The Fortune Magazine MySQL story I mentioned the other day (which is also being syndicated on cnn.com) has just been slashdotted.
Slashdot is a lot like a car accident on the highway. You know it's gonna be really bad, but somehow you can't stop yourself from looking (or reading in this case).
News flash, folks: MySQL has transactions. Yes, the ACID kind, just like Oracle and PostgreSQL. They've been there for a while now. Really. I've been using them quite happily.
It never ceases to amaze me.
The Open Source freaks can be so predictable sometimes. As expected, most folks seemed to have a 3 year old (or worse!) view of MySQL's features and limitations. And, as expected, there was a big "What about PostgreSQL?! It has more features!!!" contingent.
Reality check. It's not all about features. It's about the best tool for the job. For a lot of folks, MySQL really is that tool. Get over yourselves.
Imagine you have a blog with a couple hundred folks who read it on a semi-regular basis. Some of them are your co-workers. Further imagine that you work for one of the world's best known tech brands. Finally, suppose that you know at least two of your company's vice president's read (or have read) your blog.
Would you blog differently? Shy away from criticizing your employer? Purposely avoid work-related topics?
I hope not.
You might wonder, as I have, what would happen if your company's PR folks caught on. (Maybe they have?) Would they care? Should they care? Or is it more of a "don't ask, don't tell" situation?
What if those PR folks also knew that tech journalists were reading it, hoping to get ideas for a story about your company? (That's a funny story that I really wish I could tell.)
What about shareholders? Is that part of what being a public company in the Internet age is all about? Having employees who blog about their company from the inside. It probably won't be long before someone stands up at an annual shareholder's meeting after the CEO has made some bold claims and says, "I was reading one of your employee's weblogs. She seems to think that won't work at all, and she provided very compelling evidence." How might that CEO react? Would the blogger lose her job?
What about your competitors? Surely the smart ones are reading 'em. Aren't they?