Since a couple of people have asked about it, I’ve already written a blog response to Scoble’s WP RSS post here. Part of it was definitely our fault, related to a web server problem and the datacenter move. (LiteSpeed has already released a new version that fixes the bug.)
Give him a break, Matt; he gets paid to say that stuff. He came in to give a critique and by posting follow-ups, you simply echo unjustifiable rants. A couple of days ago I sent Scoble an E-mail and got a disappointing reply; both of which I can post verbatim
Me:
Robert:
Rather than being critical of Open Source or PHP/mySQL, he implicitly revealed devious intentions. I am sorry I had to be this blunt, but the truth needed to be heard.
Roy,
I don’t see what it is about Robert’s reply that seems odd. The answer to your question (and the fact that he answered) point to a balanced, rational mind. As for hypocrisy, I am sure he uses a Windows desk/laptop (besides probably others). I am used to hearing the term hypocrisy used in conjuction with morals and virtues, or in the sense of someone being biased.
Saying Porsches are good and driving a Honda is not a hypocritical thing to do, for example.
Those who drive a Honda sometimes want the Porsche, which is less affordable. Contrariwise, Scoble opted for the free package and complained about what is an extremely powerful feature in WordPress. Is he complained about WordPress feeds, he could bash his wrath at anything. Owing to that, he loses credibility, if anything. Scoble@wordpress was a ticking bomb from day 1 and it exploded prematurely for all the wrong reasons. Like Matt said, WordPress is the Burger King of feeds and, trust me, I have come across very many alternatives.
As far as I’m concerned, this is a case where “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” holds true.
So Scoble ranted about some supposed funkiness with wordpress.com feeds. Big hairy freakin deal. These were minor complaints (despite his “I’ll take my toys and go home” threats). If he couldn’t find anything more important “wrong” with the service, then I’d say it’s doing things right.
The important thing is that his concerns were addressed very quickly. This is what reflects well on WordPress and on wordpress.com. People will see that and remember it.
I admit that I am an unabashed Scoble fan. Microsoft couldn’t possibly pay him enough for what he’s done for them. He wants things to be the best and he wants Microsoft to be the best that it can be, and I think that’s very clear if you read him for a while. He wasn’t the only one who complained about the shortcomings of TypePad, but his defection to WordPress is a blow to TypePad. Was it hypocritical that he also used TypePad instead of MSN? He is an 800-lb gorilla in the blogosphere, and he’s using WordPress. I think that rocks. And yeah, he couldn’t find anything else wrong with the service, but it’s not that he was looking for a fight, either. His influence is tremendous and his traffic is astronomical compared to most of us. If anyone was going to “break” something in WP, it would have been Scoble. To his credit, he has praised the WP team for their responsiveness. I don’t see how Scoble’s intentions are devious because he’s using the best blogging platform and it isn’t Microsoft. The world of business where you drink the kool-aid and trash your competition is over. Many people don’t understand that yet. You can tell who they are. They’re the ones who think Scoble should be reigned in.
Anyway, he’s helping Microsoft do what what Microsoft has always done best: enter the market late, slow, and inexorably. Like an 800-lb gorilla.
funny, i’d ask for more CDATA…
e.g.: http://blogs.zdnet.com/wp-rss2.php crashes all the time — and crashes as I post.