Visit www.riftgame.com.

Ok, so I confess.  I – I – I am a gamer.  Not hardcore like some people, but I do enjoy some downtime with an imersive video game.  I don’t play console games, but online MMOs.  I started out in this genre a couple of years ago, and started with perhaps the most well known, World of Warcraft.  And I was hooked.  What a wonderful diversion these games are….much better than watching TV, in my opinion.  The downside is however, that between my work and my play, I am almost never off the computer, and that has its consequences also.

Moving on.  Earlier this year, I migrated from WoW to a brand new MMO, Rift.  While being similar in concept and gameplay to WoW, Rift is in many ways worlds apart.  The game is slick, beautiful, realistic and utterly engaging.  Just a glance at the image above, shows how graphically beautiful this game is.

So what does gaming have to do with business?

Well, quite a few things in fact.  First of all, lest we forget, the game itself IS a business.  They are built by corporate game developers and have a large customer base to take care of.  And, who knows how many of those stuffy white collar workers, are in fact, gamers.  So here is the thing that connects the endeavor of creating a “game” played by consumers, to an application that is built and geared towards other businesses.  Satisfaction.  Pure and simple.  Satisfaction.

In order for a game to be successful, it has to have a bunch of the same ideas that apply to a business application.  Is it visually appealing?  Is it easy to use?  Does it have a clear workflow/gameplay?  Is the support customer oriented?  Are there frequent updates and enhancements?  All of these things apply across the board.  But, in my experience in dealing with games vs. dealing with business providers, are very different.

For example:

Gaming companies tend to have a very informal relationship with their players.  There is an open dialogue on issues, bugs, and suggestions.  Oftentimes issues are met with humor when they are resolved, where the reading of a “fix list” can cause you to giggle.  Hot fixes or patches are done on a regular basis.  Typically weekly, but in the case of Rift, as it is a new game, they are done spontaneously and as needed.

Contrarily:

Business developers tend to have a very formal relationship with the customers.  While there can be an open dialogue on issues and bugs, more often the business developer tends to minimize or hide these little failures, rather than openly acknowledge and deal with them.  They are swept under the rug until the next big release.  And releases.  Again, typically items are stockpiled for a major version release, unless that is, it is a bug that is critically affecting the application.

Why is there this huge difference?

I hate to think that all business people, those that are our customers, are stuffy, prim and proper, and completely lacking in humanity or a sense of humor.  Do they really thrive on the formal and corporate level of communication?  Or would they also like to be dealt with on a friendly, informal and fun basis?  I am not dismissing professionalism here.  There is no way that companies like Blizzard and Trion can survive and thrive without professionalism.  But since when did being a professional mean that you were this emotionless automaton?

Ummm….Mutiny?

Yes, another mutiny.  Since we began this endeavor, we have been very clear on the fact that we do not want to fall into the corporate trap that is so prevalent in today’s business world.  We have done our best to live up to our ideals, to be honest and forthright, to show our flaws as well as our good points.  To treat everyone with respect, integrity and even friendship.  Perhaps more businesses should take a look at the way the more artistic and consumer oriented businesses are run.  Maybe their customers should be treated more as a community than as a business.  Just because it is business, by no means does it have to be dull, tedious and boring.  Have a lil fun folks!

Due to a Twitter post from Chris Brogan, I read an article called “Why the Present Depression Will Be Deeper than the Great Crash of 1929“.  While I am certainly not an economist, there are a great many points made in this article that make sense, and should be considered by individuals and business owners going forward.

Many of the problems indicated in the article are reasons why MutinyWare was started and how we are commited to doing things differently.  Working off our own steam, empowerment, honesty and responsibility are keys to our philosophy of doing business.

Mutineer

One of the first things that happen when we meet new people and show them our card, or introduce our business, is a raising of an eyebrow,  a quick grin, then the question “MutinyWare??”

At which point, we launch into the why and how of the name MutinyWare.  Here are the main reasons:

• We are in a mutiny against traditional business/corporate culture and business models
• We are in a mutiny against traditional software and their associated business models

What does this mean exactly?  Are we against those giant, successful corporations? Yes and No.

Traditional business culture revolves around profit and shareholder stakes – essentially the bottom line becomes more important than anything else.  We obviously are in business to make a profit, but seriously, there is a line to be drawn.  Business should be as responsible and loyal to their customers and employees, as we expect them to be responsible and loyal to us.  Somewhere along the line, this has been forgotten.  We are building a company that will maintain these loyalties and responsibilities.  They are critical to success in our opinion, and hell, it is just the right thing to do.

There are many aspects to traditional business culture and business models that we just don’t like:

• working in cubes
• being a slave to a time clock
• regimentation
• conformity
• lack of personal responsibility
• lack of personal innovation
• focus on sales vs. product/service
• desire to hire only the best and brightest, then not let them be the best or brightest
• ignoring the individual
• office politics
• being stuck in the old ways – closed minded
• the list goes on….

As far as the mutiny against traditional software is concerned, we want to create a model where:

• Niche and industry specific software is affordable to every business, regardless of size
• Software doesn’t require further investment, as in hardware or an IT team
• Software is accessible and user friendly
• Costs are transparent and predictable

So…how did we come to be Mutineers?

Having come from a very corporate background, we quickly and emphatically laid out our goals for how our company would work.  We took into consideration all of the things that we didn’t like or agree with, what we wanted to accomplish, and keep these things always at the forefront of our mind.

We are not in business for the purpose of building it, then selling out.  Nor are we interested or have a goal of going public.  We want to keep control of MutinyWare so that it maintains the ethics and ideas that we started this company with and for.

As for the name?  Well, after reading “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath, we knew we had to have a name that stood for what we stand for, and that was a bit on the controversial side.  After many hours of brainstorming, and many potential names, MutinyWare just kinda popped up and stuck.

Here is a question to all of those people out there whose business is online, and who are involved online personally as well.  How does one separate the two?  How important is it?  Ok, so there are two questions

Business vs. Personal

My business life has been online for many years, and needless to say, so has some of my personal life.  Although I do not tend to get involved as much as many, the presence is still there.  As far as personal goes, I want to be able to be myself at some point….and as I am sure is common with everyone, being yourself, in your own skin, isn’t the persona that you use in your business.  There are always two sides to people, and most often, the two should not mix.  Or should they?

Does it impact a business or potential clients of that business to learn more about the personal side of the owners or employees?  Obviously we’re not talking sociopath tendencies here, but rather personal opinions, politics, things we like to do, etc.  How does it impact the client, or you?

For my own opinion, I love to see personal touches with the businesses I deal with.  If the people are a little on the kooky side, all the better.  But then, I am a little on the kooky side myself….takes one to know one

I would love to hear more opinions on this, from both sides of the fence.  Has the internet made business more friendly?  Has a line been crossed?  Or is it okay, as long as the two are separated?

I look forward to any comments on this!