follow the yellow box road...

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by biTsar, Jul 21, 2014.

  1. biTsar

    biTsar Active Member VIP member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2014
    Messages:
    237
  2. Peregrinus

    Peregrinus Active Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2014
    Messages:
    613
    Native Language:
    English
    Intermediate Languages:
    German
    Basic Languages:
    Spanish
    Rosetta board room:

    Big Idea Man: Let's take our overblown hype into the digital age! Let's hype other shit like cognitive shit and teaching stuff to babys! Let's shamwow! the *#$% out of these suckers and rake even more dough in with expensive products that don't deliver! After all, it's a proven business model!
    biTsar likes this.
  3. Bob

    Bob Active Member VIP member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2014
    Messages:
    339
    Native Language:
    English
    Intermediate Languages:
    Cebuano, Greek_ancient, Spanish
    Basic Languages:
    Filipino, French, Hebrew_clasical, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian
  4. Peregrinus

    Peregrinus Active Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2014
    Messages:
    613
    Native Language:
    English
    Intermediate Languages:
    German
    Basic Languages:
    Spanish
    On a more serious note, when a language learning company makes fundamental changes to their core product or expands their product line, one of the following is often true:

    1) they are in financial difficulty and the changes are a last attempt to turn things around before going out of business;

    2) they are reasonably successful and are chasing market trends via dumbing down a good product;

    3) they are a highly successful marketing-driven concern that knows that lots of marketing dollars behind an inferior product can often drive out a superior product that is not as well-funded.


    Given the amount of money they spend on advertising, I doubt that #1 is true. #2 cannot be true because they already have a dumbed downed product that can hardly be made worse. #3 seems most likely, and the more Rosetta prospers the more likely it becomes that superior products will suffer in market share. The unwashed masses can't recognize and don't want superior products. They want the learn-a-language-quickly-and-without-effort smoke blown up their collective ass.
    biTsar likes this.
  5. biTsar

    biTsar Active Member VIP member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2014
    Messages:
    237
    I realize some of the stuff I post here is trivial, but the attitude on display in that article I found tacky to put it mildly and thus worth highlighting. Thanks for your amusing and pointed commentary. My physician once told me she bought their product and insisted that it works, then she said "cough", and I decided to keep my opinion to myself.
  6. Peregrinus

    Peregrinus Active Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2014
    Messages:
    613
    Native Language:
    English
    Intermediate Languages:
    German
    Basic Languages:
    Spanish
    Triviality is the stuff of daily life :). Your physician just don't know enough to know what she don't know. She sees testimonials from large corporations and gov't agencies saying they use the product, and jumps on the bandwagon. Perhaps that is unfair though, because most companies and busy professionals are seeking either an academic course or a seemingly complete program to use. They aren't willing to spend time researching the matter, or using multiple courses. The veneer of respectability that RS has garnered undeservedly, is the strongest aspect of its brand. If users realize that it at best can only set a foundation for further learning, then that wouldn't be too bad. But since the term "fluent" has been successfully shorn of any component of proficiency, there is almost no reason for them to realize the truth of the matter. Other than of course trying to read a newspaper or follow a typical TV program in the L2.
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2014

Share This Page