[Foundation] thoughts from another commercial player
Daniel Chote
daniel at chote.net
Thu Jul 10 11:13:34 CDT 2003
Nicely said Don, I agree totally.
Don Bergal /EXC/NOA wrote:
> I felt it was time to bring the new perspective of another commercial
> player in the community to the debate on the name change.
>
> As a marketer, and as an executive for a software developer that has
> no relationship or alliance with JINC whatsoever, I believe that the
> proposed change is based on misguided assumptions and represents a
> serious mistake that would take years (if ever) for the community to
> recover from.
>
> Two fundamental arguments, presented as facts, appearing in the
> proposal and in subsequent posts are absolutely incorrect. First, I
> can tell you that Antepo does not share the opinion of the proposal:
>
> "The Jabber brand will never be acceptable to the commercial
> developer marketplace...Many companies are ... unwilling
> to use the term Jabber".
>
> The fact is that the Jabber community - however you measure it
> (standards traction, market awareness, development participation,
> commercial adoption) - has tremendous momentum today. Independent
> commercial developers absolutely benefit from the association with the
> community, and the overlap of the name with Jabber, Inc. has not
> presented any serious issues for Antepo in terms of sales, marketing,
> or corporate identity. Losing the ability to connect with the many
> aspects of the Jabber movement, through use of a name with
> universal awareness, would hurt, not help, a commercial
> developer. As an alternative player, I would much rather be a member
> of a well known thriving marketplace and differentiate based on real
> software advantages, than to eliminate the critical mass that that the
> name brings as means of hiding from competition. If one objective is
> truly to foster a healthy alternative commercial sector in Jabber
> oriented technology, the name change is a terrible mistake.
>
> The proposal to transfer the Jabber trademark from JINC to the JSF has
> not had much visibility in recent months, and its progress appears to
> be stalled. I suggest that an action far more beneficial to healthy
> competition is to fully execute on that proposal and promote more
> association with the name Jabber - not less. What can be done to
> accelerate this?
>
> Secondly, there have been many mis-informed statements about the true
> cost of executing the name change. How much would it cost to
> re-establish the goodwill and market awareness currently enjoyed by
> the name "Jabber"? Not millions, but *tens of millions* of
> dollars. As an internet advertiser who tracks the results, I know
> that the brand "Jabber" is increasing its reach with thousands views
> every day. What could replace it now? It would take two years or
> more, and untold millions of advertising and PR (that the JSF does not
> have) to recreate the word-of-mouth on the 'net that Jabber, in all
> senses of the word has fostered.
>
> Last year's bestselling book "The Tipping Factor" documented social
> phenomena that spiral up and influence the world in ways far beyond
> rational expectations or resources applied to them. I submit that
> Jabber has "tipped", or is on the verge of it. Now is not the time
> to blink!
>
> ____________________
> Don Bergal
> Vice-President, Business Development
>
> Antepo, Inc. (www.antepo.com <http://www.antepo.com/>)
> mobile 646-251-4499
> direct 720 482 7900
> fax 805-926-3569
> don.bergal at antepo.com
>
>
--
Daniel Chote
Developer/Designer and typical drunk!
email/jabber: daniel at chote.net
blog: http://daniel.chote.com
website: http://www.chote.com
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