Thou that does not believe…

The conference was for developers. Facebook has a large developer base. Some of the successful developers were at the conference sessions answering questions and giving advice. These successful Facebook developers were singing Facebook’s praises. I wondered if anyone else noticed the problem or conflict of interest in his or her words.

For example, one of the features announced by Facebook was the “like” button outside of Facebook. Users can “like” an article and it shows up in their stream to share with their friends. Sharing is the underlying message – share everything! Of course Facebook wants their users to share items and put them back on Facebook so they can monetize the data and keep more people in Facebook. If a person has enough friends sharing relevant information, the need to leave Facebook and read Twitter (or use another method of reading interesting articles) diminishes.

The more people using Facebook, the higher the odds some of them will use their application. Obviously, Facebook developers want whatever helps bring people in Facebook and spend more time there. What are the odds that a new developer can have the success that the top developers on Facebook has?

Not much…one developer almost slipped up and said so.

Different playing field, different rules…

Facebook has changed a lot since these developers started out. New developers do not have the same advantages and chances to go viral as developers once had. It was pitiful to hear their questions. They wanted access to 400 million users Facebook has and they did not care how they got their access. Spam users? Sure, if it helps their application goes viral. Get user data? Absolutely, and do what is necessary to monetize it, whether the user would like it or not. I could hear the pure desperation and frustration in their voices. Maybe because I heard it before:

I knew that i wanted to control my destiny, so I knew I needed revenues, right, fucking, now. Like I needed revenues now. So I funded the company myself but I did every horrible thing in the book to, just to get revenues right away. I mean we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this zwinky toolbar which was like, I dont know, I downloaded it once and couldn’t get rid of it. *laughs* We did anything possible just to just get revenues so that we could grow and be a real business…So control your destiny. So that was a big lesson, controlling your business. So by the time we raised money we were profitable.

It was pointed out, by the successful developers, that it was not necessary to be on the top charts to have a successful applications. Many applications did well being in the top 50 or 100 applications. It was also said many applications did well with 100,000 users. At the time of this writing, these are the top 10 applications:

1. Farmville – Zynga
2. Birthday Cards – RockYou!
3. Texas HoldEm Poker – Zynga
4. Café World – Zynga
5. Causes – Causes
6. Mafia Wars – Zynga
7. Treasure Isle – Zynga
8. PetVille – Zynga
9. Happy Aquarium – CrowdStar
10. Mobile – Facebook

Farmville has more than 80 million users. Petville has 21 million users. Facebook’s mobile application has 20 million users. Going to the top 25 applications, number 25 is CountryLife with nine million users. Facebook lists the top 200 applications. As of today, to make the list the application would have about 871,000 users (I rounded up to the nearest thousand). For the applications recommended to me, the one with the lowest number of users was 428,000.

Most applications will never see that many users.

Reality…in the numbers

Facebook obviously wants developers to make applications for users. Is it possible for a new application to have the level of success Zynga or the top 20 people have? Sure, but think about it. Unless their growth stops or plateaus, Zynga has 80M users right now on one application. By the time a new developer makes an application worthy enough to compete, Zynga will have 100M on Facebook alone. They are already expanding outside of Facebook and I would not be surprised if they were developing more applications for Facebook. They said they had 1000 employees. How can a developer compete with that? By the time a new developer is ready to compete, Zynga could easily dominate the top 10 (by dominate I mean only their applications show up). Let’s not forget that Zynga, allegedly, is not playing fair. They are making applications for the iPhone and the same scams are surfacing there by them.

I hope developers look at things realistically. When it comes to development:

• Facebook – Huge user base but the odd of getting on the top of the charts is slim. To succeed, their plan has to focus on getting Zynga off – even if they aren’t developing games.
• Apple – The iPhone/iPad/iPod market has a decent user base (nothing compared to Facebook) but they have a worse hurdle. The developer could invest in developing an application and it is refused. Or worse, Apple changes the rules of the game later on. Something Facebook has done as well.
• Android – A new marketing with a growing number of users but not nearly as much money to be made now. However, that is the case with all new platforms. The first ones that stick it out tend to usually do better but they have to stay on their game as the developers from other platforms port their applications over.

An interesting perspective: I wonder how many users applications bring to the platform? For example, I just (and I do mean “just”) created a Farmville account. I’m level 3. I could not play without logging in Facebook. I could not play, even though I have an account, without being logged in. I made the mistake of logging out of Facebook (since I was on Farmville.com) and it killed my Farmville game. If I want to play with my friends, I have to make a Facebook account (at this time). They would probably have tripled the amount of users if they were not dependent on Facebook logins. Since it is going by email addresses anyway, and now developers have access to email addresses within Facebook, I wonder if Farmville will become a standalone web game. In addition, the odds are extremely high I am going to kill the Farmville application. The ONLY reason I installed it was because I needed to research the application and I hardly ever use my Facebook account.

There are tons of places for developers to create applications, for example, Twitter. Exciting and challenging times for developers. Every platform has pros and cons but now more than ever, picking the right platform is crucial. So is diversifying if possible and not believing the hype.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Agreement, Device Data may not be provided or disclosed to a third-party without Apple’s prior written consent. Accordingly, the use of third-party software in Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third-party for processing or analysis is expressly prohibited.

On a mobile phone, targeted advertising is important (making the ads more relevant to the user). If the information is not being passed on, third-party advertisers cannot target the ads. This does not mean developers cannot make money. The worse case scenario is that they use iAds to generate income. iAds is Apple’s upcoming mobile ad network. Apple is allowing companies to embed interactive ads within their applications and will be charging 40% of the revenue for the privilege (yes, that is a high percentage). I wonder how their core audience will enjoy interactive ads in their applications when many use ad blockers in their browsers while surfing the internet. An interesting question: will ad blockers, on an Apple mobile device, be approved? Most likely not. The point is, there are options for developers to make money by either selling their applications or using iAds if ad companies will not be able to survive on Apple devices. There is no reason to go on rants or freak out if you are an application developer. If you are an ad company focusing on mobile devices, well, there is cause for concern but perhaps this is a sign to focus efforts in another direction.

Google wants to buy AdMobs, a company focusing on mobile advertising for multiple mobile devices. As I said earlier, I believe Apple is trying to hinder the growth of other mobile devices or at least keep their lead in mobile devices. Ironically, AdMobs works on Apple devices. With the new change, this could potentially hinder Google from profiting from Apple (if Google succeeds in purchasing AdMobs).

Let’s delve a bit deeper for a minute. I’ll use myself as an example. Right now, I’m playing We Rule on my iPhone (only application I use actually). It’s a cute little game and I would have paid for it if it were not free. When you play the game you have to create an account on the Plus+ network. You can manage your games, your profile, etc. Currently, if I move to another device, I cannot play We Rule on my new phone. Imagine a cross-platform world where, if I see a cool new phone, I decide to switch phones. If the company developing We Rule made the game cross-platform, I could install it on my new device, not lose any of the data (because their Plus+ network could store it). As a consumer, I’m happy. The developer’s of We Rule would be happy because they retained me as a player and they (theoretically) would not lose anything because a cross-platform ad company like AdMobs would continue to show me ads in the game. Or, if I purchased the game in cross-platform world, I could re-activate it on my new device. This makes it more like the computer experience consumers are used to. Not good for Apple because it makes it easier for their customers (who are not hard-core fans) to leave. Of course, this goes for all mobile device companies but with Apple having a lead and the iPhone being their best-selling device, they are current the ones with the most to lose.

The advertising change also hinders upcoming mobile ad companies from thriving. Currently, Apple’s mobile devices are the money makers so of course mobile ad companies would love to thrive on their devices. Fortunately for them, developers are slowly embracing other devices but one cannot fault them for wanting to develop where there is the most financial gain.

It will be interesting to see how Apple’s decisions play out over the upcoming months and how the competition (and users) responds to their decisions.

**Disclaimer: I have an iPhone but I am not a heavy application user. I’m a gamer and I tend to play games on the PC or consoles (I do own a Mac). Personally, I’d prefer to buy the application than go the free route, receiving targeted advertising. This change, or any of the changes Apple is making lately, really does not impact me very much.**

Jobs is once again pitting Apple’s complete product design mastery against the rest of the industry, except this time he thinks he will prevail. Whether it is his repeated moves to keep Adobe’s Flash off the iPhone or his growing rift with Google over Android, Jobs is making the iPhone and iPad a relatively closed system that Apple can control. All apps need to be approved by Apple, the ads shown on the apps will also start to go through Apple, and no matter how hard Adobe tries to open up the iPhone to its Flash developers Apple will keep blocking all its efforts.

You can do anything that you wanna do…

Let me be clear…it’s Apple’s system and they can make it closed if they want to. This approach did not work with Microsoft, so I would think they would have the same outcome if they become too big. However, Jobs is in a unique position. He is leading a company and might not be around to clean up the mess if it does not work long-term.

The odd and perplexing thing about this: most people prefer diversity. For example, most people would prefer to have multiple ways to earn income. How many people have multiple cars? Multiple gaming platforms? Do you eat and drink the same thing everyday? Using this thought trend, why would developers want to invest in only one platform when the “real” money (as in being bought out) comes with having multiple platform applications? True, you will have applications like Tweetie being purchased by Twitter but what are the odds of a company purchasing something like We Rule unless friends can play across multiple mobile phones? Can they be purchased? Sure they can, but they’d be more valuable if they created cross-platform games. Currently developers are flocking to the iPhone because their applications sell the best.

That is why I think this has more to do with Android than Adobe per se. Android phones are eating away at iPhone’s market share. As the phones get better, the more threat competing phones become. Flash is coming to Android phones, giving developers more options to create apps and a more web like experience for Android users. Perhaps Adobe is getting slammed by Apple because Apple’s competition is embracing Flash. Adobe does not make the bulk of their revenue from Flash development.

On the flip side, Apple’s biggest selling product is the iPhone. It could potentially hurt Apple long-term that Adobe makes products that aid developers in making applications for multiple platforms. Right now most of the applications on the iPhone are iPhone (iPad or iTouch) only unless. This will keep many people on Apple’s technology because they have become attached to the applications. The minute the door opens for easy cross-platform development, Apple’s market share drops.

Steve Jobs shut the door.

In the end…

Going against the grain of human nature is not wise. Hopefully their target audience will remain faithful to give Apple the foundation it needs to survive. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. Rarely do companies stay at the top for long. AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, even Google has competition as far as traffic (Facebook). Developers do not embrace programming for Macs and that trend might continue with Apple’s mobile devices. In the beginning there weren’t alternatives for developers. Now there are. It is understandable why Apple is doing this: they are appealing to their target audience, who does not mind lagging technology. Think about how long it took for copy/paste to make it to the iPhone. The recently released iPad does not have a camera, but the competition coming out shortly does. Companies should only concern themselves with creating quality products for their target audience. Apple is doing exactly that.

Unfortunately, while Apple is locking down their devices the competition is opening theirs up. If their competition combine forces, they are strong enough to block Apple from being able to keep their market share.

FLASH

• What Flash is and what does it do?
• What are examples of proper use for Flash?
• Common myths about Flash. Are they true or false?
1. Many users do not have Flash installed.
2. Flash sites do not validate and has usability problems.
3. Flash sites load slowly and are resource hogs.
4. Cannot select copy/paste on a Flash site.
5. Websites using Flash cannot give analytic (traffic statistics) detail in comparison to other sites.
6. Flash is not supported on mobile phones.
7. Flash sites will not show up on Google because of the way Flash sites are coded.
8. Flash sites are expensive to create/design and even harder to have changes made to them.
• Are their ways non-designers can tell if a site is Flash based if they already have Flash installed?
• Does Pogo and Facebook games work with Flash?
• What are Flash’s greatest strengths and weaknesses?

HTML5

• What is HTML5?
• Are designers using HTML5 yet?
• Can HTML5 work as well or does the same thing as Flash?
• Myths about HTML5
1. It will replace Flash video.
2. It is a better medium for artists.
3. HTML5 resolves Flash’s problems.
4. HTML5 makes everything standards based (no more compatibility problems).
• Difference between using video with HTML5 and Flash.

iPad

• What is the iPad?
• It runs on the iPhone OS not Mac OS? Pros and cons?
• What is their target audience?
• Is designing for the iPad different than designing for browsers and mobile phones?
• Why isn’t Flash on the iPad? There are contradicting articles on whether it will function properly.
• Won’t this be a problem long-term if other tablets have it and iPad doesn’t?
• What does this mean for the consumer? Is the advertising that you can play games and easily browse the web accurate?

Tying it all together

• If Flash is abandoned, what will happen to sites using Flash?
• Is it a good idea for companies to decide what technologies consumers should use?
• For designers and the designing process, what types of new opportunities does the iPad, HTML5 offer?
• Will you be getting an iPad?

My Thoughts

Remember, technology is cool but tech is just that…tech. Companies have one goal: to make money. Apple is cool but let’s be real: in business you cannot get that big without stepping on toes, pissing people off, becoming bureaucratic and doing “evil” things. Apple is a company with the end goal of making money…no more, no less.

I’m not hating on Apple, I’m keeping it real and I want you guys to keep it real. NEVER lose your objectivity…it is what will aid you making optimal decisions. That said, there are some hot alternatives on the horizon. Homer pointed me to these seven alternatives coming out “soon” but the other day he found one even better than that. Look at the spec comparison chart.

Of course, these could be better machines and flop. Again, what is driving the iPad is their audience, not the tech itself. Apple can release trash, their audience will mumble about it, and they’ll still buy it. That’s why it took so long for the iPhone to improve…companies usually will not improve on their own. Users or the competition forces large companies to improve, because improving becomes expensive.

For the average user…wait for the competition to heat things up and then, pick the device that is best for you. Use your spending dollars wisely. I’m leaning towards the Tegra if it performs well.

With that…grab the podcast! (right-click/save as)

Homer is a designer that can work with a client from the beginning to the end of a project. He codes, he does graphic design, and he understands common problems many sites have and knows how to resolve them. Seemed like a knowledgeable person to seek answers from. I got up the nerve to ask Homer for an interview and he was kind to accept. Last week, we had a great discussion. What did I ask?

• His thoughts on using templates. Are they evil or are there valid uses for using them? Besides my own experiences, there was a debate in the community about it as well. Ironically, Scrivs mentioned the template debate in his article yesterday.
• Should designers know how to code? We discussed showing live code to clients as mentioned on 24 Ways and the pros and cons of using that approach.
• Is Flash dying? With the iPad coming out without Flash compatibility, will designers move away from using Flash?
• What payment terms do you think is fair for the client and the designer so that, in the event the project does not make it to completion, neither party loses out?
• Is a designer’s web site a reflection of their skill and talent? What about portfolios that do not properly show the designer’s talents?

Side note: I miss creative portfolios like Dave Werner’s. I couldn’t think of the link when I was talking to Homer but I wish I had because I would have loved to know his thoughts on Dave’s portfolio.

• Do you think there is a disconnect in the pairing of clients and designers? Rarely does a designer have full reign to “design” on a project.
• In his opinion, did he think most designers could resolve problems like reducing exit and bounce rates or spreading traffic through the site instead of focusing on the front page?
• How closely should the client watch over a project? Homer gives examples on how he communicates with clients.
• Is mobile (and the upcoming iPad) compatibility something that a client should expect when a design is done?

We had an in-depth discussion. Without further ado: right-click/save as (1hr 01m)

Thanks Homer!

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 does not 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 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 dating. 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 have 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 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 let’s go those who are truly loyal.

Look around the internet and you will see people reveal things that will make you wonder what type of person they 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 will not get into they could change their job). It’s odd how people do not 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 perspective 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 were able 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 do not like it 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 do not 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 one, I do not want to hear about 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 buy one. One cannot have loyalty to a product they have never seen, never used and hasn’t been released.

One other big difference

Many of the large companies that are not consistent 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 are not 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 does not 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 efforts but consistently making quality products your customers expect from you.

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

• Company allows developers to create software to interact with their product.
• Things go well for a period of time.
• Some greedy developer decides to push the limits, crippling the user experience.
• Company ends up putting in restrictions to block malicious behavior.
• Developers get upset because the rules changed.

People scoff at knowing history but one who takes the time and knows the history of their community or niche will go far by not repeating the same mistakes. Knowing what I stated above, one would think the people who created add-ons for World of Warcraft would not be surprised at the new policy changes. Let’s take a look at what happened and then look into the future.

Things Go Well For a Period of Time

Blizzard, through their API, allows developers to create add-ons that can add functionality to the game or even change the UI’s appearance. World of Warcraft was released four years ago and the add-on community is extremely active. Most add-ons are free, some ask for donations and there are a small amount of premium add-ons that have to be purchased to use. The creativity of the add-on community is excellent. The period of time things went well? Four years. Before we go any further, let’s keep in mind World of Warcraft’s Terms of Service that everyone agrees to when they play the game:

Grant of a Limited License to Use the Service
Subject to your agreement to and continuing compliance with the Terms of Use agreement, you may use the Service solely for your own non-commercial entertainment purposes by accessing it with an authorized, unmodified Game Client. You may not use the Service for any other purpose, or in connection with any other software.

Additional License Limitations.
B. exploit the Game or any of its parts, including without limitation the Service, for any commercial purpose, including without limitation (a) use at a cyber cafe, computer gaming center or any other location-based site without the express written consent of Blizzard; (b) for gathering in-game currency, items or resources for sale outside the Game; or (c) performing in-game services in exchange for payment outside the Game, e.g., power-leveling;

Some greedy developer decides to push the limits, crippling the user experience.

Over time developers got the bright idea of making income off of the add-ons. Most just wanted to recoup their hosting fees and if there was extra they were happy. The ones that wanted to make a living off of their add-on (they went from creating to boost the community to being all about the money). As with all things, if someone is doing something for the wrong reasons they tend to make dumb decisions. Let me be clear in distinguishing the greedy developer from a developer like Zygor. Zygor’s leveling add-on(s) were not free but they handled their “business” like a business by advertising their product, not soliciting customers or abusing privileges, they supported their product, etc. They even had an affiliate program giving bloggers the opportunity to make money. Zygor reminds me of strategy guide publishers. They handled their business the same way.

Enter the Carbonite and QuestHelper developers. Carbonite and QuestHelper are leveling add-ons. Carbonite charged for their add-ons (but had a free limited version) and QuestHelper solicited for donations once the add-on was installed in-game. To compete with QuestHelper Carbonite developers got the bright idea of offering a free version with advertisements, in game. Many users were shocked to update the add-on and find in-game ads. Considering one pays to play World of Warcraft there are not many people who want to see advertisements but there were many people who were dependent on the add-on to level, particularly since the free “crippled” version of Carbonite was included in many UI packages. Things were quickly getting out of hand and it was time for Blizzard to step in. To be fair there are other add-on developers “pushing the limits” but these two add-ons are two the community will always name first.

Company ends up putting in restrictions to block malicious behavior.

The timing was perfect for Blizzard to step in because a patch is on the horizon where many of these add-ons would break. Update under the new terms or leave the playground. Blizzard announced the new add-on policy. Keep in mind that Blizzard does not take away the ability to make money completely:

5) Add-ons may not solicit donations.
Add-ons may not include requests for donations. We recognize the immense amount of effort and resources that go into developing an add-on; however, such requests should be limited to the add-on website or distribution site and should not appear in the game.

Essentially, an add-on developer will possibly make enough to recoup hosting fees and perhaps have extra money but the odds of making a living off an add-on are minimal.

Developers get upset because the rules changed.

Of course, some developers (namely the ones pushing the limits) became upset and some pulled their add-ons. Others will not be updated after the next patch. The add-on community is shaken up a bit but when the patch drops, the community will band together and honestly, there are free add-ons people will migrate to.

The key here: in order for Blizzard (or any company) to stop the deviant behavior, the change has to be applied to the entire community.

History Tends to Repeat Itself

For those that scoff at knowing history, smart people learn from history and do not repeat the same mistakes. If I were a developer I would not expect to earn money from something I built off of someone else’s API unless it was something like Apple or Facebook, where there was a verified (endorsed) system in place. Apple and Facebook charge a fee and encourage the developers to make money. In other words, a better foundation exists to build one’s future. Even in these environments, companies have later added restrictions because of #2 – the greedy developer.

Keep in mind it took four years for Blizzard to implement this change. If you are going to develop something that interacts with someone else’s intellectual property, invest your time with a company that has firm rules in place. It will save you a lot of trouble in the end.

If you opt not to follow my advice and when the inevitable change happens because the greedy developer surfaces, do not complain. Do not whine. You made your bed.

Lie in it. Quietly.

Let’s Look at an Example

Daniel Lyons is most known for his fake Steve Jobs blog called The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. He put a lot of work into his blog.

I blogged from cabs, using my BlackBerry. I blogged in the middle of the night, having awakened with an idea. I rationalized this insane behavior by telling myself that at the end of this rainbow I would find a huge pot of gold. But reality kept interfering with this fantasy.

He continues to whine and cry about the money he didn’t make from his efforts. He made money from his blog but never made enough to quit his job (who knew that a goal?). He continues to go on and on about how other sites are profitable, the advertising market isn’t optimal…yeah yeah, blah blah. He leaves out one big piece of the puzzle.

He got a book deal and published the book Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs

Whoops…

His blog presented him with an opportunity to receive a book deal. Who knows whether the book deal was profitable (obviously not?). The point is that the blog was a tool for him to get the deal in the first place. Whether the book was successful or not falls on his abilities as a writer, which has nothing to do with his blog. Writing a successful blog has nothing to do with writing a successful book.

Let’s also talk about exposure. Most people never heard of Daniel Lyons before he started his blog (and yes, there are many people that still have no clue who he is or worse, forgot). He “could” have made the most of that exposure but he opted to step away from the blog. When you have people’s attention be very careful and sure of what you are doing when you decide to do something else, giving those people something else to do with their time. You might not get them back.

Blogs DO Create Opportunity

Blogs/sites are excellent tools to create an opportunity for a person or company. One has to have the wisdom to realize their true goals and make the most of the opportunities when the arise. Lyons’ The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs blog is the reason why his Real Dan Lyon’s site has a Books tab with something on it newer than 1999.

There is a problem: what do you do if you want to monetize your site and advertising companies you use rely on third party statistics that are not accurate? Alexa is known for being inaccurate (more to forecast trends than actual stats). What does a blogger/writer do if Alexa is showing inaccurate stats and the advertising company you use relies on Alexa and other third party services? Good question.

Since I use Text Link Ads on this site I decided to ask Patrick Gavin, President of Text Link Ads, how the company deals with issues like this. Seriously, I manage my site and the more information I have the better I can do it.

Tyme: Alexa obviously has accuracy issues – all of them do. Anything with a toolbar can be gamed. Technorati has their issues too. For example, if a site has a high number of inbound links because the blogger requested people to write a review of their site, which many feel is another way of “gaming” the system. Does TLA and Review me have other methods in place to ensure that sites are judged fairly? If so, can you share a little bit about how sites are judged/priced?

Patrick: We agree Alexa is not a perfect solution for gauging a website’s traffic. A perfect example is a blog devoted to Apple users whose user base will be heavy FireFox users not using the Alexa toolbar. Because of this the Alexa ranking for this blog will be disproportionately high compared to say a blog about Microsoft. We understand this so Alexa ranking is not the only criteria we use when pricing our publisher’s websites for our products.

We use a combination of: The website’s theme, location of the ads, number of ads to be sold, Alexa ranking, Technorati rank, and a measure of the website’s link popularity. We have an algorithm that prices our inventory based on these many criteria. The results are never perfect but by taking in six data points it can help even out some of the disparities that happen with Alexa data alone.

Six different data points – that makes me feel better but I can see where more metrics will have to be used to better screen sites initially because those things can be gamed. Getting your site accepted might be a challenge but honestly, it should be. If you’ve already been accepted, how do you make sure your site is getting the best advertising deals?

Text-Link Ads [linkbuildingblog.com no longer active] has a blog with a wealth of information on how to optimize your site and increase traffic. Subscribe to the feed. After going through the blog, do the one thing most people don’t do. Take some responsibility in the monetization of your site and work with the advertising company to get the most out of it. That’s the main point of this entry. Most people slap code on the sidebar and then complain on how it doesn’t perform. Or worse, move the ads around for a month and because there isn’t instant change become frustrated. I see my relationship with TLA like a partnership and I expect them to do their part and I have a responsibility as well. I actually have to manage my site and work with them for optimal success. If you are using a company that you can’t interact with, well…why would you do that?

I had a question, I asked, I received an answer. When I start optimizing this site I will (after looking over the blog) most likely have some more. I know one thing, I’m not going to throw code up blindly and pray it works.