And the folks at Telligent think they have a solution. That’s right, for only $199 (and of course learning a new template language called Chalk) you can enjoy a WordPress-alternative that capitalizes on buzz words and misconception.
However, I think at this point, they’ve come a little too late to the market. Sure, blogs are at an astounding rise, and more and more people are getting into blogging and sharing information. But in the age of non-proprietary software, a $199 price tag for nothing more than a pre-release is a little much.
You’re also looking at the fact that most people blog because it’s easy, and most people choose to blog for free. And most of the people who have payed for webspace known how to setup something as simple as WordPress, and know how to keep it up-to-date without too much hassle.
The concept of working for something is not lost, but it is being threatened. What’s the point in knowing what you’re doing when you don’t have to? What’s the point in knowing how to take 1-5 minutes out of your day to install something when you can just click and drag?
I’ve already said my piece about this on Matt’s Blog, and I don’t feel that I have to repeat myself. But in case you don’t want to have to click a link to read what I said elsewhere, here is the comment:
I’m all for competition (it’s what keeps the market great) but when you resort to mudslinging and think that a $199 price tag is going to seem refreshing to a crowd that doesn’t really need an alternative to WordPress (if you’re searching for WordPress related materials, why would you want to find something that isn’t WordPress?) then you’re going about it all wrong.
Oh and for the record, technically, WordPress is a 1-click install (if you’re hosted with Dreamhost). All you do is fill out some information, click install, go about your business, a minute or two later, click on another link and – what’s that? WordPress is installed, ready for you to name your blog and get started.
Also, it uses something called Chalk, which almost looks like a bastardized version of PHP.
I’m already sick of Graffiti and I hope they fail big time.