IBM can't be bothered
by Volker Weber
Bruce finds out that www.lotusphere.com redirects to IBM.com instead of the Lotusphere home page and then goes on:
You end up at the default IBM web site - right? Ok so you did. Now on IBM.com search for "Lotuphere" and the first search results are from Lotusphere 2003. Somebody needs to fix this.
Ed comments:
With all the products, brands, offerings, and events that IBM runs, it would be impossible to manage every single domain name related to IBM on an ongoing basis. So the decision was made to redirect a bunch of auxiliary domains to ibm.com rather than manage them. I know it's not great but it is what it is.
That is a very awkward way to say "nobody really cares". You can make www.lotus.com redirect to the Lotus home page on IBM.com, but you can't redirect www.lotusphere.com to the proper URL? Although it is already being redirected? How hard is it to say "I know this is stupid, I have known it for a long time (which is true, BTW), I tried to fix it, but nobody cares"? instead of driving the final nail into the coffin:
Somehow thousands of people manage to register for Lotusphere every year without this domain name.
You are going to care, if they no longer do? Or shut the whole thing down, because "with all the products, brands, offerings, and events that IBM runs, it would be impossible to manage every single conference related to IBM on an ongoing basis" ?
This calls for some fun. What are the leading brands in the IBM software group, and how are they being managed? db2.com, lotus.com, rational.com, tivoli.com, websphere.com. Uh, oh. Now for some products? domino.com, ok, that was unfair. quickplace.com, sametime.com ... Loads of fun.
Comments
Searching "lotusphere" on google gives the correct link to www.lotus.com/lotusphere (at last if you search "the web" instead of the default "in german").
So IBM shoul'd probably just redirect to google search ;-|
(BTW: I was amused to find Innovation Gate in the google search result :-))
Don't forget notes.net in the list of popular IBM redirects, what would I do without it ;-) Much easier to remember than the real address.
Are there any big corporations which succeed to "master" web addresses, domain names, product and project-related websites?
I remember a pitch for a Groove project to a well known consumer electronics and media company a couple of years ago. As an example application I invented a cross-division project to harmonise and improve the websites including style guide, policies, tips, guidelines, content management, ad agency cooperation etc. For fun I used the MindMapping tool to branch out old sites/domains, currently used domains and registered domains... After half a day effort, several hundred sites and domains, I gave up. Every division and every product manager seemed to reinvent the wheel, a lot of flash and little substance. I bet not much has changed since then.
@Wolfgang - I always use Google to search IBM, it's far more accurate than IBM's own search engine. Try searching for 'passport advantage' for example!
Ben, I agree and use that a lot. It used to be the only way to find the download for the Sun Java SDK, until Sun got their act together and redesigned.
Moritz, Agreed. I fear for the day when they drop the notes.net domain.
Ben, Volker, also agreed. Especially on Passport. I actually broke down and bookmarked the login page for that because it takes me so long to find it from the IBM/Lotus site. And I hardly ever bookmark things at work, preferring to email myself links...I don't use my del.icio.us for work, though I probably should.
Hmm..and www.vowe.com doesn't seem to get me to this site :-)
@Anil,
Vowe.net is his "brand" name.
See me eat crow
And to think I just talked about another instance of IBM taking ownership of certain areas yesterday
http://www.idonotes.com/IdoNotes/IdoNotes.nsf/dx/01042006093646AMCMIL9G.htm
Oh I forgot the link tags.......
Chris, those are two different sets of problems:
- I can't be bothered to get the job done right.
- I have to make this as complicated as possible.
Another nice one. Try the difference between http://www.lotus.de and http://lotus.de.
It's alive! It's alive!
http://www.rhs.com/web/blog/poweroftheschwartz.nsf/d6plinks/RSCZ-6KSVGJ
I forgot the link tags too ;-)
