No Second Chances? Er, Hang On to Your Sweeping Generalizations
April 1, 2011
First, navigate to the article “The Economics of Attention: Why There Are No Second Chances on the Internet.” Read it. Note that it is about a bunch of different things in the Web 2.0, start up, get-rich-quick world of technology. The pivot point is “attention”, a notion popularized in my opinion by a former journalist and advisor to Salesforce.com. Attention to me is focusing, but this type of attention is monetizable when eyeballs are glued to Web pages or a mobile device. In short, attention is a hip hop way to say “audience” I think.
Now think about the assertion in the title: “No Second Chances” or the qualified “No Second Chances on the Internet.” Oh, my. Some business school types believe, maybe wrongly, that failure is a prerequisite for success. The person who flops, picks himself or herself up, and tries again may have a quality of some value. What about Martin (Winning) Sheen. Not only has failure been converted to a road show, a law suit with some chance of winning, and notoriety that makes other “stars” and “tiger blood drinkers” look like burned out bulbs on an artificial Christmas tree but he is – well – winning.
Source: http://www.jordanchez.com/2009/08/people-of-the-second-chance/
Internet second chances exist as well. Who would have thought that Bing would edge from dead last wearing a T shirt with a loser logo to a leader in travel and other vertical niche search for consumers? What about Facebook after its privacy missteps and a motion picture that was originally supposed to nuke the Zuck? Well, Facebook users stuck with the service despite its flaws. The movie? The movie enhanced Facebook.
I could go on.
One must not slap categoricals on individuals’ ability to make lemonade from lemons. The Internet, in my opinion, is about getting more chances. The products and services can be morphed, shaped, and redefined more easily than a cabinet maker in the 17th century could respond to his patron’s demands. Time itself is altered in the Internet space. Costs are also malleable.
I am all for pontification, poobahism, and English majors who become consultants. I can tolerate a wide range of assertions. But the notion that a digital environment does not permit second chances? Just incorrect.
Now keep in mind if you buy into the premise of the article, that’s okay with me. In Harrod’s Creek, we like Hank Williams’ statement: You got to have smelt a lot of mule manure before you can sing like a hillbilly. You even get second chances in non digital Kentucky.
Please, put your comments in the comments section of the blog. I am eager to see the “he did not mean” remarks. Hey, a “second chance” is more than a metaphor ill conceived Internet services I assert.
Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2011
Freebie and no joke about mule manure.
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