I want to give a shout-out to the people at ActiveWords, a product that I rely on every single day. I read about their licensing plan today:

“People who adopt ActiveWords want it available all the time, saving them time and making their computing more spontaneous, relevant, and enjoyable. We want to make sure our customers know they are free to take their ActiveWords with them, to use on any computer, anywhere, for the price of a single license. The ActiveWords PLUS Personal Version License gives our customers the unrestricted right to install and use the purchased version on any computer. As a customer you can unlock any ActiveWords PLUS installation for your exclusive use. This means you can use it on any computer, anywhere, anytime. This applies to the version of ActiveWords PLUS you purchase so long as it operates with a compatible Windows operating system.”

This is the way all software should work: it’s delusional how some companies think that every computer should have a unique license for their software, even if it’s the same person using it on each computer. Wouldn’t it be great if all companies were that flexible and friendly with their licensing? I’m far more inclined to purchase software that I know won’t give me a hassle when I install it on any or all of my five main PCs. Companies that treat me like a valued customer, instead of a software pirate, will always get my money first.

Now I just wish it wasn’t so confusing to unlock their software once you have the registration key…

The following is a quote from Sean O’Driscoll’s blog. Sean is the General Manager of Microsoft’s MVP program, of which I am a 10 year vetran (a third of my life…scary!). Since I run online communities for a living, community is something that’s always on my mind. Sometimes people have a hard time grasping what online communities are, how they come into being, and why for many companies they can create massive opportunities - but also many challenges. Sean’s take on community was particularly interesting as he used an example from his own life:

“One of my hobbies (obsessions according to my wife) is BBQing. I won’t get into the passions that surround debate on this subject here, but be assured they are as strong and deep as any topic I’ve ever seen. So, here’s the story – and yes, it is 100% true (these must be for it to work). A few years ago, my wife bought me a BBQ for Christmas, technically a smoker (www.cookshack.com). One of the first things I did was go online to register the product. I immediately discovered an online community hosted at the site. By the end of the day, I was reading post after post from a guy named “smokin’ okie.” I was lurking like crazy all the time (and slowly starting to post). As the months went by, I didn’t really give this a lot of thought relative to my day job on communities at Microsoft. But, one day it hit me. I was using this BBQ WAY more frequently than the average person uses a BBQ. I was buying accessories for it. I was recommending it to others (I can name 5 people I recommended it to who now own one). I was using it in non-standard ways – things you won’t read in the manual (by the way, this really builds loyalty as you’re not sure you could do it with a competitor.)

It also dawned on me that my motivations for being in that community were very diverse. I sought recipes, trouble shooting, tips and tricks, product recommendations, social connections, and on and on – I was really forming relationships. Since then, that cookshack has become a center piece of a full outdoor kitchen I had built to extend my addiction to bbqing. So, how did this relate to Microsoft for me? Well, let me tell you, software and computers are not a lot different than BBQing. What does every company want? They want you to use their products more. They want you to use a richer set of its features and capabilities. They want you to add onto it. They want you to recommend it and they want it to become a focal point in your life. It’s really the dream scenario – if communities could do that for me with BBQ, couldn’t we do the same with software – another topic with massive passions!! Now, don’t use BBQing (unless it’s true for you), but do figure out what your “bbq story” is. What you are trying to do is create a vivid story that helps others discover their own story – then you’ve got them.”

That’s what online communities are all about: people with a shared interest coming together to trade information about their passion.