Month: May 2004

To Move from MT or Not?

That seems to be the overwhelming issue in the Movable Type blogosphere this weekend.

I respect the folks at SixApart, but the way they have mishandled the launch of 3.0 clearly shows that they do not have enough people with communications skills on staff. Not surprising in a tech-oriented startup, of course, but in this case – a startup that creates software used to communicate – it’s a big problem. Mena Trott gives some clues to their thinking in her revised announcement about MT 3.0.

I’m willing to bet that SixApart made a few classic mistakes in coming up with their licensing. They trusted their survey results too much, and they didn’t talk to enough users at critical stages.

One of the most valid comments we heard is that the personal licenses do not work well for many people who are currently using Movable Type. This surprised us because in a survey of 2500 people, a whopping 85% of respondents had 5 of fewer weblogs or authors. This help educate our final decisions about the weblog and author limits.

The more important question is, who were those 2500 users? Were they self-selected or was any effort put into making sure that a broad cross-section of users, from little bloggers like me to big users like Jason Calacanis, participated? Not balancing your participant base is a very good way to get data that is accurate yet ultimately wrong.

The second question is, did SixApart vet this new licensing package with any customers before launching it? With a level of upset as big as this one, if they had bothered to talk to even a handful of customers before going public with their pricing they would surely have gotten some indication that they needed to rethink things. Instead, they have had to handle a very public firestorm.

Now, to their credit, they are trying to calm the waters, and with some success. But they are at a critical junction. I hope they respond by putting one or more people on staff who are more practiced in the arts of marketing, product management and corporate communications. I’m tempted to send them a resume myself, but I suspect they’re already flooded with them.

When I started this blog, I chose Movable Type because several blogger pals (most notably my friend Mashby) were using it and all seemed quite happy with it. I know just enough about HTML, CSS, and configuring software to be able to tweak a package into something that works for me, and the lingering ghost of the techie I once was makes me unwilling to use a hosted service if I can run things myself. MT fit the bill. I gladly sent in a $25 donation last fall to SixApart, and had no expectation that I would want to look elsewhere for blogging software. Movable Type definitely has some annoyances and limitations (rebuilding is an ongoing PITA) but overall it does what I want it to do without getting in the way too much.

I have not yet decided whether or not I am going to stay with MT for the long haul. I’d like to see a clearer product evolution path for one thing – what features are going to be offered in the future, and which of those will not be in the free version? It could well be that MT 3.x is worth paying for, but right now there’s not enough information for me to make a decision.

I’ve invested time and energy getting my blog set up the way I want it. I don’t particularly want to have to spend a lot of time starting all over again with a new system if I don’t have to. But right now, SixApart is not giving me enough information with which to make an informed decision. That’s frustrating, and it’s another sign that SixApart badly needs someone on staff who knows how to communicate with customers.

I’m going to wait and see what happens for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully by the time I get back from New York more dust will have settled and I’ll be able to make a more informed decision about whether to upgrade or not.

Buzz Machine and Stupid Evil Bastard both have interesting takes on this issue as well. They’re worth a read.

Something I Don't Understand about Catholics

As a Jew, I freely admit that some aspects of Christianity are alien to me. The recent public debate about whether or not pro-choice Catholics should be allowed to take Communion brings to light one of them.

Here’s one example: Catholics who feel so at odds with their church’s ideology – who don’t they just go worship at some other church? What makes them stay committed to being a Catholic even if they vehemently disagree with what their church is doing? Is it an unwillingness to let go of their tribal identification? Fear of the unknown? Do they sincerely feel that Jesus won’t love them if they go to the church across the street? Is it a love of the liturgy they grew up with? Or do they think that if they wait long enough, the church will change and become more in line with their own beliefs? It could be pure politics – nobody wants to be accused of flip-flopping on moral issues. Or something else entirely that I’m overlooking because I’m not Christian.

I’ve heard the phrase “cafeteria Catholics” and it’s a term that could be applied to a lot of other religions, Jews included. I’m guilty of the practice myself. But I do think you have to draw the line somewhere. Not agreeing with every aspect of a religion is one thing. But if you disagree with enough key points, sooner or later I think you have to ask yourself what you’re really doing there.

I’m also aware that the Catholic church is not monolithic on this subject. There are bishops who would excommunicate anyone who is pro-choice and there are those who would not. And perhaps that diversity of opinion is enough to give Catholics hope.

It would make for some big headlines if a few high-profile Catholics switched affiliation to other denominations. I doubt it would change what the Catholic church is doing though. If the morass that is the wholesale molestation of children by priests has not overly upset the Vatican, I doubt a few politicians changing affiliations would.

Side note – Andrew Sullivan has a good article on this issue. His focus is partially on Bob Novak and some snarkiness about an Opus Dei priest, but it’s worth a read.

Jobs in 2004

Daily Kos has a good one about the job situation and how it will impact the coming election. The bottom line? There are fewer jobs in the United States today than there were in March 2001.

Of course this is not good news to someone who has just quit her job, but I’ll worry about that some other time. The really good news is, if the Kerry campaign handles this information correctly it could be a huge help in pushing BushCo out of the White House.

I just hope they don’t screw it up. Watching Kerry in the run-up to the convention has not been inspiring.

What Class is San Francisco?

Atrios has a good one over on his blog today.

I’ve frequently said there are three kinds of cities (or colleges or countries or sports teams or insert any similar entity here).

People who live in 1st class cities never feel the need to tell everyone how great their city is. It speaks for itself. Think New York, Paris.

People who live in 2nd class cities feel the need to proclaim their greatness, and to convince you that they really are 1st class cities.

People who live in 3rd class cities just accept their lot and get on with their lives.

Scott and I disagreed whether San Francisco is a first or second class city. I think it’s borderline first class, he says definitely second class.

Speaking of first class cities, I’m going home to NYC next week. Unlike my Rome trip, ‘net access should be easy there, so I expect no blog interruptions.

Off With His Head

Apparently Nick Berg was a Jew. Just like Daniel Pearl. Although his religion seems to have been less of an issue to the people who chopped off his head than his being an American. Still, the subtext is there and concerns me.