"It's a pretty good zoo," said young Gerald McGrew,
"and the fellow who runs it seems proud of it, too."
But if Gerald ran the zoo, the New Zoo,
McGrew Zoo, he'd see to making a change or two:
"So I'd open each cage. I'd unlock every pen,
let the animals go, and start over again."
- Dr. Seuss. "If I ran the Zoo." 1950.
That nutty Dr. Seuss. Who would have thought that a children's book published nearly 60 years ago could so clearly describe the changes over the last several years at eBay?
Yes, the site is almost unrecognizable from the eBay of 1997 - or 2005, for that matter, but I don't want rehash the changes that have taken place over the past several years. We've covered those - ad nauseum. What I'd like know is, what would YOU do, if you ran the zoo? Or at least, what is the one thing that really bugs you that you'd change? What would you implement, roll-back or change?
I'll start:
I'd like to see all of the really great User IDs that haven't been used in years, set free. IDs like "Guitarzan" or "HaileSelasse" or "RichardNixon" should be back in the public domain again, so that I don't have to sell or buy as "eBay_Bot_30029." There are some amazing IDs that are just itching to see the light of day again, but it seems that each time I go to register a decent name, it's already in use. I say, a pox on touting a registered user base the size of India and China combined. Hello McFly - more than half of all eBay User IDs were abandoned years ago.
This idea could even be revenue-generating for eBay (and eBay hasn't turned away revenue yet). Auction off the IDs that have been inactive for, let's say, 3 years or longer. Since eBay essentially owns the names anyway, it's a pure-profit play. eBay could even take a percentage of the revenue raised on the ID auctions and give it to Myanmar relief, China earthquake relief or other deserving charities. It would go a long way toward changing the perception that the company doesn't have a heart.
So, that's one thing I'd do, if I were John Donahoo.
Now what would YOU do. In one line or a few.
But keep it constructive, and don't start to b*tch.
And this thread will go off without much of a hitch.
Hey, maybe the "Powers To Be" will sit down and listen,
To a thread that's devoid of much moanin' and....well you get the idea.
- Dr. Steiner. Blog Post. 2008.
Note: I couldn't let this blog post go without saying how impressed I am with the ideas in the comments. And the poetry is laugh out loud funny. Just a great reminder why Ina and I do this!
