Disqus - Latest Comments for covati

Re: FiftyThree

Adam Covati — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:39:22 -0000

Fantastic! I absolutely love Paper and recommend it to anyone who has an iPad. It is the app that I enjoy using the most - and it has surprised me by providing quite a bit of value as a business tool. I was shocked at how easily I could create visually interesting (and understandable) versions of technical concepts with it.

I doubted the ability of the ipad with regard to content creation originally. But companies like FiftyThree are really proving that it is possible and can be fun too.

I'm looking forward to what they'll innovate on next...

Re: If an inactive lead retweets your company, are they still inactive?

Adam Covati — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:16:53 -0000

Great post, Garrett. Obviously I'm on-board with this line of thinking!

This is a big problem for most social media marketers. The majority of them don't even know if a person is an existing lead or not when they start talking with them online. Implementing Social CRM in some capacity can certainly help with that.

It's all part of the bigger move to interact with everyone one in personal and *relevant* way. Once Social Media Marketers nail that, we'll all be in a better place.

Re: PagerDuty SMS Alerts Now Sent Via Short Code

Adam Covati — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:09:27 -0000

Very cool, now I can assign a text tone for text messages from you guys. That makes my day!

Re: Do you comment on blog posts? | Argyle Social

Adam Covati — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:34:25 -0000

I like to comment when I think I can add value - usually when I have experience in the area at question. Oh hey, I've got experience commenting on blogs - I'm on this!

To be honest, I have found that more popular blogs tend to have a harder time keeping conversations civil. So I try to stick to less opinion based comments - even though I want to help that person on the internet who is wrong (http://xkcd.com/386/), I know they won't listen...

Re: Industry standards are a waste of your time

Adam Covati — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:25:22 -0000

Chris, I agree 100% that people need to focus first and foremost on their own metrics. Establishing baselines and trying to improve from there is really the only way to set goals and measure your improvement.

That being said, to go along with your running analogy, if I were running a 10 minute mile, I may want some data to understand if my pace is novice level, expert, or somewhere else. Along with that, what if I were actually measuring my time in KM/hour, but calling it miles, because it's pretty close. Now we have a problem.

I've been on industry standards boards before, they don't always accomplish a lot. But I do see long term value in helping an industry 'mature' by having some level of established metrics and ideas of how different segments of the market tend to perform.

Re: They’re Social Media Platforms not Channels!

Adam Covati — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:43:10 -0000

I'm not sure the right answer is to dictate to the market the terms they should use. Markets develop their own vernacular and it is often counterproductive to try to get them to change that. Try working on an industry standards committee if you want to feel this first person.

If someone focuses much of their time on social media, then it may make sense for them to think of, and speak of, the different platforms as different channels. Each potentially requires a different strategy, voice, and use case and so, perhaps by an evolving definition of channel, that actually still makes sense.

I know how comforting and easy it can be when everyone is using the same terminology, but trying to to unilaterally impose that on a market, especially one growing so fast, has very little chance of working.

Re: Shortcuts to move faster in Bash command line - teohm.dev

Adam Covati — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:50:55 -0000

These shortcuts are pretty much and essential part of my day. I cringe when I see people press and hold the arrow key for 20 seconds to go to the beginning of the line.

And yes, many of these actually work in most text entry fields on OSX. For example, I just used ctrl-e, ctrl-a, and ctrl-k within this discus field.

Re: Expanding the Cloud – Managing Cold Storage with Amazon Glacier - All Things Distributed

Adam Covati — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:28:09 -0000

I can't wait for the direct S3 to Glacier - that is a no brainer for automated backup archiving.

Thanks!

Re: Outsource things you don’t care about

Adam Covati — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:25:37 -0000

We outsourced design early on, but only after taking great care to make sure it was a good source. It worked for us, especially since we were able to hire our designer later on.

That being said, it was a very strong focus for us, we spent a lot of time on it. But we understood that we didn't have the ability to do execute the design in house when we were running very lean.

So while the actual work was outsourced, we spent a good bit of time overseeing it and iterating on it. Time well spent in my opinion.

Re: Outsource things you don’t care about

Adam Covati — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:20:57 -0000

Great advice. We had to learn some of this the hard way. Early on it's really easy to think you are being lean. But you are really just wasting VERY valuable time on things like accounting that don't cost a hell of a lot to outsource.

Not doing (or worrying about) these things provides a huge amount of value, and a huge reduction in headaches.

Of course, you have to realize that "care about" also means, "care that they get done right" sometimes. That's where good, recommended service providers can come in of course.

Re: What Happens When You Swear At Your Users

Adam Covati — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:18:46 -0000

I'm sorry you found that offensive. I wasn't trying to be mean to these guys. I used the word 'immature', but it wasn't meant to be pejorative, just that they had a bit of learning to do.

As I said, I'm glad they ended up ok, but I think the extra effort and headache they had to go through shows that it probably wasn't the *best* way to get people's attention. That being said, for their audience, it might have been just the right thing.

For my part I'll still try to keep unnecessary profanity out of our code - whether that be for tests, variables, or comments - because there's no need to do it.

Re: What Happens When You Swear At Your Users

Adam Covati — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:08:18 -0000

I'm sorry you feel that I came off as someone who "holds a strong lotus of control," I think you'd find that I don't do that. I actually try to make it a point to always have a thoughtful discussion with people when disagreeing.

But apparently I have done a pretty poor job in my attempt to convey that. I wasn't trying to berate or lecture, I'm truly sorry that it came off that way.

You did capture my intent, I was just trying to pass on some advice I've learned. Thanks for your improved distillation of my point.

Re: What Happens When You Swear At Your Users

Adam Covati — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:54:58 -0000

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. That I don't have fun. Feel that way if you want.

But I think if you take a look at the products I help develop, you'll see that we have a lot of fun with our code and products. We have more than our share of silliness and fun.

But we don't put offensive messages in our tests because no one benefits from acting stupid. Do you pick up a mic that you *think* is off and swear into it just because you think it's off? No, that's just a silly and unnecessary risk.

Re: What Happens When You Swear At Your Users

Adam Covati — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:34:50 -0000

This is kind of a pet peeve of mine. Immature developers (sorry guys, you apparently fall into that camp) seem to take delight in using profanity or offensive messages in their tests. It might seem somewhat funny to watch your computer swear at you. But it will burn you some day. And even if that isn't external, then what about an investor, partner, or potential acquirer, who will see the message and question how serious you take your work.

This is something that I have had to see far too many people learn not to do the hard way. Please, for the love of god, use NICE, simple, and non-offensive messages in your tests.

As for the uptick in traffic, I'm glad it didn't hurt your biz. But remember, you can show you have personality by showing real personality and not just swearing. In your next communications, don't try too hard to use marketing speak, let yourself show through a bit. I think you'll find that non-offensive personality works even better.

Re: When Is The Best Time Of The Day To Blog?

Adam Covati — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:50:16 -0000

Some really great data here, it looks like I'll be using this tweak my own efforts. And a huge "thank you" for concluding with a push for people to use this data to find *their* best time. I <3 that!

Re: PHP Fog is Free Forever, and Now Even More Free!

Adam Covati — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:21:34 -0000

/Mick, as someone who deals with pricing quite a bit, I'd have to say that $5 is a good price for this.

This is a premium feature, it's something people upgrade for, and it separates out those who are just playing around and those who are looking to use this as a serious tool.

If you aren't willing to pay a few bucks a month for this then it's not important to you. Conversely, if it's important enough to need a domain name, then why aren't you willing to toss a few bucks towards it?

Re: Jawbone Up: First Impressions

Adam Covati — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:12:29 -0000

ack, it doesn't bluetooth. Blah, total fail. My freakin car bluetooth connects with my iPhone ;)

And that charger is hideous, I bet the designers of the Up had a minor heart attack when they were told that was how you charge it.

I'll be interested to hear how you like it.

Re: Winning Features vs Keeping Features

Adam Covati — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:50:14 -0000

You're right, while I said sales will often skip over the Keeping, or sticky, features they can definitely use them to their advantage if they are carefully positioned. I do think that many Keeping features are things that are easily overlooked or assumed to work fine.

I suppose my whole argument would be a bit more clear with examples. I updated the blog post with an examples and clarifications on why they are winning vs. keeping.

Re: Dear Avinash, - Social Media Marketing Software by Argyle Social

Adam Covati — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:58:29 -0000

I don't disagree that amplification is a bit ambiguous, but I'm not sure we have a lot of choice if we want to be network agnostic. You have to remember that Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, etc don't all have retweets.

It's always hard when a new channel is formed to settle on a new lexicon for talking about measurement. Email is still struggling with this problem - though they are getting closer.

In the mean time, I think that clear, concise terms with ample documentation and help is the best way to go.

Re: The Boggs Blog - Blog - A Great Idea For Lead Follow-Up Emails

Adam Covati — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:58:37 -0000

Now we just need to make that a clicky link CTA so people don't even have to reply.

Does SF.com do that for us ? :)

Re: Netflix is a selfish company

Adam Covati — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:38:03 -0000

Not surprising at all (btw, link here http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/..., but it will take a large effort to overcome Netflix's current media base - though the Starz removal will surely hurt. I'm wondering where they will land that media, some one will probably get the rights...

I'm still holding out that Apple will see the light of day and start offering reasonable rates for digital content. I still have a problem seeing one episode of a show being worth $2, but maybe that's just because I'm not a big TV watcher.

Re: Netflix is a selfish company

Adam Covati — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:34:55 -0000

As I said to Tristan, I don't think this was the wrong long term move, but they didn't need make it seem like it was coming down like a ton of bricks. Only time will tell if it does or not. I do agree they should split the roles out, but I'm not so sure they should be separate companies, that seems to imply that integrations won't be so good.

Re: Voting with wallets, I've heard numbers north of 1MM dropped their service when they changed the pricing, that is wallet voting if I've ever seen it. And the NFLX has suffered too, from 208 to a current 129. To me that doesn't look like a good time to announce a move that doesn't appear favorable to consumers.

I do agree with one point, that I shouldn't confuse poor communication with a good move. You're right, the move itself isn't bad (I think brilliant is a bit excessive). But a good idea and a bad idea are often differentiated by execution. Communication is one large part of that, it's all about positioning. If they position this wrong from the start it's going to take a hell of a lot of work to retell their story and prove anyone wrong.

At the end of the day, I wouldn't put this email down in my highlight real of "Good Marketing Efforts."

P.S. I'm holding my ground the The Beatles catalog was more of Steve's White Whale than it was a big deal to the marketplace.

Re: Netflix is a selfish company

Adam Covati — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:26:43 -0000

I don't disagree with you at all, re: this being the best move for the company. My take on this is that this was probably the worst possible way to go about it. As I tweeted a little while back, there are much better ways they could have gone about this, such as: http://www.appleoutsider.co...

You have to remember that good long term decisions are not always applauded or rewarded by the marketplace. A forward looking move that is too far ahead of your customer may vary well be the death of your business.

Re: http://chriskurdziel.com/post/10472278372

Adam Covati — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:38:45 -0000

Ugh, thank you for this! I've seen far too many very interesting and intelligent people not bother with many of these relatively easy tasks.

Please show interest! Sometimes I really want to be interested in a candidate, but they didn't even bother to figure out what we do before coming in for the interview.

Re: Netflix is a selfish company

Adam Covati — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:37:26 -0000

Exactly.

It's kind of scary because I had quite a bit of brand loyalty to Netflix. I was a big believer - I didn't think they could screw this up. I even understood their pricing change, even it was poorly executed. But this move is over the top, it shows a lack of respect for customers.I'm actually a bit excited to see what the market will do next. Hopefully someone with more media muscle will be able to pull together a better streaming offering. Maybe someone with a great ecosystem and a talent for great hardware products *cough*apple*cough*.Only time will tell. In the mean time, I'll be streaming and watching the mailbox, but with a little less gusto than before.