For some years, Digital River have been responsible for generating much discussion about many different aspects of the software and shareware industry. Many worry that less options is not in the interests of the software companies and developers, and that DR’s constant devouring of their competition is not a particularly healthy development.
But today a lot of developers appear to be accepting this as progress, and some are growing increasingly concerned by the issue of convergence, and the fact that many of the smaller companies are being more or less excluded along the way.
I’m as happy to talk about this as anyone else, but I can’t help feeling that complaining about industry trends is as productive as shouting at the bad weather (something we tend to do quite regularly in the UK).
I was, however, particularly interested to see how the conference Big Guys were going to be representing themselves in their hospitality suites at the conference. Were they there, as some people suggest, as a formality? Or were they actively trying to help developers and companies to reach more people and sell more software?
In general, the reception we received was friendly and helpful, but a few companies in particular deserve a special mention.
Aaron and I walked into the CNET hospitality suite and introduced ourselves. Granted, it was the last day of the conference, but the people manning the room didn’t come across as overly eager.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying that we were ignored when we walked in, but the reception was certainly less than enthusiastic.
I was also surprised that after introducing ourselves, no-one in the room had heard of our company, which struck me as a little odd. Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not as though we’re exactly a household name, but we are generally quite well known in the shareware industry, and had been extremely active in a fair number of sessions and panels.
When we explained that we were there representing our clients, many of whom were actively looking for advertising possibilities, we were told that the person responsible for advertising wasn’t around “at that moment”. Nor did they know if or when he’d be back.
We did, however, speak with one of the people connected with the PPD Auction. We told him that some of our clients were confused and frustrated by the system, and his answer was that our clients needed to understand how it worked. An interesting approach.
He was quite defensive, and when we pointed out that some of them were no longer using it because of these issues, he assured me that the system was about to be fixed. Strange. People from CNET have been telling me this for quite a number of years now. When will it actually happen?
What was really strange, however, was the fact that I never did get the name or contact details of the person I needed to speak to. Nor has he contacted me in the last two weeks, despite my leaving a business card for him.
I should also clarify that I was quite explicit. I pointed out more than once that we represented a number of clients with sizeable budgets to spend. The exact phrase I used was that they were “itching to spend” on advertising. I also pointed out that this was effectively money in my pocket, and that I was hoping to walk out of their room with some sort of deal for them. Some hope.
The person I spoke to was less than helpful, and didn’t seem to get the message. This may have been partly due to the fact that he seemed more interested in his friend who had just returned from lunch. So much so that he didn’t even notice when we left the room. An interesting approach to hospitality.
After the conference, I sat down at the airport with Aaron, and we scribbled down the whole incident while it was fresh in our minds. When we did so, I was 100% certain that nobody from CNET would contact me, and as it’s now been over two weeks since the conference finished, it looks as though I was right.
The idea of my sharing this experience isn’t just to bash CNET. They’re more than capable of doing that for themselves. But the contrast between visiting CNET and visiting TUCOWS, for example, couldn’t have been greater.
In the TUCOWS room we sat down with Greg Weir. Not only did he answer all our questions, but he also helped us fix some of the issues that our clients were experiencing there and then – in real time. He was actively helpful, and seemed interested in listening to our needs and addressing them.
We also met briefly with Bob Gibson, who has since been following up with me to make sure that our clients get all the information they need to advertise on the TUCOWS site.
So how does one company give out such a clear message of “get it”, while the other one merely mumbles “get lost”?
And then there’s Digital River, the often perceived Borg of the industry. When I walked into their suite, they were warm, friendly, inviting and welcoming. I didn’t actually go into their hospitality suite for anything other than a free drink! But as soon as I walked in I was approached by someone offering food, drink, a place to sit and a video console to play! Nice work. Shame that their promise of “trying to help” me win their prize draw came to nothing, but such is life!
Even Microsoft, the biggest of all the giants in the industry, were active, helpful and friendly. Michael Lehman was not only approachable, but also generous with his time, information and software! It does strike me as a little skewed when Aaron and myself get taken to lunch by the guy from Microsoft, while CNET don’t have the time to even talk to us properly.
Attitudes like this from CNET only reinforce the idea that the industry is outgrowing the smaller companies, and that the bigger companies simply don’t care about the smaller developers.
CNET. I would suggest that you respond to what I’m saying here, and to prove the idea wrong. To date, my experience has been that I will hear nothing from you, but here’s your chance. Prove me wrong.
And of course I’ll let you know how or if they respond next month. But I don’t advise holding your breath for too long.
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ON A LIGHTER NOTE:
SEO, Marketing, Affiliates and Sales are all very well and good. But what I really flew across the Atlantic for was far more important.
As usual, I hoped that this year would see two simultaneous lifelong wishes granted. A free upgrade to First Class in British Airways, and a chance to let off a little steam in the form of electronic toilet racing.
To my surprise, both wishes did in fact come true.
There’s little to say about the First Class upgrade, other than it was free, wonderful and ruined the experience of all future flights for the rest of my life.
And as much as I might try to explain the intricacies of electronic toilet racing, you just had to see it for yourselves.
For the record, the winning team was WinRAR, helped (of course) by our very own Aaron Weiner from SoftwarePromotions.
You see what happens when good software and SoftwarePromotions get to work together??
The Competitive Edge newsletter is a monthly in-depth look at the issues faced by independent software developers today.
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