fusion IT

The Problem with Adobe by blogger Edwin Watkeys is a very astute analysis of what happens when profits are put ahead of connecting with customers. He states,

“Ever since the development of PDF, Adobe has seemed more interested in creating vertically-integrated, cross-media corporate publishing solutions”

Adobe decided that selling one application at a time to one customer at a time is too much work. They want a bigger score. They want SMBs (Small/Medium Businesses) and Large Corporations, to whom they can sell multiple copies of entire suites of software. So while Adobe products are affordable in the context of a business, they have been priced beyond the reach of most freelance artists and designers, who either turn to mis-used educational discounts or piracy, or simply do not use the software at all. These users don’t have a business model to justify such an expense. To them, Adobe’s products are not worth the asking price. This results in a fundamental disconnect.

“The people who write the check for Adobe products are not the primary users of those products.” They are more often than not, business owners, IT departments and CFOs, leading Watkeys to wonder aloud, “Who are Adobe’s customers? The purchasers or the users?”

He contrasts this with Apple’s products:

“Not because they’re a group of better human beings, but because their goal is to make money selling stuff to people who use the stuff that they buy. People who have an emotional and practical attachment to it. Because it works for them.” (emphasis mine)

So Watkeys has decided to vote with his dollars.

“That’s why I’ve been shopping for a new illustration tool for the last three years or so, one built by a company that wants to win my money by making something that I love enough to pay for.”

The message to corporations: don’t look for shorter-term gains at the expense of alienating the people who use your products. Monopolies are beginning to show cracks and the Internet is leveling the plying field. Microsoft, pay attention!

Derek Sivers offers some excellent advice on hiring a programmer, though three of the first four steps can be applied to almost any creative endeavor in which you are hiring outside expertise. Those steps are:

• Reduce your big idea to “Version 1.0”. What is the “bare minimum that would make you happy, and people would find useful.”
• Write a simple overview of what it does.
• Break it up into milestones. (Approximately a day’s work)

It’s sobering to think about how many projects I’ve come across which only communicate a few vague adjectives such as “cool” or “cutting edge” to the designers and programmers. If nothing else, start with Derek’s advice.

Small Business Trends has a great article detailing all the various challenges in choosing the perfect name for your business.

The article covers legal aspects, domain names (which factor into your e-mail addresses) as well as Twitter and social media. Because so many .com domains are taken, you will likely have to get a little creative, perhaps using a company slogan.

It’s an iterative process fraught with setbacks. And you only have one chance to get it right! Be sure to work with a branding specialist, or at least a handful of brand-savvy colleagues.

Take a look at this comical chart that measures your computer skills based on your e-mail address*. It’s funny because there is a grain of truth to it, as most people use one of these services or those of their home Internet Service Provider (ISP). Unfortunately, many freelancers, sole proprietors, and small business also fit into this category.

So what’s wrong with using your home ISP/Yahoo/AOL/Hotmail/Gmail account for business? Two things.

First, you are forfeiting a  branding opportunity, whether it is your ”personal brand” or your company’s brand. Second, and closely tied to your brand, is trust. If you do not have your own domain name (something.com or .org or .net) for your e-Mail (and website!), your business seems temporary or amateur.

Quoting Nine Essential Trust Indicators for Your SMB Web Site:

It’s a lot easier to trust someone who has clearly invested in their business over someone who simply stumbled across a free Yahoo or Gmail account… It’s a very simple trust cue that packs a big punch.

In other words, people are less likely to bring you their business. More bluntly, you are turning away money.

Chances are, getting a domain name for your business is one of those things you’ve thought about, but put off because of the hassle. Perhaps you couldn’t find a domain that you liked. Perhaps you bought a domain and got overwhelmed by all the choices and technicalities at the domain name “registrar”. Maybe changing your e-mail address seemed like a huge headache.

Whatever your reason, it’s time you gave the issue some serious thought.

fusion IT has helped numerous professionals and business set up new domains (along with their web sites and e-mail accounts) and we have overcome every possible obstacle. We can confidently guide you through any domain name, web site, and/or e-mail transition. And we are streamlining the process to keep it simple and affordable. Contact us today for fixed price domain name registration (or transition) packages. (Contact info is below in the footer.)

(*Unfortunately, the chart leaves out Internet provider address such as @comcast.net or verizon.net, which we, if forced, would have to rank below Gmail.)

We are pleased to announce that fusion IT is officially a reseller!

We offer this service for the sole purpose of offering our clients a simple way to purchase products not available in Apple Stores.

We avoided reselling for years to avoid even the possibility of a conflict of interest, though we’ve come to realize that this stance was causing unnecessary difficulty for our clients.

Let us be clear – we resell only to our clients and in situations where we recommend, install and configure what we sell. The products we sell are either one-of-a-kind products, or the only brand we recommend.

We do not keep inventory. We are never pressured to “move product”. We do not have quotas. We recommend, then sell, and only if it is in your business’ best interest. And we won’t even insist that you buy it from us.

At the moment, we offer the following three brands:

Cache-A
We spent a lot of time at Cache-A’s NAB (2010) booth and they are now one of our favorite companies. Nobody has a better, more cost-effective, more complete solution for archiving tapeless media.

AJA
We’ve installed enough AJA Kona cards and called their tech support enough (about our mistakes) to realize that AJA is a top-notch company.

Telestream
While we love Compressor (sold with Apple Final Cut Studio), everyone who posts video to the web should have the additional tools offered by Episode. And if you need to provide clients with Windows Media files (we’re SO sorry!), then you simply must have Flip4Mac.

Be sure to check our product page from time-to-time for updates.