I really enjoy Zeldman's show and think he is very smart. On the other hand, I've never heard so much stammering trying to justify Readabilities business. I would have respected the opinions more if both he and Richard Ziade (CEO of Readability) were just honest. They should just say: "we don't care what anyone thinks. Readability will make money anyway they want off of the web. Suck it." That's a stand, not a justification. This podcast was just awkward. It's like someone trying to justify muggings.
- What's the consequence of stripping ads on the authors?
- Can Readlists be used to repackage someone else's work and sell it?
- Why do so few people come to Readabilities defense?
- Why don't you contact publishers directly to offer the money you are "saving" for them?
- Are there legal consequences to the NYT signing up with Readability?
- How do you plan to make money?
- We're innovating
- We're doing R&D
- It would look like we were favoring some sites
- They're afraid of innovation
- We plan to create value
I still respect Zeldman a lot. He asked some hard questions but I think he let Richard ho-hum around and get out of providing answers to the questions. I don't think Richard is evil. I just think he's afraid to own what Readability is doing.