Active.com
Posted on April 29, 2009
Alright folks, per reader suggestion I would like to go another round on Active.com.
Tried registering the other day for Barrio and the site was down. Yesterday I got an email (out of the blue) from a friend and all it said was that the site sucked.
My thoughts on this are really clear. I am really sorry that they have such a good thing going on but they cannot get it together. I would love to work for a company like that and help them be better, actually I am trying with CyclingNutz and we are a 2 guy-shop.
I know how hard it is to keep things going, but with the great people that work there and the HUGE following of loyal customers you would think they would make it a priority to get things working correctly.
I know a lot of people that work/have worked there and there seems to be something going on, a disconnect, a lack of understanding of what the consumer wants versus what higher management “thinks” they want.
Bottom line is that I am jealous that they get to work for the “concept” active.com
It hurts to see them screw things up like that… oh well, who the hell am I.
If any of you guys want to start a new Active, I would like to hear about it.
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2 Responses to “Active.com”
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For my purposes, I think it’s been done–SoCalReg has all the features I need:
How many guys are signed up?
Are any of them named Thurlow?
When/where is my race?
What is the average power output I’ll need to stay in the field? In the break? In the portajon?
Seriously, I agree that Active is populated with great people–users and employees–but they’ve just pushed it sooooo far with annoying content in an effort to monetize their work that it’s cumbersome. It’s what happens when suits put the squeeze on for $$ over utility and true quality.
SoCalReg is the craigs list of reg sites–but it could be improved upon….perhaps by c-nutz….but let’s not publish those ideas…
This is absolutely the worst web site that I have ever experienced. First of all, they have absolutely failed in their primary mission, which is to connect athletes with events. It’s almost impossible to find any event on the site. If by some miracle you find it, your next challenge is figuring out how to register. It’s surreal.
I won’t even get started on the proliferation of useless information. It seems that all of this content is designed to create more confusion and keep you from accomplishing your objective. No, I don’t want to run the “Gold Rush Marathonâ€, enter a “3 legged race in Hemet†or reserve the “Caesar Chavez Memorial Park in Barrio for a family BBQâ€.
This is a prime example of a “first mover” success story and for you entrepreneurs out there I think these guys make a prime target. I think a successful business can be built by being everything they are NOT. They are so deeply invested in their strategy and their technology is so interwoven, they will not be able to effectively respond to a good challenge.