

Groupware Bad (2005) - mgunes
http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html

======
acqq
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)>

------
swombat
_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.

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peteforde
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.)

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happybuy
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.

------
jamie

      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.

------
billswift
>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.

------
wazoox

      > 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...

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

~~~
wazoox
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.

