Google, Pacman, and the Enemies of Fun

You might think Google dropped a bomb on some small country or fed small kittens to snakes. Today, there is a lot of noise about Google's method of celebrating the anniversary of Namco's Pacman, which today turned 30.



I'm glad I don't work with all of the naysayers and complainers and whiners on the Internet who obstinately declare that they're now changing their search engine to Bing! What's funny is that deep down inside in the depths of their subconscious, they've had this burning desire to do so all along.

Microsoft has really been beating Bing into our skulls. Whenever I turn on the television, I see references to it in pop culture. On Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and other television programs on the CW, the main characters made several references to it and even used "Bing" as a verb. This is what savvy marketing people refer to as "brand awareness" while in reality it's just brainwashing.

You people that are complaining about Google putting up an interactive widget aren't really angry at Google. You're angry at yourselves for being too stupid to understand how to use a computer, and as any psychologist will tell you, you're using displacement to redirect your anger at yourself onto Google for actually thinking that something that was meant to bring joy was a virus. You're using this moment as the excuse you've been looking for to run to Bing.

Brainwash successful!

To the complainers out there, the world isn't going to wait for you. It's moving on with or without you. I'm warning you now, you'd better catch up or you'll be standing in the unemployment line in 10 to 20 years, complaining about how your job went to India or China or someone much younger and with more drive than you, and you'll be bitching about how both your life and the the government both suck.


I am really exited to hear if the grass really is greener on the other side in Bingland. As for me, I'm sticking with Google. I'm staying on the cutting edge where life is more exciting. Why, because you can't please all of the people all of the time. If you want to be spoon fed and treated like the whiny infant that you sound like, then go to AOL or Bing. Good riddens, I say! Google's products and services will only get better if they market them to people with open minds who are willing to experiment. They're better off without you.

As for anyone coming out of college or anyone looking for a job, here is some unsolicited advice:

• You can tell a lot about an employer by looking at the tools they use. If they support Google and openness and get really excited about new technologies, chances are you're really going to enjoy the environment and the people you work with. In that organization, you'll be important, and you'll make a difference in the world. Most importantly, you'll have a lot of fun while you do it.



• Now, if they support Microsoft or ban a specific technology because of some ridiculous moment of hypoglycemia, lack of sleep, and confusion, then I suggest you run the other way. Well, unless you are the enemy of fun and like working with a bunch of stiffs who get hypertension because they spent money on virus software today instead of spending it on taking a computer class like they should have years ago.

In summary, I really enjoyed the Friday break. So did many of my coworkers. I feel really sorry for all of the people who were offended by something so non-offensive. Go back to your stone knives and bearskins.

Dreamhost Hosting Special

I work with a client who uses Dreamhost as the hosting provider for a new web application. My client works with several other contractors besides myself. Some have been only temporary contracts while others have been more long-term. For the initial phase of development, all development was done on local servers, and there was only one hostname for the website.

One of the newest consultants spent just a small portion of his time in setting up some tools that would not only make development more efficient; but also, these tools will help prevent catastrophic mistakes that oftentimes can occur. Manual, repeated tasks are prone to error, and it's not a matter of if a failure occurs, but when will the failure occur.

The consultant set up several domain names for us to use in the deployment process. Previously, the site was deployed to the server under the www subdomain. While this is fine for code that has been tested on the hosting platform, it's not fine when deploying live. We now have a "testing" subdomain and a "stage" subdomain where "testing" is where untested code can be tested using a separate build of the website. "Stage", of course, mirrors whatever is deployed live and acts as a staging ground for final tests of changes to ensure that they are indeed production ready.

The consultant also set up Trac, which is an open-source wiki, bug tracking package, and project management platform all rolled into one web application. It integrates with the Subversion repository, which the consultant also setup and configured using Dreamhost's web panel.

Dreamhost offers these features as part of the standard hosting package, all for the low cost of $5.95 per month, depending on the length of your committment. Of all of the hosting providers that I've looked at, Dreamhost is the best for new startups looking to establish a web presence using PHP, Perl, Ruby, and some other popular programming languages. You'll never have to worry about running out of databases, as Dreamhost will supply you with an endless supply of MySql databases!

Some of the things that really stood out to me were things like the Jabber Chat server, a full Unix shell, the Debian Linux operating system, and IMAP access so you can download your email to a mail client. There is a one-click install feature for installing many popular packages, such as Wordpress, Moodle, and Joomla. In addition, through the shell you can install other applications, such as Trac!

To make this deal even sweeter, you can get unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth if you sign up now by clicking on the link in the left section on my website! This leaves lots of room for growth, and this perhaps may be the last hosting package you'll ever need!

The only catch, there are only 1111 slots left open for unlimited disk space and bandwidth, so sign up today!

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Open Source Infections

This article is in response to a comment left on this article.


Below is an excerpt of the GPL from http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html:

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that you know you can do these things.


The GPL license states that the purpose is to give developers more freedom to use the source code; however, it's not truly free! Here is another excerpt from the GNU FAQ:


If I add a module to a GPL-covered program, do I have to use the GPL as the license for my module?

The GPL says that the whole combined program has to be released under the GPL. So your module has to be available for use under the GPL.

But you can give additional permission for the use of your code. You can, if you wish, release your program under a license which is more lax than the GPL but compatible with the GPL. The license list page gives a partial list of GPL-compatible licenses.


You have a GPL'ed program that I'd like to link with my code to build a proprietary program. Does the fact that I link with your program mean I have to GPL my program?

Not exactly. It means you must release your program under a license compatible with the GPL (more precisely, compatible with one or more GPL versions accepted by all the rest of the code in the combination that you link). The combination itself is then available under those GPL versions.


If so, is there any chance I could get a license of your program under the Lesser GPL?

You can ask, but most authors will stand firm and say no. The idea of the GPL is that if you want to include our code in your program, your program must also be free software. It is supposed to put pressure on you to release your program in a way that makes it part of our community.

You always have the legal alternative of not using our code.



The term "infect" perfectly describes what some open source licenses can do to code. Specifically, any code one writes that uses a GPL library can become "blanketed" by the GPL license. The author of the comment claims that this is FUD. It's not FUD, it's reality. Sure, open source software is great, and I have even written open source software myself. However, I can't use this code in a proprietary project because the license would make the proprietary project non-proprietary. The analogy of an infection paints a perfect picture regarding how the license would spread from the open source library to the proprietary code.

This isn't to say that all open source licenses are bad. It's important to differentiate between the GPL, LGPL, Apache License, MIT License, and other public licenses. To really label a license as giving developers the freedom to use the software however they want, one would need to look at the LGPL, Apache Commons, or another license that allows open source software to be integrated into a proprietary application.

While there is nothing wrong with the GPL, it's important to understand that there is a time and a place to use this license, and that GPL-licensed code may not be good for every project.

Technical Customer Service

Quoted from Joel On Software - Some interesting jobs:

"My pet theory is that if the person who takes the call when a customer is missing, say, the Pear Mail module, if this person is the same person who maintains the setup code, then they will eventually get sick of sshing into customers' servers and typing "pear install Mail" for them and they'll just fix it in the setup code once and for all. And I think a lot of people would find a job that combines problem solving with new software development is going to be pretty interesting,..." - Joel Spolsky

I agree 100% with Joel's theory on having the software developers also be the customer service department. I don't deal directly with external clients, but I do have to fix problems when things break. As a result, I like to fix them the first time so that I don't have to deal with it again.

It's a beautiful feeling when you can solve a problem the first time for N cases where N -> INFINITY!

As long as the business model empowers software developers to actually implement these solutions, this organizational style will be successful. I feel that I have this level of freedom at my company, and I'm fairly certain that this level of freedom exists at Fog Creek.

Multiple HTML Reply Signatures for Google Apps

Gmail HTML Reply Signatures Greasemonkey Script

The company I work for uses Gmail for email communications. Specifically, the service the company uses is part of the Google Apps bundle of services, and it's the same service that I use for my blog email.

As many of you may know, custom signatures through Gmail can't contain HTML by default. However, HTML Multiple Reply Signatures for Gmail solves this by using the Greasemonkey engine to inject HTML into the page. The HTML Multiple Reply Signatures Script (and Firefox Extension) injects a drop down list to the left of the Gmail editor where a user can select from up to four customized HTML signatures, which will be injected into the Gmail editor.

History of Gmail HTML Multiple Reply Signatures

About a year ago, I integrated the HTML Reply Signatures script into our company's global Windows profile. Since the global profile was shared across most of the company workstations, I created a DOS batch script that took the user's Windows login details from a workstation PC and generated the Greasemonkey script using this information. The generated script on each workstation is exactly the same, except for the filename of the signature image to use. The constraint is that all of the images must use a standard naming convention and all be located on the same public server.

Reliable Gmail HTML Signatures Solution

This solution has worked out quite well. It has been very stable and reliable in the last year and has required absolutely zero maintenance. Now that we have a need for certain people to have more than one signature card, I suggested that one of our managers install the HTML Multiple Reply Signatures Greasemonkey script. So far, he's pretty satisfied with it.

Not being on the global profile made this much easier; otherwise, I would need to write a new batch script that generates the HTML Multiple Reply signatures script instead of the HTML Reply Signatures script, which can only handle injecting one signature. In addition, not being on the global profile means that he could essentially name the image files whatever he wants, as long as he modifies the signature HTML in the script to point to the correct filenames.

I recommended the script instead of the Firefox Extension for three reasons:

• The script is actually more reliable and bug-free than the Firefox Extension.


• This particular manager is technically adept and fully capable of modifying the script himself to configure new signatures.


• Google Apps Gmail is not using Gmail's New Interface, so it has not been susceptible to the same bugs that standard Gmail users have faced.

New version of Gmail

Once Gmail moves these customers to the new version, we're likely to see problems. I wonder why they haven't done this yet. The bigger question is, with my organization's growing use of this particular tool, should we prepare for the change by using a plug-in that supports the new interface?

At any rate, it was cool to see the script being used in my own organization! It may be a good idea to seriously consider moving the script to Gmail's Greasemonkey API to support the new interface.

Corporate Intranet Blogging

One of my coworkers recently came up with what I thought was a really good idea. He suggested that the company allocate time for us to blog. From a marketing standpoint, this could be good public relations in terms of finding both customers and employees, but from a business standpoint, there is a danger of compromising corporate intellectual property.

A lot of other companies have been successful with this idea, but our management is against the idea because of the fact that company secrets could inadvertently find their way into the hands of a competitor.

Therefore, my solution is corporate intranet blogging. We take the idea and we push forward with it, but only internally. This won't buy us any PR points, but it will provide everyone in the company with a platform where they can keep everyone up to date on any cool technologies, advice, bugs, or projects that they've worked on.

This would be a great extension of documentation. If I spend a few days fixing a nasty bug that I think someone else in the company may encounter, the fix will be documented in my intranet blog. If I know that coworker A has really good suggestions for user interface design, I can periodically review the blog for new advice. Sure, this may not be necessary when everyone works in the same office during the same hours, but suppose most employees work in another office? This is a great way to find out what everyone is working on without having to necessarily ask.

A Quarterback's Operating System

"Perhaps this is what needs to happen. Every Linux seller from Novell to Dell (via Canonical) buys air time during the Super Bowl and co-ops a website and a call center phone number for people interested in getting more information."

- Matt Hartley at Mad Penguin dot org

At the beginning of 2007, I was saying the same thing! I was extremely disappointed during the last Super Bowl! Well, not really. The Colts defeated the Bears in an exciting game where the combined efforts of Peyton Manning, Adam Vinatieri, and the Colts offense and defense put enough points up on the scoreboard to defeat the Bears. As one of the only two undefeated teams in the NFL this year, the Colts could end up playing at another Super Bowl game once again.

Although I wrote this article before the Colts loss to the Patriots, the Colts are still in the running and could still defeat the Patriots if they play as aggressively as the Eagles did!

This time, I'd like to see Peyton Manning take his acting career a step further. Last season, Peyton was the spokesman for Verizon. Instead of gaining sponsorship from Verizon, this year I'd like to see Peyton Manning in a Linux commercial. Linux is touted as a geeks' operating system. However, Linux distributions such as Ubuntu are clearly targeting your average home users. So what better way to advertise than to do exactly what Matt Hartley has suggested?

As I mentioned, I didn't see a single Linux commercial during the last Super Bowl, but I totally expected to see one! I was so sure that Linux would make its debut into mainstream media. With Vista looming on the horizon, now is the perfect opportunity for Ubuntu, SUSE, and other Linux distributions to spread the word during the largest televised event during the year.

Novell, you are a corporation. Throw some of those corporate dollars to Peyton Manning! Dell, you already advertise. Help out the open source movement and promote Ubuntu on your laptops! This is what makes you stand out from the crowd! Capitalize on it!

No one ever said it was illegal to make sales from open source software!

The Seven Virtues of Marketing

I am not merely a student of Computer Science. I also studied Business Administration for two years, and this curriculum included a few courses in Marketing. I took classes that approached Marketing in the context of the global environment, and I took classes that briefly introduced Marketing, along with Management, Accounting, Finance, and Human Resource Management.

The Introduction to Marketing class focused on Marketing only. In this course, I learned the Four P's of Marketing: Price, Product, Place, and Promotion. I also learned the difference between target marketing and mass marketing. To put it somewhat bluntly, mass marketing equates to quantity while target marketing equates to quality. Target marketing involves thought while mass marketing involves lack of thought.

The class also introduced the concepts of brand awareness and brand loyalty. Brand loyalty was earned. If you're product has loyal customers then you know that you have a superior product. Creating brand loyalty involves honesty and commitment to the customer. You can't have brand loyalty without brand awareness, but brand awareness alone won't create brand loyalty. Consumers may be aware of your product, but they may also think it sucks. The only thing they may be loyal about is not purchasing your product, or perhaps they may help you create awareness that your brand sucks by telling ten people they know that they had a bad experience with your product instead of telling three that they loved it.

Now, brand awareness can create brand loyalty, but it can also stagnate your product's growth, so you shouldn't focus on awareness alone. Creating brand loyalty involves patience, creativity, honesty, hard-work, selflessness, commitment to the customer, and strategic business planning. If you forget or neglect one of these components, you may not be able to create the brand loyalty that you are looking for.

Why be patient? Well, chances are you may be worrying about your bottom-line. My advice is this: Don't. Why, you ask? Because if you worry about your bottom-line you will neglect patience. You will rush your design and production departments into creating a sub-optimal product. This leads to a severe lack of committment to the customer, which is selfish on your part because you're worried more about your bottom line than your customer's satisfaction. You and your team can work 12 to 15 hour days, only to end up sitting in a meeting with your boss trying to explain why the numbers aren't as high as what was originally projected.

Creativity and honesty are like patience, selflessness, and committment to the customer in that they are directly proportional. If you are creative, you can market your product with honesty. If you are honest, you will need to find a creative solution to market your product successfully. If you're marketing department isn't utilizing their full creative potential, you will probably notice that some shady shortcuts are being made. Don't lie to your customers, you'll lose. Unless, of course, your customers are morons. But even if they are morons, don't be shady, it's just not cool.

Besides, it might be you that's the moron. I laugh every time I see the commercials advertising male enhancement: "If this was a gimmick, could we afford to do this?". Hahaha. I don't want to know that answer now, I want to know that answer in ten years, long after a chapter 11 bankruptcy, and long after the marketing team decided to start careers in building maintenance because they didn't like their fresh-out-of-college-with-a-marketing-degree jobs with Extenze. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with building maintenance, you can learn a lot about home repair, construction, and many other interesting and marketable -- no pun intended -- fields. I've talked to many people who found happiness and success in building maintenance or construction who earned degrees but just didn't like their fields. My point though is that absolutely no creativity went into marketing the product, and that makes me question how much honesty there is behind the product, and how much these so-called marketers actually learned from their marketing classes.

Basically, if you use trickery to manipulate your customers, chances are they -- like me -- won't trust you. So you must be ethical in your quest to create brand loyalty. "Don't be evil", as Google would say.

Although I've mentioned honesty above, I feel that I need to mention it again because I feel it is very important. Now, honesty directly correlates with commitment to the customer, patience, hard-work, strategic planning, and selflessness. It is perhaps the most important of The Seven Virtues of Marketing. You can be as honest as you want with your customers and still fall flat on your face. At least you can sleep at night though. But, if you're product is subordinate, you're honesty won't sell your product. Now, this doesn't mean that you should be dishonest. No, because as I've mentioned previously, neglecting honesty wlll directly challenge and insult the intelligence of your customers. But if you plan, work hard, be creative, and commit to the customer's satisfaction, then it will be easy to be honest. Your product will practically sell itself. You're customers will ask your sales team questions, and they will give honest answers. You're customers will exclaim "Wow! You mean, if I am not satisfied with Copilot, you'll refund my $5 dollars! Just like that!". Not only will you and your staff feel good about yourselves; but also, your customers will feel good about you as well! They wouldn't think of asking for their money back. In fact, they will probably bring more business to your doorstep.

These traits, patience, hard-work, honesty, creativity, proper planning, customer committment, and selflessness are important in all aspects of life, including business. Apply this mission statement, methodology, ranting, mode of living, or whatever you want to call it, to your business, your life, and you will create not just brand awareness, but brand loyalty!