Upgrading to Movabletype 3.2 was not easy, but I finally completed the migration process last night. Sure, I learned a lot about MySQL databases, about proper XHTML, and about how the engineers of Movabletype think. But I'm a usability expert, not a programmer. The question remains, why do I as a typical user have to learn all that stuff?
Don't get me wrong. I think the team behind Movabletype did a great job regarding functionality and flexibility of the software they provide. Not to mention the fact it is for free. But does for free translate into "left out in the rain" in all cases? I could think of more friendly business models than forcing users who "don't get it" to buy the very same version of Movabletype 3.2, only because that way they'll get (still limited) support by the MT team. This goes into something that is always in question with such models: brand loyalty. Users with a positive product experience add this experience in their book of brand loyalty. If it's for oranges, apples or Movabletype installations, there really isn't any difference.
Along the way I also created a better badge for MT 3.2. It's less muddy and clearer in design than the one I have seen on other blogs.
This is a badge I took from another website. So I don't know if this is an official badge provided by Six Apart, or if someone just designed it. Feel free to copy my new badge and use it on your own blog.
- Henning von Vogelsang
- September 27, 2005 05:20 AM
- Permalink