Groupware Bad (2005) | Hacker News Reader

Groupware Bad (2005)

jwz.org

16 pointsmgunes9 comments

Beautifully written. Note however that mentioned Hula calendar is also very dead today (so there is an additional story to be told!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_(software)

And for those who don't know (international readers like me) the expression "albatross around the neck" which JWZ used here comes from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798):

In the poem, an albatross starts to follow a ship (...) the mariner shoots the albatross (...) which is regarded as an act that will curse the ship (...) To punish him, his companions induce him to wear the dead albatross around his neck indefinitely

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross_(metaphor)

build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy

One of the lessons of running Woobius is that, at least where collaboration software is concerned, in order to make money, you need users to use it, but you also need managers to buy it. So you kind of have to do both really well. I like challenges.

The real point to be made here is that most people are programmed to believe that you only want to hear good news. I can't think of a more damning phenomena.

If your idea sucks, having someone with experience tactfully break down the logical flaws and encourage you to try something else is the best possible outcome.

The key to getting good advice is knowing that which to ignore. However, if nobody tells you that your idea is bad, you're already screwed.

I love telling people when I think their idea is great, but I feel like I'm really helping when I look them in the eye and tell them why their idea isn't going to work. (It's the people that thank me who are most likely to succeed, in that case.)

In my mind, 'Groupware' is just an old term for the following functions:

  - shared calendars (with scheduling, availability & conflict resolution)
  - global, shared address books
  - server-side email

Unfortunately the most popular options for the average company to utilise these functions is restricted to using closed source solutions where you manage a server yourself (Microsoft Exchange) or closed source solutions where another company manages the server for you (Gmail and Google Calendar).

Its a shame that more open protocols and servers haven't taken off in this space and provide competition. However as many companies have previously tried and failed to deliver a viable product its unlikely anyone else will step up to provide such a solution.

  build software that people want to use instead of 
  software that managers want to buy

It seems that people have learned this lesson. Marketing folks even have a term for it: The Consumerization of IT. Spend some time around Gartner reading folk, and you'll hear it incessantly. http://www.gartner.com/press_releases/asset_138285_11.html

Of course, now we have real success stories to point to. The iPhone's enterprise adoption is generally driven by normal folks, and the blackberry driven by managers.

>If you want to do something that's going to change the world, build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy.

Of course the real secret is to build something that satisfies both. That is why Microsoft was so successful, their products were used by individuals, families, and businesses.

  > build software that people want to use instead of 
  > software that managers want to buy

Yes, I remember, I learnt it the hard way between 2000 and 2002...

Have you written about this anywhere? It sounds like there's an interesting story here.

I haven't. Well it's an interesting story indeed, but I don't know how to present things while not putting blame on some people. That, and I don't have a regular personal blog to publish it.

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