Is it really prudent for Joel (CityDesk) to compete with big companies (http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/) and FOSS (http://net2.com/nvu/) products?
Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
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Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#12In my first year in the valley I wasted a lot of time in vague meetings with "strategic partners" and "investors." We called it "who's pitching who?" I'd say these types of meetings account for 70% of valley lunches.
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course, you have to do some marketing. But I think that if you're investing time in marketing to be able to survive, then you're doing something wrong ... you either chose the wrong market, or your product is not good enough. From my experience, improving your product (which is not equal to adding more features) is the best way to get new customers. That's because marketing that's not properly targeted is as good…
Marketing is an engineering process. Technically inclined people do not have to suck at it . To the extent that many do, it is largely because they've been taught to undervalue its importance, treat it as an afterthought, and dismiss properly conducted marketing as something which is for weak and stupid people.
> dismiss properly conducted marketing as something which is for weak and stupid people.
I didn't say that. I think it's dismissed more because the majority of marketing campaigns send out a dishonest message, and because of that customers are getting more and more insensitive to such campaigns.
And I also don't think it is an engineering process in the traditional way (although it's fashionable for everything that has a feedback loop to be called engineering these days). Marketing is more about social interactions, being more inline with humanities / social sciences ... and it takes a certain kind of skill-set to be good at it, and I've seen too few technical people being good at it.
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#14Is it really prudent for Joel (CityDesk) to compete with big companies ( http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/ ) and FOSS ( http://net2.com/nvu/ ) products?
[deleted]
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#15It's a good article, and the main point is an important one. That being said: am I the only one who finds it quizzical that Joel ever became such a notable pundit in the first place, in light of all of the articles outlining his (past) clueless behavior?
I think he's popular more for his engaging writing style than anything else. I would consider the fact that he made mistakes in the past a non factor at the least, and at best, an indication that he's capable of learning from mistakes.
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#16It's a good article, and the main point is an important one. That being said: am I the only one who finds it quizzical that Joel ever became such a notable pundit in the first place, in light of all of the articles outlining his (past) clueless behavior?
I think he's popular more for his engaging writing style than anything else. I would consider the fact that he made mistakes in the past a non factor at the least, and at best, an indication that he's capable of learning from mistakes.
I enjoy his writing style. But I think people have been putting him on a pedestal for a while, in terms of the advice he dishes out. The fact that he's made mistakes in the past would be a non-factor, if it weren't for the fact that people are following his dicta-- and how do we know that the advice he gives now is not going to be the fodder for next year's "I-was-so-much-dumber-then" article?
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#17It's a good article, and the main point is an important one. That being said: am I the only one who finds it quizzical that Joel ever became such a notable pundit in the first place, in light of all of the articles outlining his (past) clueless behavior?
I actually think his "clueless behavior" is one of the reasons his stuff resonates with people. Everyone makes mistakes, some of us make them a lot. Lots of people in Joel's position are tempted to leave out the mistakes they made when telling their story. By detailing all these blunders, Joel connects with the average "Joe Programmer". Instead of making himself out to be a super-human, he comes off as a an informed peer. It makes his stories much more interesting.
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#18A lot of software developers have critical priority inversion, focusing on initiatives which will almost never add value. Without specific reference to where Fogbugz was back in the day, I think a lot of software developers often prioritize improving the product when that should not be #1 on their list with where their business is right now. In particular, if you have a working product which is salable, and you have…
Of course, you have to do some marketing. But I think that if you're investing time in marketing to be able to survive, then you're doing something wrong ... you either chose the wrong market, or your product is not good enough. From my experience, improving your product (which is not equal to adding more features) is the best way to get new customers. That's because marketing that's not properly targeted is as good…
"From my experience, improving your product (which is not equal to adding more features) is the best way to get new customers"
How can customers find your product and understand what it does if you build stuff and don't market it?
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#19Readable version: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090901/joel-spolsky-setting-th...
Re: Spolsky: Setting the Right Priorities
#20Is it really prudent for Joel (CityDesk) to compete with big companies ( http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/ ) and FOSS ( http://net2.com/nvu/ ) products?
CityDesk has been practically abandoned for a long time now. Fog Creek now focuses exclusively on FogBugz and Copilot.