in return.

Doing something for the benefit of receiving something in return is not a good action; it’s a manipulative act to get your way. This is why many people fail to recover from big mistakes; their intent was not sincere. They end up reverting to the old behaviors because nothing changed, outside of getting caught.

Going back to Daniel’s situation, to recover he’d first have to sincerely apologize. Most people did not accept the statement as being sorry for what he did. However, the apology should happen when he has changed and it would bother him not to apologize, not to get in anyone’s good graces. He would also return any items he might have received in exchanged for writing the articles, especially since those articles were deleted. Keeping the merchandise (if he received any) would bother him if he sincerely changed. Eventually, doing “good” things for the right reasons (if he sincerely changes), people will leave the past in the past. The motivations behind the good actions are pure and non-selfish.

When trust is broken it takes time. There is no rushing the healing process and no guarantee the trust can be rebuilt. The best option is to not take the renegade actions unless you’re sure you can live with the outcome.

Edit: Daniel did an interview. Note how he talks as if he still works at TechCrunch in the beginning. Note he dodges with the details with what happened with the solicitation of items in exchange for articles. Personally, I think Daniel should have kept his mouth shut. So much for Andrew helping to build the kid up. Let me be clear on this: Andrew keeps asking Daniel what happened with his “exclusive” interview. /smh Doing this interview proves Daniel is too wet behind the ears to be in tech. It pains me to watch this video. On the real.

There is another article about the behaviors of the tech scene by Loren. He makes a good point about the parents making the decision on who their son is around professionally.

Daniel Brusilovsky is a 17-year old entrepreneur and student residing in the Silicon Valley. Daniel has been producing media content online since February 2007, and has hosted numerous podcasts along the way.

Daniel is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Teens in Tech Networks, a company that provides a suite of products to enable the youth to post their content online, as well as collaborate and interact with others. Teens in Tech Networks was founded in February 2008, and currently has 16 employees worldwide.

Sounds like Daniel has a good start going for him, doesn’t it? Matter of fact, the Teens in Tech conference starts today. Unfortunately, for Daniel, he made a big mistake:

On Monday evening I received a phone call from someone I trust who told me that one of our interns had asked for compensation in exchange for a blog post. Specifically, this intern had allegedly asked for a Macbook Air in exchange for a post about a startup.

After an investigation we determined that the allegation was true. In fact, on at least one other occasion this intern was almost certainly given a computer in exchange for a post.

The intern in question has admitted to some of the allegations, and has denied others. We suspended this person while we were sorting through exactly what happened. When it became clear yesterday that there was no question that this person had requested, and in one case taken, compensation for a post, the intern was terminated.

Daniel potentially blew his career for a Macbook Air. You’d think, since his business employs 16 people, he could easily afford a Macbook Air. You’d also think he’d know better than to use his valuable TechCrunch connection to receive goods in exchange for entries. You’d think his ethics would be stronger than that. I know, he’s a kid right? Kids make mistakes. This “kid” is an entrepreneur holding conferences and employing people. Step into the adult ring with his actions, he doesn’t get to pull the “I’m a kid” card. If he’s a “kid” he shouldn’t be CEO, should he? That is an adult position and he was punished as an adult. He was terminated, all this entries were deleted, and although not named in the entry initially, people figured out who the intern was, and the entry was edited to include a link to Daniel’s apology. I’m not buying the apology.

In some way or another, a line was crossed that should have never been. At this time, I do not want to go into details, but I will publicly say that I am truly sorry to my family, friends, TechCrunch, and especially the tech community.

He did not take responsibility for what he did. He did not admit what he did. How can someone be sincerely sorry without owning up for what they did? Sorry he was busted…no doubt. Sorry for what he did? It’s not showing in his apology entry. I wonder if the people at TechCrunch believes his apology. The timing of the exposure is perfect. TechCrunch could have waited until after the conference to expose Daniel. Let me be clear, I’m glad they didn’t, because this is part of the learning experience. Daniel betrayed people who trusted him and misused his authority. It is fitting he has to deal with his betrayal during his tech conference, just as an adult would, but what about after the conference? How does one recover from a big screw up like this?

The Recovery

Personally, I think Daniel needs to leave tech alone. His ethics do not match what is needed in the industry for success. People don’t change overnight. If he tried to receive a Macbook Air, there are probably other areas where he crossed the line ethically. Getting caught doesn’t change the way a person thinks, often it just makes them smarter in how they break the rules.

Let’s say the goal is to stay in technology, how does one recover? It’s a lengthy process. One Google search will always bring up what Daniel did, which is why he has to own up to it to atone. Talking about what he did, using himself as an example on how easy it can be to cross the line, and showing his process of moving forward will slowly gain respect from his readers. Honestly, many teens and adults would cross the line. Just because an opportunity for success arises does not mean the person is ready to maintain the success. Daniel had an opportunity, he blew it, and would have to earn it back by rebuilding the trust he broke. Talking about the situation over time would eventually over-shadow the news about his mistake. There is one caveat.

He can never screw up like this again.

If he makes another ethical mistake, it would be much worse as the previous mistake would arise along with the current one. Doing nothing means the mistake will always follow him. Atoning means his ethics changed, and that takes time to prove. If he thinks he can “be a kid” and come back later to the industry, he’s mistaken. This will always follow him and will be like a thorn in his side unless he deals with it.

This method works because each city is independent of each other. The city itself has different price variables, for example taxes. The cost of doing business in the upper scale cities will be higher; therefore, the prices will be higher to make up the difference. If you think about it, not only are taxes, products and services higher so are salaries. Each city has its own economy.

Online activities do not have distinct locations like cities unless they are closed communities. For example, if a community had an income requirement and, based on that income requirement, set their prices. What I often see are business owners giving people two different prices based on their perceived income for the same product or service. In most cases, the company owner does not have higher overhead to account for to justify the higher prices.

You realize how and why that can fail miserably, right?

Share and share alike

This is The Share Era. People go online and share their experiences about everything…even things it might be wiser to keep private. If an online business owner is offering a product or service it would be wise to keep in mind that people talk, and scaling up (depending on the product or service) might hinder the ability for growth. People can share negative experiences just as easily as sharing positive experiences. Ironically, people tend to share the things they don’t like before sharing the things that please them.

Pricing by income for an online product or service would mean making many assumptions on the business owner’s part. Even if the business owner was accurate, is it a wise thing to do? For example, I am often quoted a higher price for things because the assumption is that I am rich (I’m not). Most times, I recognize the higher price and rarely, do I feel the extra price is worth it. I’m not getting a better product, I’m getting the same product for a higher price. I could see if they played the celebrity method…charge higher and give better service. I’m paying three times more, put me at the front of the list (if only to get the money faster). Give me a better warranty. Give me a reason to pay more. In the celebrity world, they pay more for better service attached to the same products and services. Greedy business owners don’t think that way. They think client with money = their potential to make more without giving more.

Let’s say I take the higher price, I’m pleased with the work, and I recommend the company to my online friends. My friends will ask me how much I paid and what service(s) came with the product or service. I tell them the price I paid – the higher price. What if I make more than my friends (especially since most online “friends” are strangers)? My friends won’t use the company because their prices are too expensive. If the company approaches my friends with cheaper prices, that opens the door to alienate their high paying client. If I find out about it, and I most likely will, that’s a wonderful blog entry, isn’t it? How I was charged more because of the assumption I make more. Without extras to fall back on, my point would be easily proven. The door is also open for competing companies to approach my friends, and myself, with lower prices and more service.

Think this doesn’t happen? Wrong. It happens daily. Every day on Twitter I see people sharing their experience, it gets re-tweeted away outside their friend circle, and someone comes up saying something like, “Wow, I only paid $500. Sucks to be them!” and eventually someone clues in the original poster about the price difference. Or, after sharing their experience, someone will say, “You can get a better deal going with XYZ” which is another “friend” sharing their positive experience. Of course, once the knowledge is out the company owner charges based on biases, who is going to want to accept the higher (artificially inflated) price?

What to do?

Depending on the product or service, I recommend pricing by the hour or service. Make sure all the variables are including in the hourly/service price. If a product takes a similar amount of time, the price will be similar and not dependent on the income of the purchaser. This way, if I recommend the company, my friends will lesser incomes (or higher incomes) can get a similar deal with a similar level of service. The sharing level is equal and has more potential for growth. Also, it makes it easier for consumers to scale up or down the price. Maybe they don’t need as much or need much more. The negotiation doors are open without affecting previous or future customers.

Basing business decisions on greed will usually lead you down the wrong path.

The iPad is perfect for her. It does exactly what she needs. It will let her watch movies and listen to music and read books on long flights. It will make using a computer fun instead of an annoying chore.

But it also won’t allow her to install umpteen news and weather gadgets that start up on boot and slow her computer to a crawl. It won’t suddenly forget how to talk to a network, or get so confused by all of the software installs and uninstalls that you finally have to break down and reinstall the system from scratch. In other words, my mother’s next computer is going to be an iPad, and I dream of the day when I can finally throw off the oppressive chains of being the one guy in the family who knows how to actually keep a computer working.

Translation: He’s getting his Mom an iPad because it’s more convenient for him. He will no longer have the burden of being the one to fix the family computers.

When I read that I cringed. Actually, I thought, “What an ungrateful asshole” and I left it alone. Seeing more responses like his and remembering pain from disloyalty I went through, I decided to write about the ungrateful disrespecting behavior I’ve noticed lately. And before you tell me, “Tyme, he probably didn’t mean it that way…”

Research: Am I the only one?

I wanted to know how others felt about the article. I asked people their opinion about the article without stating my thoughts. First, I asked my kids. My daughter’s jaw dropped and my son gave his WTF eyebrow arch when they got to “oppressive chains” part. Then I asked them what they thought about it. They both said they didn’t have to worry about having to fix my computer because I build my own computers. Besides that, they thought the point of giving a gift is giving the person what is TRULY best for the receiver, not what is convenient for the giver.

Next, I moved on to my friends, who said they would never put something like that in writing about their Moms. It’s a disrespect and a sign of disloyalty. They would be afraid their mothers would read it and it would hurt her feelings. By this point I became curious about the disconnect and wanted to push the boundaries further.

Armed with my iPhone, I asked some ghetto kids (maybe 15-20 in age) how they felt about the article. Yes, they looked at me kind of funny but I told them it was research. Similar reactions. They did not fix family computers but they understood what it was like to be the only one in the family that could fix cars, fix things around the house, understand technology…the parallels are the same (actually, fixing cars is worse than fixing a computer). They knew what it was like to have people always come to them, when they could handle it themselves even if it meant paying for it. However, they all said if their mothers needed something, they had no problem. Some shared stories on hard how their Moms had it being single parents or how much their parents sacrificed for them. They might not be the best kids (they admit that) but if their parents need something, they get it, inconvenient or not.

Since I wanted to go to the mall, I decided to hit the suburbs and ask around there. Different target group. Recharged the iPhone and went to work. This time I asked kids, some with their parents, to read the article and express their thoughts. Let’s just say the parents weren’t pleased at being “a burden” but the kids had the same attitude expressed in the article. The parents would joke, “I can’t wait until I am released from the oppressive chains of having to be a limo service for you” or something like that but the WTF look was on their face. One father said to his son, “Nice to know how loyal you are.” The kid didn’t get it…too busy complaining (bragging?) about being the tech whiz in the house.

The last test group: older mothers. Still in the suburbs, I went to a different mall – where the more mature crowd hangs out. I always feel undressed going there. Anyway, I looked for wedding rings, prayed they had some kids, and did the same thing. These women were more than happy to talk. See, parents are wise and they know when their kids feel they are a burden. Many hate to ask. Reading the article they expressed their disdain in knowing all the sacrifices they made and all the hard work they put into trying to raise their children right…and that’s the result? It’s a pain in the ass to fix the computer? It was a pain in the ass to save for their college education – why not pay that money back? Or the contribution to the weddings. Free babysitting. They had a nice long list too but one thing was very clear: it would hurt them if their child bought them an iPad not because it was the best option for her, instead it was the easiest way of getting out of fixing computers.

Another interesting tidbit: some of the mothers were not computer savvy, but some were slowly learning. The ones more advanced said the iPad was too limiting. They can’t video Skype with their grandchildren because the iPad doesn’t have a camera. Picture sharing isn’t as easy either. They prefer reading paper bound books, for the experience, and adding the books to their libraries. Some like playing games on Facebook. Their point: as they learned to do more on the internet, they do not want to be confined.

More examples…

I had my own experience with ungratefulness and disloyalty which cause me to open my eyes and question how I was treating the people in my life and how they were treating me.

I had a friend, let’s name him Andy who, at the time, I’d known three or four years. Platonic friendship, we went through a lot together as life tends to throw hurdles when we least expect it. He went through some hard times, it seemed one bad thing after another. I knew he wasn’t doing the best he could, I knew he had the potential to be more than he was, I knew he lied to try to hide he wasn’t doing the best he could, I hoped that one day he would sincerely want to do better. I also knew, from experience, he was at the “screw up” age – the prime age to screw up, get it over with, and move on to a better life. Better to screw up earlier than later in life when the price is higher. I tried to be a loyal friend. No matter what was going on he didn’t have to question whether, if he needed me, if I would help him out. There were two instances when I said, “I can’t do this” because, frankly, I would have been an idiot to do it…anyone would have.

Andy met a girl and after a month or so, felt she was “The One”. Sort of, because he didn’t treat this girl very well initially. I warned him he’d lose this girl if he kept it up. I guess he lost the girl then did what guys typically do, he wanted her back. Which, of course, leads to the “making it up to her, jumping through hoops” stage. During this time I noticed my friendship with Andy changed dramatically, even mentioned it to the guy I was seeing at the time. I became the person he spoke to only if a problem arose. I didn’t understand why, wondered what I’d done…until recently. While gaming with friends, the guys were casually talking about the things guys do jumping through hoops for women that, in the end, were a waste of time. During that conversation, I saw very clearly what happened between Andy and I. He must of told the girl some of the times I helped him out, instead of being grateful he had a friend who had his back, she became jealous (maybe hurt he lied to her) and I got the shaft. A woman Andy knew for a couple of months wiped out and was more important than the three to four years of loyalty I consistently showed. If I was the girl, my response would have been, “Andy, I’m glad you have a friend that supports you. I’d like to meet her one day. But, we need to deal with our problems as a couple…” Given the fact that she benefited by my actions and I tried to help HER out by telling HIM to straighten up (literally, I put my foot down but, behind my back (and hers), he still did what he promised he would not do – so much for really liking that girl, right?), I didn’t take the realization very well. My heart broke like glass. Especially since that opened my eyes to other betrayals that fit together like pieces to a puzzle. For some reason Andy holds on to screwed up people and lets go those who are truly loyal.

Look around the internet and you’ll see people reveal things that will make you wonder what type of person they really are. People who, literally, love technology more than their spouses. People who aren’t trying to “network” with people because they feel they legitimately have something in common; instead, they attract because of what they feel they can gain from the people they are attempting to connect to (without giving something in return, of course). An alarming amount of people openly complain about their jobs yet, if they lost the job, would be broke (we won’t get into they could change their job). It’s odd how people don’t appreciate what they have, seek more, and slide into unsavory behaviors treating people in a way they most likely would not want to be treated themselves.

Not long after that, my Mom passed away.

My Mom and her computers

I had a different attitude about Mom and computers. I wanted her to experience everything the internet had to offer, if she wanted to. I got her top of the line computers. I taught her how to use them. Did I occasionally have to fix her computer? Sure. Did she learn how to fix many of those issues herself (and how to avoid them)? Over time, she did, because I taught her. The benefit? I had the pleasure of her interacting on the forums with me and in comments. My readers had the opportunity to learn from her, interact with her and have fun with her. She watched my online business and sites change and evolve. I laughed with her every day, even when she was sick. Before she died, the image of her I have: smiling. Saying she loved me. I can still feel my lips on her face and I remember how her hands felt in mine.

I’m grateful that, not once, did I feel the “oppressive chains” of fixing her computer.

And I’m especially proud I was loyal, grateful, and appreciative until the end. I’m glad I didn’t become selfish and opt not to get her top of the line computers because it would have been an inconvenience to me. Do people go overboard asking for free help with their computers? No doubt, but I think it is twisted when people place their parents in that category, considering how much our parents sacrificed to help us be the people we are today. In most cases, if they could do better, they would. Educate them instead of punishing them.

Check yourself

Take a look at the people in your life. Are you treating them the way they deserve to be treated or are you treating them what is convenient for you? Are you showing your appreciation to the people in your life? Are you becoming selfish and ungrateful to those who have earned your loyalty? Do you have your priorities straight?

Get it together.

One more rant about the article…

And you know what? There are millions upon millions of people just like her out there. They outnumber us. And they finally have a chance to become productive, self-sufficient computer users instead of constantly asking family members to fix their computers or, even worse, keeping the Geek Squad in business.

• Parents don’t outnumber kids. How did that happen since parents die off at a fast rate? Look at the census numbers. Ages 0-64 beats 65+.
• Youth outnumbers older adults. The kids coming up today start being power users at a young age.
• The iPad is NOT being marketed as a computer but you can sync a computer to it.

Inconsistency = Not Good

I find a headline that sounds interesting. I go to the web site. The site name is ISeeYou (I just made that up) all as one word. However, go to the bottom of the page, next to the copyright date, it says I See You. I look on the RSS feed, it says I See You. Another example, another imaginary web site with the name widgetri in lower case letters. On the footer, it says Widgetri. Which one is the correct one? Who knows? I tend to use whatever is on the footer or the RSS feed. If that’s the wrong, I don’t want to hear about it. Make a decision and stick with it.

Why is this important? One of the goals of brand identity is for large numbers of people to have the same image of a company. Same name, same logo, same impression. Since today is Apple Day, let’s use Apple as an example. They use the bitten apple as their logo, their name is Apple, and they are known for quality hardware. It is widely felt that without Apple’s brand, the company would not survive. That their loyal users are not loyal to the products, they are loyal to the Apple brand. This seems to be true. The tablet hasn’t been formally announced yet people are waiting in anticipation and are begging their spouses to allow them to purchase one. One can’t have loyalty to a product they’ve never seen, never used and hasn’t been released.

One other big difference

Many of the large companies that are not consistent (for example is it Walmart or Wal-Mart?) started prior to the internet, meaning print media prevailed. Wal-Mart Inc. is the company name and at one time their logos reflected the hyphen. When the internet became popular, Wal-Mart had a problem. People would go to walmart.com instead of wal-mart.com and there was inconsistency with the branding. They refreshed their logo to Walmart. They are consistent in using Walmart when referring to their brand and Wal-Mart when referring to their corporate name.

You aren’t one of the big guys

Big companies have already established their brand. Nike can get away with doing NIKE and everyone knows it’s Nike and the swoosh image. Best Buy can have a logo in caps and everyone knows it is Best Buy. There is only one Nike and only one Best Buy. These companies started their brands when print media was the only option. Today, millions of people have blogs and companies want people to share their experiences with products and services on their blogs and social media profiles. Unless a site has spent the money to globally lock down their brand, odds are there is (or will be) another site or company with the same name. Owning the domain name is not enough protection against that. Widgetri could have a highly popular blog at widgetri.wordpress.com when someone else owns widgetri.com. What will set them apart? What they offer and their brands.

Keep it simple

Pick how you want your company name displayed and stick with it. If you use lower case, be consistent. If you make the name all one word, keep it that way. Just because you see other sites being inconsistent doesn’t mean their decision is a smart one. This is the age of sharing online and social networking. When it comes to your brand, especially to avoid legal issues, be consistent not only with your marketing but with the quality of products and services you provide.

Or not. You’re probably not meant to have brand loyalty like Apple anyway.

• By purchasing the download edition of the game, I miss the inconvenience of having to physically pick up the game or have it delivered.
• I have to download the game, and there is no guarantee how long it will take to download it. To me, that balances out physically picking it up.
• I’d start downloading the game at 12:01am.
• Worst case scenario: it takes all night to download but when I get up in the morning (or sometime in the morning), I’m in Mass Effect 2 happily playing the game.

That’s not what is happening.

What really happens?

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I could pre-load the game. Meaning, I could download the game early. Whomever thought of this was brilliant. I cannot play the game early but the downloads were spread over a couple of days versus madness on launch day. A good number of people have already downloaded the game and troubleshooted issues they had downloading the files.

The game does not unlock at midnight. According to the countdown counters on their site, the regular edition unlocks at around 1pm EST and the DDE (which costs $10 more than the regular edition) unlocks around 5pm EST. I looked at the page perplexed because that makes no sense. The people who paid more, one would think, would have quicker access to the game. One of the selling points for the DDE could have been the additional items and access to the game four hours earlier. I have no doubts that people more people would have purchased the DDE if only for early access. Perplexed, I looked on the Stream site to see if there was a way to upgrade my account to a premium account to receive games early. Nope.

Essentially, people who spent more money on the game are being penalized for doing so. By 5pm EST I could have had the game delivered and received it. Not.

I usually purchase from EB Games/GameStop and for the most part, I usually have the game on launch day. It ships, overnight delivery, the day before. Not Mass Effect 2. It ships on the launch day so customers wouldn’t receive the game until the 27th. Why? Because of the midnight launch. They prefer people come into the store.

It’s only a couple of hours…

This is true, it is only a four hour difference. And let’s be honest, what are the odds after tomorrow I’m going to care about the four hour difference? I’ll happily be playing Mass Effect 2, right?

I’ll remember the next time I want to order a game.

I understand that they wanted to stagger the number of people logging in to reduce loads on the server. I understand that companies providing digital downloads have to come second to retailers. What I don’t understand is why people who paid more for the game have to wait four hours to play it?

The publisher sets the release times, not Steam. The publisher set the times this way to encourage people to come into the store so they can sell more retail copies. As it is now, if this is their normal practice one would have to weigh if the extra items in game (which might be downloadable content, who knows?) is not only worth the extra cost but the extra wait.

Why does this matter?

Many companies are happy to get a sale. What I’m seeing here are retailers trying to dictate how the product is sold. Regardless of whether there is a midnight launch or not, ship the game so the customer receives it at launch. The customer is paying the extra shipping. Instead, they opened hours early (or stayed open late) to have people come to the store and purchase the game. I’d love to see the cost difference – which is more, people ordering and processing the shipped games or having stores open longer to sell games?

On the digital side, taking a back seat to retailers, they’ll restrict the number of installs, delay the release times, etc. which hinders the customer. Yes, they have to battle piracy but let’s remember, the game leaked early. The people who legitimately purchased the game didn’t leak it because they don’t have it yet! In either case the sale is no longer good enough.

The end result…

Even though there were different times stated on the game page, both editions opened up at 1pm EST. As I am writing this, the game is decrypting (about 51% complete). There were many responses in the Steam forums about the different launch times, confusion about whether the DDE actually unlocked four hours after the regular edition. Gamers are emotional about their games so I was surprised that no one from Stream responded in the forums. A simple explanation pinned to the top of the forums would have stopped a lot of the bitter angry (and confused) feelings people had.

Will I order from Steam again? Yes, because 1pm EST unlock is reasonable to me. However, I really miss the convenience and ease of pre-ordering and you just get the game, no questions, no hassle. Those were the good ole days.

And with that, I’m outta here cause my game is done. Deuce!

What are Marvin’s options?

Marvin has a gaming site, focusing on console and PC platforms. Marvin’s site is similar to GameSpot, JoyStiq or Kotaku. Marvin’s site is thriving. He creates quality content and his traffic numbers were increasing. In this area, he did the right thing. Let’s be honest – most sites never make it this far. To monetize his site, Marvin needs to be able to give advertisers a return on their investment (ROI) on their console and PC games. In short, advertisers would only advertise on his site because they felt he had the ability to help them sell their games or increase their exposure.

Marvin’s social network was compromised of mostly Apple users who were publicly anti-Microsoft. In comparison to his competition, if Marvin tweeted his links or shared his articles via social networking tools, they would receive the same results because the people he associates with online is in direct conflict to the content he creates. They might own Xbox 360s (which one could easily say is extremely hypocritical because, if Microsoft was “bad”, why buy the console?) but he would not get the same results (or even close) as his competitors, resulting in gaming companies advertising with the competition instead of Marvin.

If Marvin wants to align himself online with Apple users, and have a gaming site, a better fit would be to have an iPhone (cell phone) gaming site or online games like Facebook games. Of course, the income possibilities aren’t anywhere near as good as having a traditional gaming site. Let’s also consider that Marvin opted not to cover those types of games initially.

Let’s keep things in perspective. Online “friends” are usually people who aren’t your friend. You only interact with them online, you don’t see them, and unlike true friends, you cannot expect these “friends” to aid you if and when you are in need. It’s sort of like the “friend” who swears he/she is your buddy, but if you are having financial troubles, will use the excuse “my spouse won’t let me give you the money…” That’s the classic “using the spouse as an excuse”. Your true friends come through for you when you need them if it is in their power to do so, just like you come through for them. If the wife doesn’t like the friend…well, I covered that earlier. Those “friendships” don’t work out anyway. It is a complete and total conflict. This does not mean you can’t be cordial, but “friend” is not an accurate term to use. Don’t kid yourself.

Marvin had the majority of these types of “friends” online, which are cool to be cordial with, but Marvin definitely needs to change things long-term if he wants to monetize his gaming site. No one likes to throw their money away. To monetize his gaming site, Marvin needs more gamers following him. Gamers, on average, see computers and consoles as tools to do what they want. For example, many hardcore 360 players have PS3s, and they detest Sony. Gamers play where the games are. If Sony does something bad today and people talk about that bad thing this week, that’s normal. Over the top: criticizing Sony for everything they do but the person happily plays their PS3. Really don’t like Sony? Get rid of the PS3.

If Marvin had an audience more in line with his content, Microsoft, Sony, EA, Bioware, etc. would be more inclined to advertise with him.

Why not work a deal with Apple?

Logically, that makes sense but unfortunately, there is a problem. One search on AdAge (or similar sites) and you’ll see that Apple focuses on TV ads, and when they do advertise online, it’s on the big sites like The Wall Street Journal or New York Times. From that standpoint, the odds of Marvin getting Apple to advertise on his site are slim. Let’s think about why for a second. Apple users are fiercely loyal. When Apple announces an event or a new product, Apple users spread the word and are in line as soon as the product is available or are refreshing the live blogging on the event like it was their last meal. Because Apple users are so loyal, they’ve created the environment where Apple has no need to advertise heavily online. Microsoft users on the other hand, are not so loyal. Even the hardcore Microsoft users are more objective. This forces Microsoft to have to work for their sales; hence Microsoft has a much larger advertising budget, online sales being one of their methods.

But a more obvious question: why would Apple advertise on a gaming site that covers games for consoles and PC? Again, it is a mismatch between the type of site and income possibilities. There is no reason for Apple to advertise on Marvin’s gaming site, especially since Marvin would have a hard time giving Apple a ROI.

Let’s be real…

Many people don’t have reasonable success because they’ve prohibited themselves from obtaining it through their actions. I say “reasonable success” because being a millionaire isn’t the plan for most people no matter how badly they want it. However, there are people who are meant to have that destiny and blow it a multitude of ways, like not grabbing an opportunity when it arises or not making solid long-term decisions.

Remember, obtaining success is easier than maintaining it after it is achieved.

Sprinters

These people are enthusiastic and hit strong. Hyped about their project/venture they seem to be unstoppable. Unfortunately, they have no endurance. Enthused in the beginning they jumped into the project and started running without having any idea on how to get to the finish line. When my daughter was younger I’d say, “Sweetheart, would you go get me…” and she’d take off. I’d patiently wait for her to come back because she left without knowing what I wanted. Her intentions were sincere but she had no direction. A significant number of people online fall into this category. The barrier of entry for online ventures being low makes it very easy (and tempting) to dive in but, with no endurance, the person loses steam and fails to reach their goals.

Unfortunately some never take off at all

These people never “really” get started. The attempts are there, but they don’t “do” anything. Some people see success, are briefly inspired by it but when they get a taste of the work involved, the desire fades and disappears. For example: Mary lost 30 pounds and looks great! You decide, inspired by Mary, to lose your potbelly. Except, you never lose a pound and never seriously attempt to. Another example: Henry wrote a book. You decide, inspired by Henry, to write a book too because you’ve always wanted to! Except, the book is never written. The project never moves past a cool idea.

Long-distance runner

These people realize they need to keep the same pace going through the entire journey. They need to keep ahead of most but not too much to wear themselves out so they don’t have enough energy to finish a race. With online projects/companies the “race” isn’t over when success is achieved, the success has to be maintained and many times the work is harder maintaining success than trying to achieve success. If you achieve and maintain success, you’re lucky because most people that make it this far quite frankly get stupid and think they don’t have to work anymore, particularly if they look around and see no “real” competition.

If you want a successful site/company you must realize three crucial points:

1. Sprinters are nothing to worry about (they throw themselves out of the race).
2. If you don’t have consistent endurance (discipline) to run the race you won’t win.
3. If you win the race (achieve success) then the real work comes maintaining it (beating all the people who will want to race you).

Of course, knowing which person you are will determine the odds of your success. That’s why understanding and knowing who you are plays an important role. If I am one to procrastinate starting projects, a short-term fun project would be better suited for me than a “this is what is cool right now” long-term project.

Let’s look at an example…

Marvin wants to start a new gaming web site. He wants that web site to earn $50,000 within 18 months. He made a list of topics he wants to cover. He decided on a posting schedule. He read many productivity articles and decided to write articles in advance. He made sure to have the tools recommended to get things down quickly yet efficiently. He made a list of potential ad network and advertisers. He was able to do this from previous sites. Microsoft, who invests heavily in online marketing, was one of the companies he made considerable income from in the past. He made sure to make a note to keep up with contacts with Microsoft while networking for other prospective sponsors. Marvin carefully picked out the content management system he wanted to use, the design, and he made special care to pick hosting he can grow with without having to worry about his site being turned off during traffic spikes.

Marvin put his plan into action. He started writing articles. He started Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace accounts. His friends’ lists were growing. Soon, his articles were being linked to and his traffic numbers increased. The productivity articles he read were spot on because he efficiently produced content and reached his goal.

When his traffic numbers were high enough, he began to approach Microsoft about sponsorships, game betas, etc. He also approached Sony, EA, and other console and PC game developers. The response wasn’t what he hoped. Most of them didn’t respond at all. After exchanging emails back and forth with someone from Microsoft he finally received an answer as to why they would not advertise with him as they had done in the past. The contact at Microsoft said that he did not feel Microsoft would receive a decent return on their investment due to the community views of the site.

Marvin was confused. His content was quality and unique. He didn’t understand what the Microsoft contact was talking about. Frustrated, he talked to his wife. She thought about it for a moment, and gently explained that Marvin connected himself closely with Apple lovers. Not only were they Apple lovers, they were Microsoft haters. She pointed to Twitter updates and links by those he interacted with most on Twitter, Facebook etc. There are applications that make this very easy to see. What was clear was that the people he interacted most online were pro Apple and Microsoft haters. Marvin pointed out that his articles received decent comments and he protested because he is a happy PC user. His wife pointed out that he also has a Mac and it doesn’t matter he enjoys his PC. His friends are anti-Microsoft. They would be throwing money away advertising with him.

Guilty by association

If you’re paying attention, you’ll realize that Marvin lost advertising revenue from Microsoft and PC game developers. His online connections limited him to console game companies only and realistically only console game developers that do not make PC games. His once attainable goal of $50,000 in 18 months is no longer attainable. By associating with people who were in direct conflict with what he wanted to achieve, he stumped his own growth.

What the Microsoft contact noticed is that his tweets about his articles could not possibly be well received by his friends, limiting the share value. Why invest money in Marvin’s site when sites such as Team Xbox or GameSpot exist? When writers tweet their articles their friends are on board because they are of like minds. The friend value and the odds of ROI are much higher advertising elsewhere.

What would probably be a better match for Marvin is to review iPhone games. Would he be able to make $50,000 in 18 months? Most likely not but his audience would match his content. Something is out of whack. It is up to Marvin to figure out what it is.

You can’t escape it…

To have success you have to be able to make the right decisions and maintain it. Perhaps Marvin selected those people to increase his traffic short-term but in the end, he ended up diluting his ability to earn money long-term. Unfortunately for Marvin, it will take months to undo his error. Advertisers aren’t stupid. Marvin will have to change the core people he interacts with and permanently keep it that way. Otherwise, he’ll lose advertisers again. Companies are very used to people jumping through hoops for money. This is not something that can be undone easily. In the end, he wasn’t productive in achieving his goals, was he?

Pick your friends, offline and online, wisely because they are a direct reflection of you.

Why do most start-ups fail? Same reason why many commercial bloggers do not have the success they would like. Unrealistic expectations. Everyone isn’t meant to have their own business just as everyone isn’t meant to be a doctor, lawyer, police officer, etc. A startling number of people enter into the commercial arena with zero business experience, and without the inclination to take some classes (gain some knowledge) to help them excel.

To complete my degrees I had to finish a series of classes called Critical Thinking. The classes forced students to consider all the issues in a situation and prompted the student to be creative in their thought process. Many of students failed those classes. Seriously, they were tough. We received questions like this:

Lab technician Jim collects a culture from a patient on which the doctor previously operated. Jim carefully collects pus from a wound on the leg of the patient using a toothpick and then, seeing another wound on the face of the patient, washes the face wound with iodine and, using the same toothpick, collects serum from that wound. Jim drops the toothpick into a tube of nutrient broth, puts the name of the doctor on the broth culture tube, and takes it to the lab on the way home from work. List the mistakes Jim made.

Or:

Two airports A and B are 400 miles apart, and B is due east of airport A. A plane flew from A to B in 2 hours and then returned to airport A in 2 1/2 hours. If the wind blew from due west with a constant velocity during the entire trip, find the speed of the the plane in still air and the speed of the wind.

Let’s not forget:

Although 95% of the crust of the Earth is composed of either igneous or metamorphic rock, 75% of the exposed surface of the continental crust is sedimentary rock. This is because

a. erosion of surface soil and rocks has produced a veneer of sediments over most of the Earth, and lithification of these sediments has produced sedimentary rock strata
b. the temperature of the Earth increases downward, leading to the creation of vast amounts of igneous and metamorphic rocks
c. oceanic crust, which covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface, is largely composed of igneous rocks, such as basalt, which forms at oceanic ridges
d. constitute such a small percentage of the surface of the Earth that they contribute much less material to the surface than do physical and chemical precipitation of sediment

Each class the questions were harder but the point was to make the student “think” about the situation and not pick what might appear to be the obvious answer, to avoid skipping steps in the thought process and to do the work necessary to achieve the right answer (because there is only one right answer). Eventually the questions moved to business related situations, which again, had one optimal answer. Knowing the answer (exit plan) doesn’t mean the pieces can be put together to form the question (product or service that will gain the exit expectation).

This is why people who have an exit strategy in their mind tend to fail before they get the company strong enough to be considered a realistic option for sale. The person has the end goal (exit) on their mind and most likely will do everything possible to quickly achieve that goal, working backwards to form the product or service.

Making the product or service meet their exit plans instead focusing on making their product or service a strong competitor in the market, justifying their exit projection.

Ok Tyme, what’s your point?

Continuing the co-founder/partner series, don’t partner with someone who has the focal point exiting instead of creating. Your business will most likely fail and you will frustrate yourself.

Think of it this way: when a couple has a child do they focus on the child being grown and out of the house or do they try to do their best to raise their child right, cherishing the moments they have while their child grows? It is the same with a business. The person with realistic expectations will look forward to the business growing as a parent wants to experience their child grow up.

Try to find a partner with critical thinking skills. They have minimal chances of having unrealistic expectations because they view the situation as it is, not how they’d like it to be.

Don’t settle for anything less.