Evidence Exhibit A: Techies Are Techies, Not Biz Experts
I just love reading a good dust-up among bloggers (when I have time to waste).
Let me share:
Mike Moran from Biznology (implying he's more business-oriented than tech-oriented - don't be fooled. He's one of them.), has written a very indignant screed against Gene Marks latest article in Business Week taking a sobering look at some of tech's most sacred cows: Web 2.0 aps like RSS feeds, CRM software and anti-spam filters.
Marks poo-poo'ed allover 'em making the point that these technologies just might - gasp! - be an unnecessary case of over-technology for smaller businesses.
Moran from Biznology had a cyber hissy-fit and all his self-consciously hip hockey chair friends are lining up in the comments cue to back up his moral outrage at such geek heresy.
Duh-Doh! Come and get me, Mike. I'm with Gene on this one.
Don't get me wrong. I've been covering technology for 20 years now and lived in the heart of Silicon Valley during the giddiest days of the tech bubble - giddy myself at times.
But, I don't believe in using technology for technology's sake. It's a tool, folks. Especially, when it comes to a business on a budget (small to midsize companies, in other words). Technology is like any other business expense; it has to have a meaningful impact on the bottomline or making the business more efficient or it's silly, wasteful and irresponsible.
I applaud Gene Marks who, even though he sells CRM software himself, is honest enough and real enough to advise smaller businesses not to get caught up in the tech hype. Moran who not only disses Marks, but Business Week, for publishing the article, patronizingly upbraids one of the most popular, established national business magazines in the country and says he'd still do them the favor of writing for them anyway, if asked.
Don't wait underwater, Mike.
You have to be a real journalist to write for a real news magazine. A self-published blog read by all 214 people on your LinkedIn page is not real journalism; it's just another amateur soapbox on a very large Internet.
Have a good weekend, folks. We'll get back to the business of tech serving small to midsize businesses - and not the other way around- on Monday.
- Renee Oricchio
Geez, Renee. I think I have a lot to learn from you when it comes to writing a screed. :-)
I apologize to you and Gene if my post seemed patronizing. It certainly wasn't intended to be. And I work with lots of small businesses, so I certainly understand the difficulty of small budgets. And I am not in favor of technology for technology's sake.
But Gene (and I guess you) seem to think that somehow these technologies should be ignored by small business and I think you're flat-out wrong. In my post and in my book, I explain that you need to try things. You need to test them. You need to see whether they work for you. Most of these ideas work for someone--that's why people talk about them.
I think it's hard to understand how people could be advised to ignore spam filters and virus protection, even you don't want to drink the Web 2.0 Kool-Aid. But if you think that's good advice, you have every right to support it, just as I can try my best to debunk it.
I will try to lower my patronizing meter a bit for next time, I guess, because that is not the way I want to write. Thanks for pointing that out.
Hi Renee,
I suspect that you've gotten mostly negative feedback about this (I can see at least one person has taken exception to your stance), but I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.
It seems the basis of your derision of Mike's article is not based on an analysis of his assertions, but rather that he isn't a seasoned tech writer for a prestigious magazine. I don't see anything in this article that negates anything he said.
Mark's article may strike a cord with non-techies who are frustrated because they can't use these technologies effectively, but it's a kneejerk reaction that will cost them market share.
I think it's foolish for Mark (and you) to perpetuate this phobia within your readership, turning them away from venues that are being used effectively by many, many businesses.
Like most other skills, you actually need to hire an experienced professional to extract value from these technologies.
Post Your Own Comments