Week 2 - Groundswell

Wow! Slightly out of date article, but it really shows you the power of the interactive web. I had heard of a few of the news stories that were referenced in this reading, but the opening story about Digg and the HD DVD code was incredible. I might be a couple years behind but ...

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That was some excellent writing, "Digg this: ..." I think these types of cat-and-mouse games played between the consumer and the industry (music, HD-DVD, etc.) is probably due to a lack of connection / marketing with the true customers. I am sure you will always get the few people who find this as a challenge or do not connect with your product, but there are successful stories. Look at iTunes. I never thought I would pay for music after the late 90s, but here I am buying songs here and there on iTunes. It's convenient, fast, and easy to get the music I want and enjoy it. I am sure this code leak helped bring down the HD-DVD, but exposing the code alone did not take it down. It was a combination of the technology and companies trying to cover this up. I recall the cracked DVD code being printed on t-shirts and posted on websites. Sure there was/still is DVD burning, but the DVD still is selling strong.

I guess the biggest take-away from this reading was to accommodate the masses and use the "groundswell" to your company's advantage. "If you can't beat 'em ..."