Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Lost Your Mojo?

Last week I received a very important announcement from Yahoo!

Dear Scott Howard,

Thank you for being a Yahoo! Mail user for the past 7 year(s). We look forward to bringing you an even faster, safer, easier-to-use Yahoo! Mail very soon.

In the coming months, we will ask you to upgrade to the newest version of Yahoo! Mail for your account ABC@yahoo.com. All Yahoo! Mail customers will be asked to upgrade. But in the meantime, you don't have to wait, you can have the newest Yahoo! Mail today.



When I clicked on the link in the email, it went to a page that featured this video:



After watching the video, which told me nothing except using Yahoo Mail would be messier, I clicked on the links that would actually tell me what was new and improved.

I was disappointed.

Yahoo Mail was trying to be like Gmail. But they already lost their mojo with me.

About 5 years ago, I stopped using my Yahoo Mail account and switched over to Gmail from Google. The primary reason for my dumping Yahoo was the spam filtering that Gmail offered was so much further advanced from what Yahoo was doing.

I had given up on Yahoo Mail and only kept that email account alive by forwarding Yahoo emails to my Gmail account.

Now it appears that it has taken 5 years for Yahoo to catch up with where Google and Gmail was 5 years ago.

In the meantime, Gmail continues to offer improvements so Yahoo will always be behind.

What about your business?

Are you constantly playing catch-up or are you leap-frogging your competitors.

It isn't enough to say, "You know that service or product that they (insert competitors name) offer, we have it now too."

By the time you have caught up, you've lost your Mojo.

According to the Urban Dictionary:

Mojo:

The word originally means a charm or a spell. But now its more commonly said meaning sex appeal or talent.

and...

1. Self-confidence, Self-assuredness. As in basis for belief in ones self in a situation. Esp. I context of contest or display of skill such as sexual advances or going into battle.
2. Good luck fetish / charm to bolster confidence.
3. ability to bounce back from a debilitating trauma and negative attitude

In this ever changing world, you always risk being left behind. Especially if you wait 5 years.

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