I do agree, we should try to simplify things. At the same time saying that just because you want to be included, a company should appeal to you, is wrong. I say "you" by the way as an example and with no disrespect or insult intended.
At the end of the day if a company wants to appeal to a very, very specific individual - let them. It does 2 major things.
You'll spend about 2-3min on their site and give up, saving you time and headache in the long-run with a product you would probably buy but never actually use (hello dozens of "unique and helpful" software packages).
If someone actually DOES need their service they'll almost immediately know, and their on-boarders / sales teams will be able to work with clients that they can actually help/assist.
This really focuses on platforms that are very, very B2B and not B2C (or even B2D Biz to Developer). Example being Puppet as you said. I opened their site, saw the word "DevOps" and immediately got turned off slightly. Then I read the "one liner" and realized I have no idea who they are, what they do, or if I can use them in anyway whatsoever - resulting in me closing their site. Even if my company COULD use them their marketing jargon and lack of "wtf do you do" turned me off.
I'm sure someone out there though loved the page and immediately wanted more information. =]
Software dev at Netflix | DC techie | Conference speaker | egghead Instructor | TC39 Educators Committee | Girls Who Code Facilitator | Board game geek | @laurieontech on twitter
I do agree, we should try to simplify things. At the same time saying that just because you want to be included, a company should appeal to you, is wrong. I say "you" by the way as an example and with no disrespect or insult intended.
At the end of the day if a company wants to appeal to a very, very specific individual - let them. It does 2 major things.
You'll spend about 2-3min on their site and give up, saving you time and headache in the long-run with a product you would probably buy but never actually use (hello dozens of "unique and helpful" software packages).
If someone actually DOES need their service they'll almost immediately know, and their on-boarders / sales teams will be able to work with clients that they can actually help/assist.
This really focuses on platforms that are very, very B2B and not B2C (or even B2D Biz to Developer). Example being Puppet as you said. I opened their site, saw the word "DevOps" and immediately got turned off slightly. Then I read the "one liner" and realized I have no idea who they are, what they do, or if I can use them in anyway whatsoever - resulting in me closing their site. Even if my company COULD use them their marketing jargon and lack of "wtf do you do" turned me off.
I'm sure someone out there though loved the page and immediately wanted more information. =]
While that’s fair in the “it shows me I don’t want to work with them sends” I’d like us all to strive for better. But I see your point.