I like animals, and I’ve been told that I’m good with them. I’d like to think that’s due to a mix of empathy and respect that I’ve developed over the years.
\nIt occurred to me the other day that my favorite online services treat me like I imagine my pets like to be treated.
\n\n\n\n\nIt might be worth noting we have cats and rabbits, which are both rather independent kinds of critters. That said, being treated like a pet might sound demeaning. But, consider these pointers for being nice to animals:
\nConsider the above with respect to Dropbox, a service I use more every day:
\nI can tell a similar story about Disqus, the service I use for comments here:
\nNow, how about Evernote? They’re neck-and-neck with Dropbox for me:
\nSo, that’s it: Just a quick handful of thoughts that occurred to me when I was on a walk. I’m not entirely sure how this translates into execution and a successful business, but I know I like it when it works out this way.
\nMight be interesting to muse on this further: Sometimes being treated like a pet is a trap. Sometimes it’s demeaning. I’m not entirely sure it’s a good thing all the time, mostly my point in this post is to describe the feeling.
\n", "body": "I like animals, and I’ve been told that I’m good with them. I’d like to think that’s due to a mix of empathy and respect that I’ve developed over the years.\r\n\r\nIt occurred to me the other day that my favorite online services treat me like I imagine my pets like to be treated.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIt might be worth noting we have cats and rabbits, which are both rather independent kinds of critters. That said, being treated like a pet might sound demeaning. But, consider these pointers for being nice to animals:\r\n\r\n* Give them a reason to come to you. Don’t chase after and grab.\r\n* If they want to leave, let them. Don’t hold on and squeeze tight.\r\n* If you are allowed to pick them up, hold them gently yet offer enough support to make them feel safe.\r\n* Pay attention to their reactions, learn what kind of attention they like. This gives them a reason to come back when you let them leave.\r\n\r\nConsider the above with respect to [Dropbox][1], a service I use more every day:\r\n\r\n* They give me a place to put my files, like a thumb drive installed all the time on all my computers regardless of vendor or OS.\r\n* I can quit Dropbox whenever I want – all my files are safe on multiple hard drives, and won’t disappear if Dropbox goes away.\r\n* Dropbox has never lost a file, never spammed me, never done anything that suggested they’re spying on me. I mean, they could, but they haven’t. I also asked a support question once – they answered it.\r\n* The people at Dropbox keep doing more of the above, and releasing things like [the JavaScript API][2] that makes them useful for web apps I like building.\r\n\r\nI can tell a similar story about [Disqus][3], the service I use for comments here:\r\n\r\n* Disqus takes care of my comments and keep spam away. They were easy to set up with a WordPress plugin.\r\n* The [official WordPress plugin][4] mirrors every comment into my site’s database. I can turn off the service at any moment without a problem.\r\n* Disqus [does run some advertising and off-site recommendations alongside my content][5]. But, even though I could turn it off, I haven’t because it seems like a genuinely interesting aspect of the service. They’re also quick to answer questions.\r\n* Disqus continues to work well, add features I like, and have yet to disappoint me.\r\n\r\nNow, how about [Evernote][6]? They’re neck-and-neck with Dropbox for me:\r\n\r\n* They store all my random thoughts & notes, make them available on all my computers regardless of vendor or OS.\r\n* I can backup or export my notes and quit whenever I want, and they’re stored on all my computers.\r\n* Evernote hasn’t done anything nasty with my notes, and have only ever made gentle suggestions that I pay or use other services.\r\n* The Evernote team just keep improving things – and every time I switch to something like [Notational Velocity on Dropbox][7], I find myself coming back.\r\n\r\nSo, that’s it: Just a quick handful of thoughts that occurred to me when I was on a walk. I’m not entirely sure how this translates into execution and a successful business, but I know I like it when it works out this way.\r\n\r\nMight be interesting to muse on this further: Sometimes being treated like a pet is a trap. Sometimes it’s demeaning. I’m not entirely sure it’s a good thing all the time, mostly my point in this post is to describe the feeling.\r\n\r\n [1]: http://dropbox.com\r\n [2]: https://tech.dropbox.com/2012/08/some-love-for-javascript-applications-2/\r\n [3]: http://disqus.com\r\n [4]: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/disqus-comment-system/\r\n [5]: http://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/articles/666278-introducing-promoted-discovery-and-f-a-q-\r\n [6]: http://evernote.com\r\n [7]: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/19/notational-velocity-simplenote-and-dropbox-bring-child-like-wo/", "parentPath": "./content/posts/archives/2013", "path": "2013/04/12/services-and-pets", "summary": "I like animals, and I’ve been told that I’m good with them. I’d like to think that’s due to a mix of empathy and respect that I’ve developed over the years.\nIt occurred to me the other day that my favorite online services treat me like I imagine my pets like to be treated.", "needsBuild": true, "prevPostPath": "2013/03/14/social-novelty-filterin", "prevPostTitle": "Social novelty filtering (or Google Reader, R.I.P.)", "nextPostPath": "2013/06/11/behemoth-part-1", "nextPostTitle": "Behemoth, Part 1" }