4 ms·

Just because something happens on April 1st doesn't mean it's a joke. Regular business keeps happening, and you need your customers to be able to tell the diffe

by sp332 3y ago

Just because something happens on April 1st doesn't mean it's a joke. Regular business keeps happening, and you need your customers to be able to tell the difference.

yareal 3y ago
Especially if you're a global company whose audience either might not be familiar with April fools, or is extremely cautious by nature (vpn subscribers, I'd assume are).
RUnconcerned 3y ago
Gmail was launched on April 1st and at the time it seemed like an April Fools prank - how could Google possibly give you 1GB of storage for free?
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  Still waiting for them to say "sike"
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    They have. They now delete accounts for inactivity.
- sp332 3y ago
  Remember when they replaced the "send and archive" button with mic drop, which would send a rude GIF and then mute the conversation so you couldn't even see your customers and clients complaining to apologize?
barnabee 3y ago
Not necessarily all of them! If the customers who can’t tell the difference leave and twice as many new ones join, you’re winning. I’m happy with Mullvad, but I’m more likely to use or recommend Windscribe in future because they do stuff like this (even though I think most April Fools stuff is a bit tired and it's generally overdone, I much prefer companies to have a personality, be quirky, etc. — easy to like is hard to love).
- tiltowait 3y ago
  > If the customers who can’t tell the difference leave and twice as many new ones join, you’re winning. Quite a few years ago (around 2010), gog.com ran an April Fool's joke claiming they were shutting down. They went all-out for it, including blocking anyone from downloading their paid-for games for the day. Unsurprisingly, people were upset, and I saw more than one person vow never to buy from them again. I always wondered how many customers they lost from that stunt vs. how many they gained.

by sp332 3y ago

Just because something happens on April 1st doesn't mean it's a joke. Regular business keeps happening, and you need your customers to be able to tell the difference.

yareal 3y ago

Especially if you're a global company whose audience either might not be familiar with April fools, or is extremely cautious by nature (vpn subscribers, I'd assume are).

RUnconcerned 3y ago

Gmail was launched on April 1st and at the time it seemed like an April Fools prank - how could Google possibly give you 1GB of storage for free?

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
Still waiting for them to say "sike"
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  They have. They now delete accounts for inactivity.
sp332 3y ago
Remember when they replaced the "send and archive" button with mic drop, which would send a rude GIF and then mute the conversation so you couldn't even see your customers and clients complaining to apologize?

barnabee 3y ago

Not necessarily all of them! If the customers who can’t tell the difference leave and twice as many new ones join, you’re winning. I’m happy with Mullvad, but I’m more likely to use or recommend Windscribe in future because they do stuff like this (even though I think most April Fools stuff is a bit tired and it's generally overdone, I much prefer companies to have a personality, be quirky, etc. — easy to like is hard to love).

tiltowait 3y ago
> If the customers who can’t tell the difference leave and twice as many new ones join, you’re winning. Quite a few years ago (around 2010), gog.com ran an April Fool's joke claiming they were shutting down. They went all-out for it, including blocking anyone from downloading their paid-for games for the day. Unsurprisingly, people were upset, and I saw more than one person vow never to buy from them again. I always wondered how many customers they lost from that stunt vs. how many they gained.