4 ms·

No, they can advocate for themselves. I'm advocating for maturity in the resolution of such problems. I've never denied that what GS was at best misleading, ho

No, they can advocate for themselves. I'm advocating for maturity in the resolution of such problems. I've never denied that what GS was at best misleading, however, I don't think that going public without trying to resolve matters privately is very mature. In this case, GS has responded positively, but things could have shaped differently had there been another Jason Fried on the other side.

tptacek 18y ago
Just a guess, but I think if GS had a Jason Fried, the "conversation" would look more like this: 37s: The Get Satisfaction business model is dangerously close to extortion. GS: We didn't realize it, but you're right. We're doing X, Y, and Z to fix it right now. We're sorry. 37s: Also there's 10x more 37s branding on your pages than GS branding, which is misleading. GS: You know what? You're right about that too. We thought the branding would help our users, but it's turning out to be misleading. We're doing X, Y, and Z to rebadge the pages, and we're sorry. 37s: ... Peanut Gallery 1: GS misled the whole Internet? Peanut Gallery 2: Yeah, and they apologized. That all you got? Peanut Gallery 1: ... Peanut Gallery 2: ... Instead, because GS apparently doesn't know how to concede a point cleanly and end the discussion, they're going to remain the center of attention for awhile. And while all publicity is in a sense good publicity, the people they make money from are hearing nothing except "trademark infringement" and "customer service horror story".
- batasrki 18y ago
  I don't that that's how it'd go, for the simple reason that if Jason Fried was so outraged at the GS's behaviour, it only stands to reason that had there been another JF on the other side, he'd be outraged by the 37S's one that he'd flame him back. You know what this is just getting too complicated.
  - Semiapies 18y ago
    Assuming no ill intent and simple (if major) ignorance being GS's problem, having someone around like Fried with an understanding of trademark and branding would have probably prevented the whole issue.
    - batasrki 18y ago
      I'll give you that point.
- wallflower 18y ago
  > they're going to remain the center of attention for awhile. Everyone on the Internet has a soapbox. Jason Fried/37S has a much bigger soapbox than the average disgruntled blogger/user because of their huge reader base.
  - dhimes 18y ago
    Thank God. If this had happened to me, I'd have no recourse. Keep in mind, even a public flogging didn't work for GS. This is the second post. Will this work? We'll see.
- potatolicious 18y ago
  The guys behind GS are not stupid... the sheer volume of evidence against them would suggest that much of this was intentional. The initial reply from GS that promised to change the phrasing on their site seemed, to me at least, disingenuous, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

tptacek 18y ago

Just a guess, but I think if GS had a Jason Fried, the "conversation" would look more like this: 37s: The Get Satisfaction business model is dangerously close to extortion. GS: We didn't realize it, but you're right. We're doing X, Y, and Z to fix it right now. We're sorry. 37s: Also there's 10x more 37s branding on your pages than GS branding, which is misleading. GS: You know what? You're right about that too. We thought the branding would help our users, but it's turning out to be misleading. We're doing X, Y, and Z to rebadge the pages, and we're sorry. 37s: ... Peanut Gallery 1: GS misled the whole Internet? Peanut Gallery 2: Yeah, and they apologized. That all you got? Peanut Gallery 1: ... Peanut Gallery 2: ... Instead, because GS apparently doesn't know how to concede a point cleanly and end the discussion, they're going to remain the center of attention for awhile. And while all publicity is in a sense good publicity, the people they make money from are hearing nothing except "trademark infringement" and "customer service horror story".

batasrki 18y ago
I don't that that's how it'd go, for the simple reason that if Jason Fried was so outraged at the GS's behaviour, it only stands to reason that had there been another JF on the other side, he'd be outraged by the 37S's one that he'd flame him back. You know what this is just getting too complicated.
- Semiapies 18y ago
  Assuming no ill intent and simple (if major) ignorance being GS's problem, having someone around like Fried with an understanding of trademark and branding would have probably prevented the whole issue.
  - batasrki 18y ago
    I'll give you that point.
wallflower 18y ago
> they're going to remain the center of attention for awhile. Everyone on the Internet has a soapbox. Jason Fried/37S has a much bigger soapbox than the average disgruntled blogger/user because of their huge reader base.
- dhimes 18y ago
  Thank God. If this had happened to me, I'd have no recourse. Keep in mind, even a public flogging didn't work for GS. This is the second post. Will this work? We'll see.
potatolicious 18y ago
The guys behind GS are not stupid... the sheer volume of evidence against them would suggest that much of this was intentional. The initial reply from GS that promised to change the phrasing on their site seemed, to me at least, disingenuous, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.