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Why I voted this up: because the author suggests that there is not just one correct way to do something. Which is not what 37signals usually suggests.
by sabat 18y ago
Why I voted this up: because the author suggests that there is not just one correct way to do something. Which is not what 37signals usually suggests.
- bprater 18y agoCompelling writing often forces one to take a strong position.
- sabat 18y agoAgreed. My point is just that 37signals doesn't have to go as far as they do. A somewhat milder position would aid their message.
- jraines 18y agoActually it almost certainly wouldn't, unless you mean specifically for you. They're constantly in the press, they generate conversations on sites like this, and they've spawned a legion of (number)(noun) imitators. It's one of the basic principles of copywriting and social media marketing that it pays to be bold and occasionally controversial.
- sabat 18y agoPissing people off garners attention, sure. I'm not sure it's good business in the long run, though.
- helveticaman 18y agoI agree, but...maybe it is good in the long term. I can conceive of that being the case.
- webwright 18y agoI don't want to say that nice guys finish last, but certainly a big slice of the people at the "top" of the tech world aren't taking the middle ground. Pissing people off seems to correlate with success.
- run4yourlives 18y agoUm, they're proving otherwise. They've pissed off a whole boatload of people, and their customer based is still growing. It's that old, "it nobody hates you, you aren't doing anything worthwhile".
- sabat 18y agoOr, maybe their bullshit hasn't caught up with them yet.
- sabat 18y agoI'm going to reply again just to say: bullshit. Compelling writing doesn't need anything to back it up. You either have a point or you don't. Acting like an asshole just means you don't have much of anything to say.
- jraines 18y agoI don't think they ever suggest that their way is the only way. There's nothing wrong with saying how you do something and making a case for it; you don't have to add a disclaimer to everything you write about doing business.
- sabat 18y agoI think you have a valid point. The reason I partially disagree with it is that attitude plays a part here. 37signals comes off as though they think they need to tell people how to live; they love being up in your grill. The contents of their posts are often reasoned well enough, but their attitude says "you suck; let us tell you how to suck less."