"REALNETWORKS JUMPS THE SHARK"

Great post by Christopher Carfi, which the subheader reads:

An inside look at the organization that has been called "anti-social" and "the worst company on the Internet."

Excerpt:

Perhaps this is a result of some sort of Rob Glaser myopia. In the ten years Glaser spent at Microsoft (1983-1993), he managed a number of different products, including Microsoft Word. Locking up the channel, and wielding the power of being thrust upon customers (as opposed to being chosen by them) seems to continue to be the M.O. of Real, as it is at Microsoft. This does not appear to be changing any time soon.

What does seem to be changing, however, is Real's focus, which is now not only on music but other downloadable content such as games. Real seems to realize that the audio/video space that they've been playing in since their inception is now crowded, and that they've been pushed to the sidelines in the process. It must irk Glaser to no end that, not only was he rebuffed by Steve Jobs, but now Apple has a 70% market share of the downloadable music market that he and Real, ostensibly, pioneered. So, in what was quite likely a move based more on emotion than sense (and probably driven by Glaser's reported bull-in-a-china-shop personality), he decides to trump up a petition and rally Real's customers to rail against Apple.

This was a bad idea. (full post)