Behind Glass Walls

A common scenario in anything from music to open source,  libraries to large corporations, is trying to implement a new feature, tool or attitude, only to have it waste away in the face of a lack of interest or low usage. Sometimes it just wasn’t meant to be. Often it’s an issue of promotion.

Promotion can be a dirty subject. It brings to mind pop-up ads, newspaper pages full of ‘savings!’ or ‘limited time only!’. Marketing is a very polar industry – if you’re in it, you push for greater exposure, if you’re the target, you want less. But without it, a key part of success in any project is missing. In the age of a thousand possible directions for attention, ‘build it and they will come’ has never been less true.

Obscurity is enemy number 1. To big and small music artists alike,

Obscurity is a bigger fear than piracy

For open source software, obscurity can hit multiple times. If a user tries out an app, and finds that it’s not polished or up to scratch, they’re probably going to stop using it, and never look back. Even if that app later develops into an amazing piece of software.

Someone who tried your app three years ago and found it wanting may not realise that the version she can download today is far improved. Unless she goes out of her way to look, how likely is she to find out?

Even open source applications targeted to enterprise use may get caught out by obscurity:

[It is claimed that] most business-class open source apps have qualified consultants who can provide enterprise-level support. Cool. But how obvious will that be to the casual observer?

Obscurity is not always bad. In fact, an entire area runs on obscurity: security. Securing something is, at it’s core, making the method of getting access or likelihood of unauthorised access so low or obscure that it would take too much time and effort to carry out. Nothing is 100% secure.

So, when developing a cool new feature for a website, or pouring a whole lot of effort into social media, or adding or changing the services you provide, it is essential to know how the change or addition will be publicised. Even if it’s ‘only a trial’, it needs to have good uptake, or the results are worthless.

It is a challenge, and not all projects can easily promote themselves, but it is essential. After all, I could have the best application, restaurant or  services in the world. If no one knows about it, then it’s not going anywhere.

Well, I hate to use a clichéd phrase, but this just fits. Digsby, like the good Web 2.0 company they are, are looking for ways to make money. This is fine. This is good, I like their all-in-one IM, social network and micro-blogging desktop app. They have innovative ideas for making money that don’t just involve “small unintrusive ads”. I like this so far. One of the hardest things for Web 2.0 companies is working out how to monetise it. So coming up with some out-of-the-box busines models is just the ticket.

It appears that the two main ways Digsby is looking to do this – offer what is traditionally known as ‘crapware’ (extra offers for toolbars or other – usually unwanted – services) as part of the installer and a research module that functions just like BIONC. These things can work.

The crapware is annoying, but if it pays the bills, ok. Just be nice, and make sure it’s not too easy to just keep clicking next and end up with a bunch of junk. The research module is an interesting one, which I think could be very useful to the user, Digsby, and a range of companies.

How well these things are received really depends on the how well they are presented. And, I’m sorry to say, Digsby have not learnt from the Facebook Terms of Service PR disaster or the eMusic Sony deal. When you make changes, you need to be upfront, honest, open to comment, and prepared with logical reasons. Digsby has done this only in stages. it’s first mistake was  “Not announcing [changes to how the product functions] before we started testing it”. Then out came the Lifehacker post about Digsby going to the dark side, and the response.

Digsby have responded adequately to the situation. However, I just uninstalled Digsby, and I urge others to either uninstall or turn off the “research module”.  Why? Here is their Terms of Service section:

15. USAGE OF COMPUTER RESOURCES.

You agree to permit the Software to use the processing power of your computer when it is idle to run downloaded algorithms (mathematical equations) and code within a process. You understand that when the Software uses your computer, it likewise uses your CPU, bandwidth, and electrical power. The Software will use your computer to solve distributed computing problems, such as but not limited to, accelerating medical research projects, analyzing the stock market, searching the web, and finding the largest known prime number. This functionality is completely optional and you may disable it at any time.

Did you spot it? It’s easy to miss… “searching the web”. Yes. They are using their software to search the web using your computer. I can handle everything else. Not this. What are they searching the web for? Where does the data from “searching the web” go? Who knows what websites they end up visiting… from *your* computer.

Digsby, give us control, like the good “user-focused company” you say you are. On/Off is not control. Get to it!