Graffiti, Revisited
Wow! When I posted my thoughts on Graffiti’s caustic advertising, I never expected to become the focus of a major controversy!
Some additional thoughts and clarifications, in no particular order:
- I was mostly commenting on Telligent motives and manner of advertising, not mainly on defending WordPress. It needs no defense. I would venture 90% of those who choose it as either blogware or a CMS remain satisfied and are not looking for an alternative. It was the company’s marketing campaign that raised my ire.
Choosing the keyword of one’s competitor was a bold and risky move of their part. I also think it was poorly executed. Because WordPress has established both market share and a devoted, almost religious following, challenging… no… taunting its devotees is almost certain to backfire on you.
I liken it to the Catholic church placing an ad in Jewish World Daily claiming, “Judaism is a false religion… try ours instead!”, or, maybe a better example is the classic, “Hi, I’m a Mac… and I’m a PC” ads. Those ads are meant for two audiences: Mac users who feel secure in the belief that their operating system is superior and PC users who are considering switching. But because the ads portray PC in a doltish, yet not mean-spirited way, we all chuckle regardless of where we buy our software from. - One commenter mentioned that I’d been used to generate interest in, and no doubt Google juice for a product that, up until then, few people had heard of. I concede that’s a good point. But does WordPress have anything to fear? I think not. The people who would switch to this or other competitors are likely already unsatisfied and looking for an alternative. If I gave them free press, so be it.
- I find it humorous the people at Telligent claim WordPress is not a CMS, like they’re the arbiters of such things. If people use it as a CMS, then regardless of how many features it has, it’s a CMS. In my opinion, their strategy should have been, “Here’s why Graffiti is a better CMS than WordPress…”
- That they’ve created software to compete with much more well-established market leaders is commendable! Where would we be if no one dared innovate and compete when faced with daunting market leaders? More power to them!
- Finally, what I objected to at the onset, and in the subsequent controversy, is the mean-spiritedness with which they conducted themselves. They belittled us as fanboys and not knowing what we’re talking about, and here we were, defending ourselves in a fight they themselves instigated.
They’re free to do what they want, I just think they would have and will fare better if they focused on their strengths instead of their competitor’s perceived weaknesses.
Comments
Hi Charles,
The marketing message might still need some work (heck, it is a beta campaign as well :). What we are trying to point out is that some folks are working harder than they need to be. We believe Graffiti will enable users to get many of the benefits of blog publishing mixed with some core traditional CMS functionality and some extra tools/options for doing common site tasks.
I published more thoughts on this here: http://simpable.com/software/graffiti-v-wordpress-2/
Thanks,
Scott
Scott,
Then say that! Say Graffiti is a better CMS! Say Graffiti is easier to use or whatever is your selling point!
Be positive about your product instead of negative on ours.!
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