If you actually read the comments, you can see that there are those who understand and others who don’t. Some participate in the conversation, have valid points (both aligned and contrary) and others just throw rocks at the window.

Some understand and love Coltrane while others understand and enjoy Kenny G. Believe me, I understand this concept far too well.

It doesn’t matter if it’s writers, musicians or other communicators, they each have their own voice and style and it’s the audience who decides if they will listen or not. It’s not the writer’s job to shapeshift to the liking of the reader (after all, that would make them a politician) but to continue to find their voice, honestly express their thoughts and see if it adds to the mix, so to speak.

This is a case where we’re seeing new angles and connections in so many businesses. Instead of the locked silos of paid software and content we see things given away until the addiction sets in, the dependence upon a service or connection being the reason that someone is locked in. In software, services, music, video, messaging and just about anything else, you can get it for free now. Want it reliable, quieter or bigger? Remember in every alley or playground, the first one is free.

Being able to see why businessmen sink money into these services and how one little message service or a free email account can lead to a way that can connect it all together for users, developers, advertisers and everyone else involved doesn’t always lend itself to a soundbite or a shiny piece of tinsel hanging from a branch. The rivers have found a new path to follow (still following the path of least resistance) and some people can actually use their brains to figure out where to build their house so they still have a great view but don’t live in the flood plain… or at least so they don’t have to spend all their money on flood insurance.

The thing I enjoy about this kind of communication is by asking me to think, I actually begin to have my own take on a subject, continue to refine and extrapolate the idea and by sharing it, gather more information that can help focus my own thoughts and creativity. I know plenty of people who don’t want to waste their precious time thinking about anything and you know, that’s ok. The world has room for essay, multiple choice and yes or no questions.

So spin the wheel on your iPod and listen to something that reminds you of the good old days, spin it until you hear that song that burrows into your brain like a tick for a week or two or don’t listen at all… I’m glad that not all blog posts are cut and paste PR releases with the word “PASS” or FAIL” added afterward…

Sorry to say Steve that folks on TC aren’t shy to say when they don’t like something, and its tough to dismiss them as dumb.

Mike made a very insightful comment a while back that he originally fought against reader comments and only later realised that he should listen more.

My background is finance and over time I realised that truly insightful folks don’t use hackneyed pharses and are able to express opinions concisely.

P.S. Steve, is this the kind of comment you’re looking for? I’m just trying to get something — anything — past your comment-censorship.

Not only are you wrong about this but I”m getting tired of these types of comments and may start deleting them. Stop wasting your time admonishing me for what I am doing and skip these articles.

Duncan -

It’s not that I am more coherent, but that Google’s strategy is.

I can’t work out if you’re a brilliant satirist, Steve, or in need of fourth grade.

By adding some supporting detail & context you might have been able to stretch that to 4-5 paragraphs but 9??? Are you a management consultant in your spare time? Would this have been easier for you in powerpoint?

To quote James Brown: “You’re like a dull old knife that just ain’t cuttin’
You’re just talkin’ a lot and sayin’ nothing”

A second reason is worry about Google’s privacy policies, which is a common bit of net paranoia that I don’t happen to share.

A third is that owning the server allows you to author and install a homebrew extension whenever you want. You seem to believe that the Gmail guys will be willing to let anyone upload and integrate arbirary code. I disagree. I think there’s almost no chance that’ll happen short-term and I’m skeptical long-term as well. Can you imagine the headaches that would have resulted if, say, Facebook had recompiled their application for each possible subset of their ten gazillion sheep-throwing apps?

Also, after several years, I believe I read that gmail has 10M users which seems awfully low compared to legacy 1.0 services.

Personalized VMs for each user is the next computing frontier and to tune these systems you need user feedback (hundreds of thousands) instead of just several thousand employees

It’s not that I am more coherent, but that Google’s strategy is.