Today was going pretty darn good until I came back from my desk after a meeting during the early afternoon.

See after a relatively normal morning we launched the Arby's BzzCampaign earlier today. Site was chugging along, BzzAgents were signing up and everything seemed to be relatively normal.

Then we launched the Home Cafe BzzCampaign [yep, repeat of this from over a year ago!] this afternoon and faster then you can say cappuccino the site started to, as I like to say, TWEAK. In other words the site began to fail and BzzAgents couldn’t sign up.

Think of it like this. Say there’s a bar room that can fit 100 patrons, but 150 people manage to get in. Then on top of that the line outside the bar has about a thousand or so people demanding a chance to get in. Well at some point the fire marshal is going to come over and shut the place down. That’s what kinda happened today.

We’re on course to have the busiest day of site traffic EVER. Let me say that one more time. Today – 3/1/06 – is on course to be the busiest day of site traffic ever. Serenity now!

Please understand that we work tirelessly to have everything work perfect 100% of the time. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don’t. BUT, and this is a big BUT, every time we make a mistake we learn something. And believe you me, we learned a lot today!

Thanks for your understanding!

Jono

Splash! The taste of salt fills your mouth as you flail to get your head above the water. As the sting fades from your eyes and your surroundings come into focus, you realize you’re treading water in the middle of the ocean. Sleek silhouettes dart underfoot in sinuous undulation; sharks. With little other choice you begin swimming in the direction of the sun. The thought of the sharks is always at the back of your mind, subverting your will to survive, rather than bolstering it.

After many hours, land appears on the horizon. Your arms and legs are tired, and it seems that the closer you get to the island the more sharks join the school; bigger sharks with sharper teeth. The sight of the sandy shore, a golden beacon, drives you to swim on.

Yards from the beach you stop and, still treading water, draw a survival knife from your belt. And now, as the hungry beasts brush against your toes in pre-frenzy excitement, you bring the blade down on your thigh in utter confidence, spilling your blood, like crimson smoke, into the sea.

Why would you do this?

I feel like the 90 days of BzzAgent blog is a gash spilling BzzAgent’s blood right into the noses of the hungry sharks (i.e. detractors). And of course, this is just after the news of VC funding hits the press; a time when the frenzy is at its most intense.

Ultimately the blog was a good idea, and of course sharks are going to be attracted to the blood in the water. It just seems to me it may have been better left till after we’d safely pulled ourselves ashore, instead of when we’re at our most vulnerable.