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February 14, 2003
They just don't get it
By QBlog in Quixtar
I'm convinced (rightly or wrongly) that people running Quixtar just don't get the Internet and more specifically they just don't get the Web. Example, everyone I've ever talked to has no idea that the Web is NOT the Internet. The terms are not synonymous. I usually don't say anything when I hear someone say something like, "When the Internet first became open to the public commercially in the early 90s..." because, what's the point. But the fact is, the Internet has been open to the public for a long time. It's the Web that was invented in the early 90s. The Web is a set of protocols enabling different OSes and computers to share information over the Internet.
Anyway, there are many more examples than that. The Quixtar.com site launch debacle is another example. Quixtar isn't alone in misunderstanding the Web, many sites have had similar problems. Yet there are other signals too. Such as the poor site design that I've mentioned before in other places. The main thing is that Quixtar isn't really a Web company at all, they are an Amway-type company using the Web as a method to improve distribution and cut costs. This is a good thing but I don't think it bodes well for Quixtar.
In my humble opinion, companies that don't get the Web, especially those who depend heavily on the Web, will be in trouble soon. Some examples of Quixtar's anachronistic ways is that there is not a unified system for Web communication. They all still use Amvox or Voicecom or whatever you call it. E-mail, Message boards, discussion groups, Listserves, Web logs, etc. are all much more effective and cheaper ways to communicate but the use of this "new" technology is sporadic at best. It is left up to the individual promotional groups like Qbiz and they don't seem to get it either.
There should be some sort of simple publishing format in which IBOs with say 1000 pv get their own generic Web site where they can post info and stuff for their downline. These are just ideas but I've yet to see a single innovative idea regarding the Web from anyone related to Quixtar. I'm not even talking about the next Killer App, I just mean regular use of email. It just doesn't exist.
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