The same could be said regarding Pavlov's dogs (well it was a breakthrough). The dogs were "conditioned" to salivate when the bell rang. Was it conditioning, or was it predicting a future event based on specific stimulus?
Err the customer is not taking advantage of you...
Part of the cost of doing business is preparing proposals. You will win some deals and lose others, but to try and play the game shrouded in secrecy is ridiculuos. You are competing for the customers money, you do that by investing time, and ensuring you have something to offer that differentiates you from the competition. If you have no differentiating factors, then you are with the wrong company. A small IT company needs an edge, and if it doesn't have it, it can't very well make up for that by hiding behind "You can't talk about the details of our proposal."
The big companies try to play this game to lock out vendors and so that no one really knows what their products cost.
The small crappy companies do it because they haven't figured out how to compete in a competitve market.
Using and Providing the Registered Information
We will manage information including fingerprints and facial portraits provided at the registration as personal information set forth in laws on protection of personal information held by administrative agencies, and the information will not be used or provided beyond the range allowed for in these laws.
This may be an important tool in our fight against this system. Under the new strict privacy laws (April 04) if any information is kept about you, the keepers of the data have to provide what information is being kept upon request.
We foreigners may be able to launch a campaign repeatedly asking them to provide what information is being kept and therefore make this system a huge pain in the ass for the Japanese Government that jammed it down our throats.
I think we should look into this option and make it as easy as possible for foreigners to make these requests.
Japan used to fingerprint all foreigners when they had to get their "gaijin cards". This was fought and overturned in 1999. Now Japan is playing the "terror" card to once again fingerprint foreigners. This is why the foreigners who live here are not exempt.
A few years back Japan tried to implement a program fingerprinting all of Japan's Citizens. There was a public outcry and the plan was scrapped, but foreigners are foreigners and fair game.
There are many things I love about Japan, but this is simply a waste of time and money.
Oh, here is a nice promotional video Japan has kindly put together for us stupid foreign people.
This Fingerprinting and photographing are not designed to prevent terrorism. Terrorism in Japan has been traditionally conducted by groups that are exempt from the fingerpritning process.
This is being done specifically to track foreigners, especially the foreigners who live here. Some of it is being done to prevent illegal immigration.
Personally, living here, it impacts me as I have to travel a lot throught the Asia Pacific region, and now immigration is going to be a royal pain. I stopped going through the US because my Japanese wife needs to get fingerprinted and photographed there, but unfortunately, leaving Japan right now is not an option for me.
The real purpose of this is to once again fingerprint all foreigners in Japan. It used to be mandatory, until it finally got thrown out about 10 years ago. They tried a few years back to fingerprint all of the Japanese citizens, and there as a public outcry that put a stop to that nonsense, but foreigners are fair game.
The truly ironic thing is, all terrorism in Japan has been committed by groups that are exempt from the list.
Well here is the Honne and the Tatemae (The real thing and the appearance or facade) of Japanese culture at work.
It is not about actually preventing minors from purchasing cigarettes, it about making the appearance of doing so. By making the appearance of oing so, these vending machines will continue to be allowed, and it may even stop them from being "turned off" at 11:00 PM as they are now. It may also allow Beer vending machines to make a comeback (they are still here, but in far fewer quantities than they used to be.)
Japan is about image, and showing that you are respecting the group consensus. Japan is not about actually making something foolproof.
Having a Linux based PC with mass market distribution at a price point that is not attainable by Widows based machines is going to have a dramatic impact on the whole OS market.
I'm not saying things will change over night, but at this point in time, with Vista floundering and consumer response to the linux product high, Microsoft is in trouble in the workstation market. As these are very low-end machines, these will likely become popular with students and children. The more market share Linux attains, the greater the support and commercial software options available. As children and student become accustomed to Linux they will have no issues using it in future environments. As the workstation OS market fragments, the lock on using MS Office Suite for compatibility purposes will start to decline as more and more people use alternates and compatibility issues arise no matter what is in use. If Microsoft was smart, they would be developing a Microsoft Office for Linux, and keeping it in their back pocket until it is needed.
The fact that this is made possible, and being driven by Walmart is sweet irony, but this will be a Harvard Case Study in a few years about the power of distribution channels, and how Microsoft lost its position as king of the desktop.
If you are prepared to quit, then before you do so, perhaps it makes sense to talk to someone high up in the company about the situation. Good, creative employees are valuable company resources that are hard to replace. There is a cost to you if you don't sign and lose your job, but there is also a cost to the company.
If you get caught in the system by refusing to sign, then you are just another cog, and a non-compliant one at that. If you can bring real people back into the equation, then perhaps you can get somewhere -- but you need to be prepared to quit before you attempt do so.
Forgot one very important thing!
This could prevent you from getting your next job, because your new employer does not want to take on the risk of another company claiming the rights to an invention you make at the new company. Even if it is after a year, they could still try and make a claim saying you had the idea before then. So do not do this without getting paid!
Cheers,
CB
A lot of companies try to extend this past what was worked on at the office. Any idea that you come up with at any time day or night, the company want rights to.
Bottom line, if they are asking you to sign, then you need to get something in return. Ask them what they're going to pay you for this new set of obligations, and ensure that it covers you beyond the 6 month period that they claim right to your ideas (i.e. at least 6 months plus whatever other severance you are entitled to, plus if you want a bonus for ideas created outside of work hours). Furthermore request that no matter what reason you leave the company, fired, quit, caught stealing, whatever, you are entitled to this new severance package.
If they agree, then consider if it is worth it to you and decide accordingly. If (when) they don't agree, say "Why would I sign a more restrictive agreement, when it offers me nothing in return." Document the conversations (keep a journal) and if they fire you, hit them up with a lawsuit. Chances are they will back down.
If you are really not that creative, and have no entrepreneurial spirit, then just sign the damn thing!
Wow! You have some bitterness going on there! I am an IT/IS manager and in many ways I agree with you (minus the venom). IT does exist to support the business and many times IT/IS does get a distorted view. That is a function of Bad IT management. The main thing that separates IT from Electricians and Janitors is that IT can be, and needs to be, used strategically. This is the biggest failing with the article. It needs to be stressed that businesses run on information, and the more efficiently you can handle that information, the more you can create real competitive advantages that either save the business money on the back end, or help drive revune on the front end. Two quick examples that jump to mind are Just in time delivery, and targetted sales based on data mining.
Yes, there are carbon blobs (they also exist in Finance, HR, marketing, sales and any other functional part of the business). What a CEO, COO needs to understand is how IT can be used for strategic advantages. This is the responsibility of the IT manager/CIO. They need to understand the business well enough to put forward ideas that the other executives can understand, in other words, how can this project give us a strategic advantage. The article does a nice job of breaking IT down into different categories, but completely fails to bring IT into a strategic light. For a non IT example, the CEO doesn't need to understand six sigma in order to understand the importance of quality control. The CEO DOES need to know how, if and where, six sigma can give an advantage.
I am sorry to hear that you have had that kind of experience with IT, but I am also glad as it means my job prospects are great!
Actually, if it wasn't for the language issue, out-sourcing phone support to Japan could be a great idea. You would need a good system, that combined a CRM system with IP-phone tech and allowed the workers to work from home. Then you could tap the virtually untapped "housewife" workforce, a very polite, eager-to-work group. For first level tech based support from a checklist, this could be accomplished easily and affordably.
I have actually given this idea much thought, but the language issue is the big kicker.
CB
I actually run this at home, and am writing this post from a VNC enabled Linux Terminal Server. The machines you are using sound old, so if you are willing to invest a little in server hardware, this could be a good option. If you have PXE boot capable network cards, then you can boot from the network into linux. If not then it can also be accomplished with boot disks. For the must have Windows software packages, you can use rdesktop http://www.rdesktop.org/ and setup a windows terminal server. This can get costly, but it works.
The downside to this setup is sound support. Another package out there that is supposedly quite good is no machine http://www.nomachine.com/
I have never used No Machine, but supposedly it is fast, supports sound, and Educational institutions get a 50% discount on the cost.
If you have any spare hardware kicking around, I would setup a Linux Terminal server and see how you like it. All it would take is one spare workstation that you can wipe and set up with linux. You could then easily enable all of your current machines to boot to the terminal server from floppy, and give it a trial. If it looks like it would fit the bill, then get a real server for it so you don't suffer from speed issues.
Same with me Marvinglenn. But take a look at my response to the previous poster. I probably didn't explain things as clearly as I should have on the first post.
Ok, so if all of your friends started telling you to use MSN Search because of it's superior technology, you would just keep on trying Google without one chance of even trying the MSN search? That's like saying you would have kept using Yahoo (or whatever) even when Google came out.
If all of my friends started telling me to use MSN, I would think they had gone mad. But seriously, I am saying that right now, if Microsoft has a superior product or not, I am not going to switch to it, because I am satisfied with Google, and therefore am unaware that Microsoft has a superior product. In order for my friends to tell me that MSM is Superior, they would also have to be using, and right now, not one person I know uses MSN for their search Engine. Something has to get the ball rolling.
No, this marketing campaign will be effective regardless of whether the technology is better or not. Most people are dumb, they like free things, and will try it just to get those free things. They aren't going to read up on the latest tech powering their engine. They just want free crap.
You bring up a good point here, however most users don't care what the tech behind the search Engine is. They care what the results are. So they don't need to read up on the tech, but they do need to be satisfied with the results. But as you said, this campaign will be successful in getting people to switch. If the tech and results are also good then it will be more successful.
Word of mouth is one of the most effective advertising methods known because the people telling you to buy the product are people you know. You are more likely to trust your friend or family member's opinion over what the TV or radio (even banner ad) is shouting at you. As far as rapidly penetrating a market, hmm, let's see. What about World of Warcraft. Haven't seen any ads on TV or billboards recently. I guess their 5 million subscribers just kinda heard about it through word of mouth. Google? Word of mouth. LINUX? Word of mouth.
Again you bring up good and valid points. But the markets you are speaking of very limited in terms of demographic (except google which we will look at later). A search engine's demographic is much larger than that of an MMORPG. Looking at Linux, the users are still not your typical people, but knowledgable people. So word of mouth is important, but it will not allow you to quickly penetrate a market where the is already a market leader. Take a look at the market share of Linux which has been out for what, 15 years now? Sure word of mouth has done a great job for it, but in terms of market share Linux sucks (in terms of market share...I am writing this from linux as we speak). To look at your WoW example, I am going to have to say that I live in Japan, and don't watch TV so I have no idea, but I will assume that there aren't big advertising campaigns in that manner. So what? What is your point? MSN is not advertising via TV or Billboards for their campaign are they? They may be, but the best way of advertising is where your market is. Which is right here on the Web. If you think Blizzard did no promotions on the Web, then I think you need to look again.
Now with respect to Google. That was definitely word of mouth and successful, but it still took time. There weren't many options, and Google was clearly superior. Even still, in Japan, Yahoo has the market compared to Google. If Google wants to take over the market here, they are going to have to do campaigns. Why? Because there is already a firmly established market leader.
So to sum up. Word of mouth is important, and it does help. But in order to get anywhere quickly, word of mouth is generally not sufficient. You need to have a critical mass of users to begin with. This will not come from word of mouth unless you already have a solid base of users to talk about your product. This campaign from microsft will attract users to their system. If their system is better or comparable, then let the word of mouth begin.
"I'm sorry but using prizes to get people to use your search engine means you obviously don't have the technology to lure people. When something can't become popular by word of mouth it probably isn't that great. When someone has to GIVE you something to use their service, then it must be pretty bad."
Actually, I am not too sure about that. Google is the market leader for search engines. My hdefault page is Google search and has been for years. If Microsoft has a better product, I wouldn't even know about it because I am satisfied with Google.
One thing about Microsoft, they know business. They know every clean and dirty trick in the book. This promotion is designed to get users using the search engine for a period of time. Getting them accustomed to it. This marketing campaign will only be effective if their product has some superior aspects to the Google search engine. I don't think Microsoft would be dumb enough to pull this if they had nothing to offer.
Word of mouth is not the most effective advertising method, and it is never sufficient to rapidly penetrate a market.
You are correct. I have thought about the frequency I personally experience and once per week is high. I have only personally encountered 2 delays this year that I know were jinshin jiko, and we are already mid February. I tried looking up some stats regarding the rates, but they are extremely hard to find, even in Japanese.
I ride the Keihin Tohoku sen, and I used to ride the Chuo. When I was on the Chuo line, I remember being delayed quite often. I think part of my overzealousness stemmed from the fact that my train rides these days are very short (only two stops!), and I am still getting delayed fairly regularly.
I don't think the delays are always line specific though. I know I have been delayed on the Kehin Tohoku line for suicides on other connected lines.
I appreciate your corrections, your Japanese teacher would be proud, however your in your effort to be proper and eloquent you forgot to elaborate the following points.
3) Bullshit. 4) Bullshit. 5) Bullshit (the part about suicide. the rest I don't care)
Slashdot Mirror
The same could be said regarding Pavlov's dogs (well it was a breakthrough). The dogs were "conditioned" to salivate when the bell rang. Was it conditioning, or was it predicting a future event based on specific stimulus?
Part of the cost of doing business is preparing proposals. You will win some deals and lose others, but to try and play the game shrouded in secrecy is ridiculuos. You are competing for the customers money, you do that by investing time, and ensuring you have something to offer that differentiates you from the competition. If you have no differentiating factors, then you are with the wrong company. A small IT company needs an edge, and if it doesn't have it, it can't very well make up for that by hiding behind "You can't talk about the details of our proposal."
The big companies try to play this game to lock out vendors and so that no one really knows what their products cost.
The small crappy companies do it because they haven't figured out how to compete in a competitve market.
I would trust neither.
This may be an important tool in our fight against this system. Under the new strict privacy laws (April 04) if any information is kept about you, the keepers of the data have to provide what information is being kept upon request.
We foreigners may be able to launch a campaign repeatedly asking them to provide what information is being kept and therefore make this system a huge pain in the ass for the Japanese Government that jammed it down our throats.
I think we should look into this option and make it as easy as possible for foreigners to make these requests.
Yes, but if they go, there is no one left to replace them. There really is only one party here.
I am strongly against this process.
Japan used to fingerprint all foreigners when they had to get their "gaijin cards". This was fought and overturned in 1999. Now Japan is playing the "terror" card to once again fingerprint foreigners. This is why the foreigners who live here are not exempt.
A few years back Japan tried to implement a program fingerprinting all of Japan's Citizens. There was a public outcry and the plan was scrapped, but foreigners are foreigners and fair game.
There are many things I love about Japan, but this is simply a waste of time and money.
Oh, here is a nice promotional video Japan has kindly put together for us stupid foreign people.
http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/common/moviechk.php?p=1203&d=0&t=110&b=0&m=1&r=2
You can easily see their perception of foreigners as slightly retarded, happy, future criminals by the way we are portrayed in this video.
You do not want to get cavity searched in Japan!!!!
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/news/20071115p2g00m0dm016000c.html
Well, everyone is used to the US being a Jackass to the international community, but Japan is supposed to be so polite.
LOL,
The Japanese are known for wasting both time and money on useless ventures. It is almost a Halmark of being Japanese!
Hmmmm where shall we start....
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420236/all
http://inventorspot.com/articles/melody_road_gives_whole_new_mean_8235
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=622
This Fingerprinting and photographing are not designed to prevent terrorism. Terrorism in Japan has been traditionally conducted by groups that are exempt from the fingerpritning process.
This is being done specifically to track foreigners, especially the foreigners who live here. Some of it is being done to prevent illegal immigration.
Personally, living here, it impacts me as I have to travel a lot throught the Asia Pacific region, and now immigration is going to be a royal pain. I stopped going through the US because my Japanese wife needs to get fingerprinted and photographed there, but unfortunately, leaving Japan right now is not an option for me.
Shoganai ne!
Yes indeed! I do have them backwards. Thanks for that.
Oh God, don't get me started on that! That is going to be a total pain in the ass for us foreigners who live here and have to travel all the time.
The Honne: Terror bad! We make you safe. Safe equals happy, we love you!
Tatemae: Must fingerprint foreign Devils.
Here is a video the Japanese government have put together about this which is worth the watch simply because it is so stupid it is funny.
http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/common/moviechk.php?p=1203&d=0&t=110&b=0&m=1&r=2
The real purpose of this is to once again fingerprint all foreigners in Japan. It used to be mandatory, until it finally got thrown out about 10 years ago. They tried a few years back to fingerprint all of the Japanese citizens, and there as a public outcry that put a stop to that nonsense, but foreigners are fair game.
The truly ironic thing is, all terrorism in Japan has been committed by groups that are exempt from the list.
Absolutely Honne and Tatemae in action.
Well here is the Honne and the Tatemae (The real thing and the appearance or facade) of Japanese culture at work.
It is not about actually preventing minors from purchasing cigarettes, it about making the appearance of doing so. By making the appearance of oing so, these vending machines will continue to be allowed, and it may even stop them from being "turned off" at 11:00 PM as they are now. It may also allow Beer vending machines to make a comeback (they are still here, but in far fewer quantities than they used to be.)
Japan is about image, and showing that you are respecting the group consensus. Japan is not about actually making something foolproof.
Having a Linux based PC with mass market distribution at a price point that is not attainable by Widows based machines is going to have a dramatic impact on the whole OS market.
I'm not saying things will change over night, but at this point in time, with Vista floundering and consumer response to the linux product high, Microsoft is in trouble in the workstation market. As these are very low-end machines, these will likely become popular with students and children. The more market share Linux attains, the greater the support and commercial software options available. As children and student become accustomed to Linux they will have no issues using it in future environments. As the workstation OS market fragments, the lock on using MS Office Suite for compatibility purposes will start to decline as more and more people use alternates and compatibility issues arise no matter what is in use. If Microsoft was smart, they would be developing a Microsoft Office for Linux, and keeping it in their back pocket until it is needed.
The fact that this is made possible, and being driven by Walmart is sweet irony, but this will be a Harvard Case Study in a few years about the power of distribution channels, and how Microsoft lost its position as king of the desktop.
Interesting times.
If you are prepared to quit, then before you do so, perhaps it makes sense to talk to someone high up in the company about the situation. Good, creative employees are valuable company resources that are hard to replace. There is a cost to you if you don't sign and lose your job, but there is also a cost to the company.
If you get caught in the system by refusing to sign, then you are just another cog, and a non-compliant one at that. If you can bring real people back into the equation, then perhaps you can get somewhere -- but you need to be prepared to quit before you attempt do so.
Good luck!
Forgot one very important thing! This could prevent you from getting your next job, because your new employer does not want to take on the risk of another company claiming the rights to an invention you make at the new company. Even if it is after a year, they could still try and make a claim saying you had the idea before then. So do not do this without getting paid! Cheers, CB
A lot of companies try to extend this past what was worked on at the office. Any idea that you come up with at any time day or night, the company want rights to.
Bottom line, if they are asking you to sign, then you need to get something in return. Ask them what they're going to pay you for this new set of obligations, and ensure that it covers you beyond the 6 month period that they claim right to your ideas (i.e. at least 6 months plus whatever other severance you are entitled to, plus if you want a bonus for ideas created outside of work hours). Furthermore request that no matter what reason you leave the company, fired, quit, caught stealing, whatever, you are entitled to this new severance package.
If they agree, then consider if it is worth it to you and decide accordingly. If (when) they don't agree, say "Why would I sign a more restrictive agreement, when it offers me nothing in return." Document the conversations (keep a journal) and if they fire you, hit them up with a lawsuit. Chances are they will back down.
If you are really not that creative, and have no entrepreneurial spirit, then just sign the damn thing!
Cheers,
CB
Wow! You have some bitterness going on there! I am an IT/IS manager and in many ways I agree with you (minus the venom). IT does exist to support the business and many times IT/IS does get a distorted view. That is a function of Bad IT management. The main thing that separates IT from Electricians and Janitors is that IT can be, and needs to be, used strategically. This is the biggest failing with the article. It needs to be stressed that businesses run on information, and the more efficiently you can handle that information, the more you can create real competitive advantages that either save the business money on the back end, or help drive revune on the front end. Two quick examples that jump to mind are Just in time delivery, and targetted sales based on data mining.
Yes, there are carbon blobs (they also exist in Finance, HR, marketing, sales and any other functional part of the business). What a CEO, COO needs to understand is how IT can be used for strategic advantages. This is the responsibility of the IT manager/CIO. They need to understand the business well enough to put forward ideas that the other executives can understand, in other words, how can this project give us a strategic advantage. The article does a nice job of breaking IT down into different categories, but completely fails to bring IT into a strategic light. For a non IT example, the CEO doesn't need to understand six sigma in order to understand the importance of quality control. The CEO DOES need to know how, if and where, six sigma can give an advantage.
I am sorry to hear that you have had that kind of experience with IT, but I am also glad as it means my job prospects are great!
Cheers,
CB
Actually, if it wasn't for the language issue, out-sourcing phone support to Japan could be a great idea. You would need a good system, that combined a CRM system with IP-phone tech and allowed the workers to work from home. Then you could tap the virtually untapped "housewife" workforce, a very polite, eager-to-work group. For first level tech based support from a checklist, this could be accomplished easily and affordably. I have actually given this idea much thought, but the language issue is the big kicker. CB
> Why won't my fucking Linux computer print? It's out of paper?
This sounds like a job for Linux Terminal Server
http://www.k12ltsp.org/
http://www.ltsp.org/
I actually run this at home, and am writing this post from a VNC enabled Linux Terminal Server. The machines you are using sound old, so if you are willing to invest a little in server hardware, this could be a good option. If you have PXE boot capable network cards, then you can boot from the network into linux. If not then it can also be accomplished with boot disks. For the must have Windows software packages, you can use rdesktop http://www.rdesktop.org/ and setup a windows terminal server. This can get costly, but it works.
The downside to this setup is sound support. Another package out there that is supposedly quite good is no machine http://www.nomachine.com/
I have never used No Machine, but supposedly it is fast, supports sound, and Educational institutions get a 50% discount on the cost.
If you have any spare hardware kicking around, I would setup a Linux Terminal server and see how you like it. All it would take is one spare workstation that you can wipe and set up with linux. You could then easily enable all of your current machines to boot to the terminal server from floppy, and give it a trial. If it looks like it would fit the bill, then get a real server for it so you don't suffer from speed issues.
Cheers,
CB
Same with me Marvinglenn. But take a look at my response to the previous poster. I probably didn't explain things as clearly as I should have on the first post.
Cheers,
CB
Ok, so if all of your friends started telling you to use MSN Search because of it's superior technology, you would just keep on trying Google without one chance of even trying the MSN search? That's like saying you would have kept using Yahoo (or whatever) even when Google came out.
If all of my friends started telling me to use MSN, I would think they had gone mad. But seriously, I am saying that right now, if Microsoft has a superior product or not, I am not going to switch to it, because I am satisfied with Google, and therefore am unaware that Microsoft has a superior product. In order for my friends to tell me that MSM is Superior, they would also have to be using, and right now, not one person I know uses MSN for their search Engine. Something has to get the ball rolling.
No, this marketing campaign will be effective regardless of whether the technology is better or not. Most people are dumb, they like free things, and will try it just to get those free things. They aren't going to read up on the latest tech powering their engine. They just want free crap.
You bring up a good point here, however most users don't care what the tech behind the search Engine is. They care what the results are. So they don't need to read up on the tech, but they do need to be satisfied with the results. But as you said, this campaign will be successful in getting people to switch. If the tech and results are also good then it will be more successful.
Word of mouth is one of the most effective advertising methods known because the people telling you to buy the product are people you know. You are more likely to trust your friend or family member's opinion over what the TV or radio (even banner ad) is shouting at you. As far as rapidly penetrating a market, hmm, let's see. What about World of Warcraft. Haven't seen any ads on TV or billboards recently. I guess their 5 million subscribers just kinda heard about it through word of mouth. Google? Word of mouth. LINUX? Word of mouth.
Again you bring up good and valid points. But the markets you are speaking of very limited in terms of demographic (except google which we will look at later). A search engine's demographic is much larger than that of an MMORPG. Looking at Linux, the users are still not your typical people, but knowledgable people. So word of mouth is important, but it will not allow you to quickly penetrate a market where the is already a market leader. Take a look at the market share of Linux which has been out for what, 15 years now? Sure word of mouth has done a great job for it, but in terms of market share Linux sucks (in terms of market share...I am writing this from linux as we speak). To look at your WoW example, I am going to have to say that I live in Japan, and don't watch TV so I have no idea, but I will assume that there aren't big advertising campaigns in that manner. So what? What is your point? MSN is not advertising via TV or Billboards for their campaign are they? They may be, but the best way of advertising is where your market is. Which is right here on the Web. If you think Blizzard did no promotions on the Web, then I think you need to look again.
Now with respect to Google. That was definitely word of mouth and successful, but it still took time. There weren't many options, and Google was clearly superior. Even still, in Japan, Yahoo has the market compared to Google. If Google wants to take over the market here, they are going to have to do campaigns. Why? Because there is already a firmly established market leader.
So to sum up. Word of mouth is important, and it does help. But in order to get anywhere quickly, word of mouth is generally not sufficient. You need to have a critical mass of users to begin with. This will not come from word of mouth unless you already have a solid base of users to talk about your product. This campaign from microsft will attract users to their system. If their system is better or comparable, then let the word of mouth begin.
Cheers,
CB
"I'm sorry but using prizes to get people to use your search engine means you obviously don't have the technology to lure people. When something can't become popular by word of mouth it probably isn't that great. When someone has to GIVE you something to use their service, then it must be pretty bad."
Actually, I am not too sure about that. Google is the market leader for search engines. My hdefault page is Google search and has been for years. If Microsoft has a better product, I wouldn't even know about it because I am satisfied with Google.
One thing about Microsoft, they know business. They know every clean and dirty trick in the book. This promotion is designed to get users using the search engine for a period of time. Getting them accustomed to it. This marketing campaign will only be effective if their product has some superior aspects to the Google search engine. I don't think Microsoft would be dumb enough to pull this if they had nothing to offer.
Word of mouth is not the most effective advertising method, and it is never sufficient to rapidly penetrate a market.
It used to be music that everyone said was a bad influence, now it is Video games.
I love the following Frank Zappa quotation.
"There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do
something we'd all love one another."
-- Frank Zappa
Not exactly the same, but close enough if we replace love songs with first person shooters and....
Nevermind
Hi Claus,
You are correct. I have thought about the frequency I personally experience and once per week is high. I have only personally encountered 2 delays this year that I know were jinshin jiko, and we are already mid February. I tried looking up some stats regarding the rates, but they are extremely hard to find, even in Japanese.
I ride the Keihin Tohoku sen, and I used to ride the Chuo. When I was on the Chuo line, I remember being delayed quite often. I think part of my overzealousness stemmed from the fact that my train rides these days are very short (only two stops!), and I am still getting delayed fairly regularly.
I don't think the delays are always line specific though. I know I have been delayed on the Kehin Tohoku line for suicides on other connected lines.
Thanks for pointing out my error.
Cheers,
CB
I appreciate your corrections, your Japanese teacher would be proud, however your in your effort to be proper and eloquent you forgot to elaborate the following points.
3) Bullshit.
4) Bullshit.
5) Bullshit (the part about suicide. the rest I don't care)
And of course your first point is incorrect.
Cheers,
CB