In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition

In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition

by Merrill R. Chapman
Released September 2006
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781590597217

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Book description

In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition is National Lampoon meets Peter Drucker. It's a funny and well-written business book that takes a look at some of the most influential marketing and business philosophies of the last twenty years. Through the dark glass of hindsight, it provides an educational and entertaining look at why these philosophies didn't work for many of the country's largest and best-known high-tech companies.

Marketing wizard Richard Chapman takes you on a hilarious ride in this book, which is richly illustrated with cartoons and reproductions of many of the actual campaigns used at the time. Filled with personal anecdotes spanning Chapman's remarkable career (he was present at many now-famous meetings and events), In Search of Stupidity, Second Edition examines the best of the worst marketing ideas and business decisions in the last 20 years of the technology industry.

This second edition includes new chapters on Google and on how to avoid stupidity, plus the extensive analyses of all chapters from the first edition. You'll want to get a copy because it:

  • Features an interesting preface and interview with Joel Spolsky of "Joel on Software"

  • Offers practical advice on avoiding PR disaster

  • Features actual pictures of some of the worst PR and marketing material ever created

  • Is highly readable and funny

  • Includes theme-based cartoons for every chapter

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION
  3. FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION
  4. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  5. ABOUT THE ARTISTS
  6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  7. PREFACE
  8. 1. INTRODUCTION
  9. 2. FIRST MOVERS, FIRST MISTAKES: IBM, Digital Research, Apple, and Microsoft
    1. 2.1. The Big Bang: The Altair
      1. 2.1.1. A Fistful of Chips
      2. 2.1.2. Fabulous Fruit
      3. 2.1.3. Building the Perfect Beast
    2. 2.2. Great Green Rising: Digital Research and Microsoft
      1. 2.2.1. Reluctant Ahab
      2. 2.2.2. Attack of the Clones
  10. 3. A RATHER NUTTY TALE: IBM and the PC Junior
    1. 3.1. The Gods Themselves, Coming to Your Home Soon
    2. 3.2. The Market Goes Nuts
    3. 3.3. The Nut Grinder
    4. 3.4. The Nuttiness of Subtractive Marketing
  11. 4. POSITIONING PUZZLERS: MicroPro and Microsoft
    1. 4.1. Death by Doppelganger: MicroPro
      1. 4.1.1. A Star Is Born
      2. 4.1.2. The Doctrine of Positioning
      3. 4.1.3. Positioning Wars
      4. 4.1.4. Stupid Printing Tricks
    2. 4.2. Two Software Nags: Windows 95 vs. Windows NT
    3. 4.3. Some New Nags
  12. 5. WE HATE YOU, WE REALLY HATE YOU: Ed Esber, Ashton-Tate, and Siebel Systems
    1. 5.1. Heart of Darkness
    2. 5.2. Making Ed's Day
    3. 5.3. The Horror, the Horror
    4. 5.4. 100 Percent Loyal
  13. 6. THE IDIOT PIPER:OS/2 and IBM
    1. 6.1. A Dog's View
    2. 6.2. An OS Is Born
    3. 6.3. Who Killed OS/2?
    4. 6.4. Coup de Grace
  14. 7. FRENCHMAN EATS FROG, CHOKES TO DEATH: Borland and Philippe Kahn
    1. 7.1. Barbarian Conquests
    2. 7.2. The Object of It All
    3. 7.3. Gates at the Barbarian
    4. 7.4. The Fall of the Barbarian Empire
  15. 8. BRANDS FOR THE BURNING: Intel, Motorola, and Google
    1. 8.1. The Nature of Brands
    2. 8.2. The Sins of Branding
    3. 8.3. The Great Pentium Bunny Roast: Intel Inside
      1. 8.3.1. Invasion of the Bunny People
      2. 8.3.2. The Rabbits Fail Math
      3. 8.3.3. The Dark Bunny Dream of Andy Grove
      4. 8.3.4. The Bunnies Hop to It
    4. 8.4. Digital DNA: A Day in the Life of Alfred E. Motorola
      1. 8.4.1. The Loneliness of Being Hardware
      2. 8.4.2. Memories of a Crushing Blow
      3. 8.4.3. Bad, Bad Genes
    5. 8.5. The Eternal Darkness of the Clueless Mind: Google, Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, and the People Who Brought YouTiananmen Square
  16. 9. FROM GODZILLA TO GECKO: The Long, Slow Decline of Novell
    1. 9.1. Crunch Time for Novell
    2. 9.2. Famous Cheapskates
    3. 9.3. The Big Lizards
    4. 9.4. Island of Lost Souls
    5. 9.5. How to Miss Tokyo
    6. 9.6. Godzilla Meets NT, the Three-Headed Monster
      1. 9.6.1. Ghidrah Does Demos
      2. 9.6.2. Sweet-Talking Lips
      3. 9.6.3. Bite and Hold On
      4. 9.6.4. Godzilla Goes Ape
  17. 10. RIPPING PR YARNS: Microsoft and Netscape
    1. 10.1. The Zen of Marketing
    2. 10.2. Bill Gates vs. the DOJ: Sometimes We All Go a Little Bit Crazy
      1. 10.2.1. Building the Perfect Bill
      2. 10.2.2. Bill Strikes Back
      3. 10.2.3. An Offer You Can't Refuse
    3. 10.3. Netscape and Marc Andreessen: Will You Please Just Shut Up?
      1. 10.3.1. The New Bill, Not the Same As the Old
      2. 10.3.2. Merry Pranksters
  18. 11. PURPLE HAZE ALL THROUGH MY BRAIN: The Internet and ASP Busts
    1. 11.1. Child of the '60s: The Internet
      1. 11.1.1. The British Invasion
      2. 11.1.2. Magic Carpet Ride
      3. 11.1.3. The Pusher Man
      4. 11.1.4. Up, Up and Away
    2. 11.2. The Last Days of Disco: The ASP Craze
      1. 11.2.1. Disco Inferno
      2. 11.2.2. The Last Dance
  19. 12. THE STRANGE CASE OF DR.OPEN AND MR. PROPRIETARY
    1. 12.1. It's Finally GNU for You
    2. 12.2. Some Hot Tunes
    3. 12.3. Getting to the Root of the Problem
    4. 12.4. Back to the Future with WGA
    5. 12.5. Freedom From Choice Is What YouWant
  20. 13. ON AVODING STUPIDITY
    1. 13.1. The Main Causes of Failure
    2. 13.2. You Shall Study the Past, and the Past Will Make You Less Stupid
      1. 13.2.1. Must-Reads
      2. 13.2.2. Recommended Reading
    3. 13.3. Now That You Know, Do You Know When to Know It?
    4. 13.4. Are We...Are We Ourselves?
    5. 13.5. Never Trust (or Hire) Anyone Over 30
    6. 13.6. The Best Generals Hire the Best Generals
    7. 13.7. Now That You Know, What Do the Rest of You Know As Well?
  21. 14. STUPID ANALYSES
    1. 14.1. Chapter 2, "First Movers, First Mistakes: IBM, Digital Research, Apple, and Microsoft"
    2. 14.2. Chapter 3, "A Rather Nutty Tale: IBM and the PC Junior"
    3. 14.3. Chapter 4, "Positioning Puzzlers: MicroPro and Microsoft"
    4. 14.4. Chapter 5, "We Hate You, We Really Hate You: Ed Esber, Ashton-Tate, and Siebel Systems"
    5. 14.5. Chapter 6, "The Idiot Piper: OS/2 and IBM"
    6. 14.6. Chapter 7, "Frenchman Eats Frog, Chokes to Death: Borland and Philippe Kahn"
    7. 14.7. Chapter 8, "Brands for the Burning: Intel, Motorola, and Google"
    8. 14.8. Chapter 9, "From Godzilla to Gecko: The Long, Slow Decline of Novell"
    9. 14.9. Chapter 10, "Ripping PR Yarns: Microsoft and Netscape"
    10. 14.10. Chapter 11, "Purple Haze All Through My Brain: The Internet and ASP Busts"
    11. 14.11. Chapter 12, "The Strange Case of Dr. Open and Mr. Proprietary"
      1. 14.11.1. The Sony Rootkit Fiasco
      2. 14.11.2. WPA, WGA, and All That Jazz
  22. AFTERWORD: Stupid Development Tricks
    1. 14.12. An Interview with Joel Spolsky
  23. A. GLOSSARY OF TERMS
  24. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Product information

  • Title: In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition
  • Author(s): Merrill R. Chapman
  • Release date: September 2006
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781590597217