When will they learn…
Giving your customers access to their own data, and encouraging them to extend your products, is key for a high quality customer experience. For example, Karl and I were chatting the other day about the recent trend in extending Google Maps to build new applications that drive traffic. (For example, Google Sightseeing, Housing, over-laying subway maps [here and here], etc.) It’s one of the reasons flickr and del.icio.us are so popular — they encourage remixing (to use Rael’s term.)
However, support for open architectures and empowering one’s customers hasn’t caught on for everyone. Take this example: Nikon encrypts D2X white balance metadata. Nikon has decided that in their high-end cameras (the kind only bought by die-hard camera types), they will encrypt the previously open metadata stored with each photo so that customers can only use Nikon software to work with their images. You’ve got to be kidding! Locking in customers doesn’t work anymore guys! And if you’re looking for a reason why, it’s right here: “Nikon’s photo encryption reported broken.” Customers wanted to use those cameras so much that they reverse engineered the encryption scheme. (Which, yes, probably violates the DCMA.) Fortunately for Nikon’s customers, this makes their product somewhat attractive again. But they’ve still risked turning away their own customers trying to lock them in.
Take a lesson from the cluetrain — your customers have a voice, and potential customers listen to it. Good customers will even work for you if you let them, but you have to open up, listen, and be good to them.