Ping.fm integration! :)

The best points from everyone

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  MC replied on November 20, 2009 17:27

  Atebits - this is all kinds of self-destructive craziness. You guys need to take a step back and remember that at one point you were trying to get more customers, not less. I don't know that your comments here are helping your cause.
  
  I think we all understand what might happen if Steve Jobs was quoted saying:
  
  "It always calls to mind a small child repeating the same thing ad nauseum. Essentially wasting the time of all the people who actually like you enough to follow you on multiple networks."
  
  Wow. Just wow. You know what would happen. Stocks would fall, people would consider buying inferior products just to get away from the mean guy. Steve Ballmer, of all people, will say he'd never do that to you.
  
  What's more likely is that Steve would never say that. The CEO of the decade is far more nimble with stuff like this. For example, the Bobble Rep application, which competes with ours (which we like and enjoy playing with here -- we just serve different markets), was rejected then approved. There's no shame in making the right decision even if it counters one you didn't think was wrong in the first place.
  
  No matter what people pay, if it's an upgrade they expect more, not less. You cannot sell folks that Tweetie 2 is completely different from Tweetie 1. I can imagine how hard you worked on it and I'm sure it was a complete rewrite but customers don't care about that. They care about their wants and needs -- not just your priorities.
  
  Our company publishes software for the iPhone as well (search for "Cohen Research Group") so we are familiar with trolls, evil competitors, and nit-picky email from Apple about small bugs. We're also familiar with making choices about upgrades based on customer feedback. We have upgrade our apps over a dozen times since launch. We get it. Sometimes all that together is a crap sandwich and is wearing on your patience.
  
  But you need to keep your eye on the ball. Our primary business is in market research. One of our top clients is Hard Rock Cafe worldwide. They are in the process of gutting and renovating the cafe in Nashville. Let's say, for example, that they decided in the remodel to add a whole bunch of "wow" features -- they are (e.g. high-tech stuff) but fail to provide something fans of the cafe liked like a particular guitar from a particular artist.
  
  Now, it might not seem like a lot to the folks who are spending millions as well as their time and effort on redesigning the cafe. But to those people who go there just to see that special thing, they're let down.
  
  What happens when people are let down? They talk about it. By some estimates in the market research literature, you are 10 times more likely to tell someone you're upset about something than you are to tell someone about something you actually like. This is another reason why we remember, in the USA, negative campaign information than positive things about candidates. We're so used to hearing reasons for buying things and voting for things that if someone we trust comes to us with strongly negative stuff, we take it seriously.
  
  I wonder how many people here are now telling people something like this:
  
  "I used to use Tweetie but their developers were so dismissive of my concerns about a small thing that I cannot recommend it anymore. Download something else, for free."
  
  It feeds into the mindset of abused consumers. We're all abused by the clerk who couldn't give a bleep about whether or not something that's not on the shelves is in the back and all that person needs to do is check it out. We get bad service at restaurants, auto repair shops, from Congress.
  
  We have to fight, everyday, to counter that nagging feeling that people just want our money. Your behavior here on this reinforces that feeling and does not speak well to you keeping an eye on what's really important. Yes, great code is important. But the people you serve count more.
  
  I hope you reconsider for the sake of your customers (including myself), but also for yourselves. You have great technologists. You need to become better, more attuned, business leaders. Do yourselves a favor. Take a step back, remember why you did this in the first place, and come back from the Thanksgiving break with the Ping.fm integration or a promise to add it back.
  
  More importantly, however, is that you consider apologizing to the person who slammed here. Do it in public and in private. Your customers deserve more.

   

  I’m sad for you.
  6 people think this is one of the best points
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  Kyle replied on May 30, 2009 00:03

  Any update on this? We've been through 2 releases now (1.1 and 1.2) and Tweetie for Mac still isn't as fully functional as Tweetie for iPhone.
  4 people think this is one of the best points
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  Kyle replied on May 08, 2009 05:07

  I'm glad to see this topic getting some attention! I "liked this idea" as soon as Tweetie was launched and I found out it wasn't included immediately. I hope it is added to the next release. It is sorely lacking and a big reason why I haven't gotten a license yet.
  
  A HUGE feature for Ping.fm integration would be a checkbox in the new Tweet box to toggle whether you want it sent to Ping.fm or not. This would save you from having to go to preferences and uncheck Ping.fm every time like I had to do with Twhirl.
  4 people think this is one of the best points
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  Travis Vocino replied on May 07, 2009 15:56

  I would absolutely love this. I also love a feature in Twhirl where it doesn't post messages that begin with @replies to Ping.fm. This way your Facebook, et al. isn't spammed with irrelevant content.

   

  I’m excited
  5 people think this is one of the best points