Sharing the WB story

I was recounting to someone else today, as an example of how quickly things can change, especially where a market leader takes their users / customers for granted and abuses their responsibility / position.

If I’m right to go by the earliest WB member join date, it was 10 years, from the start of this site, to the closure of the Wine Advocate forum. Market leader to an also ran, to dead, all inside 10 years. In that same time period WB has taken over as the market leader, from a standing start.

They’re in a different sphere, but facing a similar challenge. It was useful to show them such a turnround of fortunes, to give them the confidence of what can be achieved, especially where the usurper recognises the core weakness(es) in the market leader, and ensures they offer a clear improvement on that. I wonder if Todd ever dreamt that such a turnround would happen when he set this site up, and at what point he realised that turnround was indeed becoming a reality?

Not seeking a Parker or Squires bashing - the result speaks louder than voicing any residual complaints about them

Things can change very quickly. A person’s health, for instance. Political fortunes. An accident causing death or impairment.
The reason we pray for the blessings we’ve received, especially on Christmas.

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It is a truth universally accepted that the downslide began when my avatar was banned at eRP.

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The book Mastering Dynamics of Innovation by Utterback is a helpful survey of many such instances and provides a helpful framework for thinking about where innovation typically comes from and what makes most incumbents vulnerable to be out innovated.

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Sierra CarCrash tipped over the apple cart.

Well here, it would seem only about 1in 100 avatars meet the pixel limitations.

I went to the blind tasting lunch at Grapes the Wine Company, owned by Daniel Posner.

The wine in question was Sierra Carche (sp?)

One day there will be a Succession-like series detailing Todd’s ruthless accession and all the ruined lives he left in his wake. In some, the thirst for power knows no bounds.

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I think The Innovator’s Dilemma by Christensen is also a similar book in that vein.

One could argue that the current phpBB-based forum is getting a bit long in the tooth and not reflective of how most modern internet communities are hosted. That being said, what makes WB great are the people and the long history of content they have posted, so I wouldn’t change anything without much deliberation.

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Well, it wasn’t like WB was started as just another place to discuss wine. It was started in response to how terribly things were being run over on EBoob. Trying to take forum success as a comparison to business success is a bit awkward to start with. In this case it has a lot to do with response to the big player and then being at the right place in the right time when that big player decided to kneecap itself.

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It would be impossible to detail the WB origin story, and the reasons for its success, without bashing Squires and Parker. In its heyday, the Squires board was an unparalleled source for wine information and there were participants from all aspects of the world of fine wine. Robert Parker’s participation was a huge draw. WB came about because of the self-destructive (and borderline psychopathic in the case of one of them) behavior on the parts of the two honchos at that board. Todd was the one who had not only had enough (as many of us had), but also took the initiative and did something about it. It worked out pretty well… champagne.gif

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What about his thirst for cold chardonnay on a hot day?

All that above and the welcoming aspect of producers to actually participate and discuss their wines without fear of being exiled! It gave this board the fluidity, cohesion and inclusiveness that were denied elsewhere.

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And today he is rich beyond his wildest dreams!

Oh wait, sorry, I meant “within his wildest dreams”.

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I think you may be confusing dreams with nightmares [wink.gif]

This place is so great, so inclusive, and so well done that it will take one galactic sized paradigm shift for it to be relegated in then next decade.

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I’m not sure everyone would agree on which of the two might be described as borderline psychopathic. The things that are easiest to see are usually manifestations of many other things.

The beginning of the end was when they required a paid subscription to the publication to participate in the forum (I had one at the time). That drove a lot more participants here, which ultimately changed the way this forum is run in order to create a culture that accommodates broader participation. As much as some complain that WB has too much unpleasant arguing and dialog, it’s quite tame compared to the early unmoderated days. Those changes allowed this forum to grow but, to a degree, were unwelcome to some of the very early participants.

-Al

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I really appreciate this forum and by extension Todd. I have been on so many wine boards over the years and this is the first one with little snarkiness, sniping, or general displeasantness.

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One thing that makes this bbs so charming is the contrast of its success with its non-financial nature. I’m pretty involved here and as far as I can tell Todd doesn’t make money off this place. He’s not just a volunteer, but he decides to extra stuff that benefit the community just because it’s fun. Not unknown in the annals of mankind, but unusual enough to be worth noticing. Awesome stuff! Thanks Todd and everyone else who pitches in around here!

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