Too Buzzy, Too Early

Last night I was happy to see Writeboard launch, well sort of. I first heard about the product about 3 or 4 months ago, maybe even longer. Throughout this time, there has been much speculation about what the product did and how it would help us all. 37Signals was in the “unfortunate” position of previously delivering several and useful applications (Basecamp, BackPackIt, and Ta-Da List).

Of course, in the same time that we’ve been waiting for the new Writeboard, we saw an amazing competitor, by the name of Writely, come onto the scene and steal the hearts and minds of most people who’ve used it. Naturally, they’ve started to build loyalty amongst the people who are into this sort of service.

So when I first tested out Writeboard, well, I guess I was underwhelmed. In truth, the app is very “37Signals”, so it’s not like they’ve failed on that promise. However, in stark comparison to the tools that they seemingly competing with, there’s something just not as refined. Don’t believe me? Use your favorite Blog Search tool and search for Writeboard - you’ll see what I mean.

The lesson here, though, is that we need to be mindful of the promises we make. Everyone’s letting on quite early that they’re doing something (including us). Some people put out more of a shingle than others - heck, stealth mode is actually being criticized by many. The one caution is to make sure the buzz is fulfilled or the results can be terrible.