In mid 2009 I turned my attention to Goodbarry.  Not sure how I found the site, but when I got there, the site was not only well designed (old site no longer available after Adobe’s purchase) but it was very intriguing.  Goodbarry was the retail brand for the core system called Business Catalyst.

First, for over 10 years companies have tried to make a product that makes it ‘easy’ to create and build a website. Pretty much all of them have failed. Why? Every developer  knows that there is really no such thing as ‘out of the box’ solution (yet) that makes it easy to build a website, integrate an e-commerce platform or CMS. In the end, someone has to learn it, implement it, tweak it, modify it for the client’s needs while navigating the learning curve.

Anyway, it was obvious from the start that Goodbarry knew what it was doing simply by how they attracted both business owners and developers – and embraced them both.

Additionally, they catered to both ‘mom and pop’ but also made it a point to let developers know that they could create custom layouts, coding and still use the Business Catalyst system.

But, could they really succeed where so many others have failed?

Marketing agencies, web shops and production houses have been looking for easier ways to plug websites into CMS’s. Many of these needs have been fulfilled with Drupal, Joomla, Modx and WordPress.  Yet, even though these are open-source systems they still require a significant amount of work (or expertise) to make them work with each new product.  Sure, there are shortcuts, reusable code, plug-ins, and various other community oriented tools that spring forth, but in order to get different functionality that sites need (e-commerce, analytics, email marketing..etc) the development team now has to work with different third-party tools and then try to integrate those into this open source environment.  Easy right?

So why would a company create a closed system amidst an open-source boom and try to do what so many others have failed to do?  They weren’t just after mom & pop.  If they were, no one would care.  Neither were they focused on hard corps developers.  So what’s the catch?

If I’m right, this company scared the crap out of Adobe for the following reasons:

1. In the history of building websites, this was the first company that could render a lot of Adobe products ‘less needed’ to get a really good site up and running.

2. If it were to gain momentum and a developer following  independent of Adobe – it could easily become a direct competitor for ‘building sites’ in the web space.

3. It had the potential to corner the market in the CMS space – something that Adobe wants to be a part of.

4. Multiple software features under one roof – the combination of e-commerce, email marketing, contact management and analytics as a single package sent shockwaves through the R&D department of Adobe.

This is a good move for Adobe. This company had waaaay too much promise. My initial thought is that they would squash the project and sweep it under the rug.  The more I think about it though – I think they are going to build some kind of Business Suite around this product – and someone cater to both Developers and Clients directly.

Will be watching this one closely.

Produced by Scofield Editorial, Inc.

Casting Agency: Artistic Enterprises
Casting Director: Michelle Moore

• 3ds Max 2009
• Mudbox 2010
• Photoshop CS3
• Pepakura

I think the impressive thing here is the amount of time this would take. Creating separate small pieces of the head and then piecing them together?!  Are you kidding me? I see this all working fairly well in theory UNTIL one actually tried to put it together. I see this as being extremely difficult to execute.  In any case, very impressive.

Sick 3D Paper Head - Built by Eric Testroete

I don’t know what it is (actually I think I do know what it is) but people tend to think that because they have a great application, product or service, that people will start magically start using it.  If it were this easy, everyone would be doing it.

The problem with this thought process (if you build it, they will com) is that the human mind has a tough time contemplating the vastness of the Internet.  More specifically, how to draw people in from the ‘chaos’ to your website – and then get them to do what you want them to.

Easier said than done.

Anyway, this is a video that speaks about the concept of ‘Tribes’.  While Seth is speaking about a more general concept of creating ideas and connecting people via good leadership with the final goal being an overall movement, I think this thought process very much applies to businesses of all sizes whether they are pushing products, destinations or services.  There are also some very direct parallels with the Internet, websites and online services.  Seth Godin asks the following questions within the video:

• Who are you upsetting?
• Who are you connecting?
• Who are you leading?

He mentions that unless you are upsetting someone, you aren’t challenging the status quo. You have to be connecting people with an interest in your product or service and then build a small culture around this. Additionally, people want to feel ‘missed’ when they don’t show up. Should you find a way to give them this opportunity to feel missed when they aren’t using your online service, you unearth a powerful force.

Tribe leaders, Seth points out, have similar traits as they first realize that they can’t do it themselves, rather, they need to connect to people with similar interests.

• Challenge the status quo
• They create a culture (a secret handshake)
• Connect people (make people feel missed when they don’t show up)
• Commit (commit to the cause)

The idea of Seth Godin’s Tribes is a fairly broad topic but certainly applicable for your next big online venture!