Why there’s a Media Temple logo on my site.
on Jul 8, 2010 - 1:30 PM PST
I once asked Jason McVearry of Media Temple the same question people now ask me, “Why is there a Media Temple logo on so many tech blogs?”
He told me that Media Temple’s strategy is to help bloggers and startups, and that some of them say thank you with a link. I was too skeptical to fully believe it when he told me, but now I understand.
My site recently got a virus. (That’s why you saw Viagra references when you Google’d “Mixergy.” Sucuri is on top of it now.) While I tried to figure out who I could hire and what I could do about it, I was worried. I emailed Jason for advice. He immediately found someone at Media Temple to go through Chris Pearson’s blog post about the Pharma hack and apply Chris’s solution to my site.
I can’t pay Jason for anything like that. I know because I’ve tried. Frankly, dealing my WordPress issues isn’t even what Media Temple does. It’s kind of like expecting Microsoft to help fix your Skype app because you’re running it on a Windows computer. (Not exactly, I know, but you get the picture.)
I have a TON of stories like that.
Seth Godin once told me that a company’s success isn’t based on the money it spends on marketing. It comes down to what happens when a customer is in trouble and the person at the company has an opportunity to either say, “Not my problem. Not my department” or to do what Seth called, “a generous act.”
Well, Jason has done a bunch of generous acts for me.
Media Temple won’t take my money when they go out of their way for me. When I ask Jason how I can thank him, he says that he’s just happy that I can continue to publish my interviews.
I can’t think of any other way to say “thank you,” so I post his logo on my site.
View Comments to “Why there’s a Media Temple logo on my site.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
July 9th, 2010 at 6:27 am
That's a very generous thing you did Andrew. May I ask what hosting package you are on? Are you using their Grid Server? I'm looking into a host that can provide great service and uptime, with-stain large traffic whilst still being easy to operate.
July 9th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Wow! Now that's both smart business approach as well as a sound life advice.
Thanks, Andrew!
July 9th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I have to admit that I have no idea. They've told me and I should know it,
but I don't retain that kind of information well. I just know I can count on
them.
July 9th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Yeah.
July 9th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Wow. Huge shout out to Media Temple. Can we call them the “Zappos” of web hosting? Every single thing I hear about them from friends and blog posts is that they have better-than-legendary customer service. I won lifetime hosting from them at TechCrunch Disrupt in NYC a few weeks ago, so you can count me in their 'fanboy' clan, if you like.
Customer for life, John X
July 9th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
It's not Grid Server for sure.
If you try a reverse-lookup of the ip of a (gs)-hosted site, it'll return something like *.cXX.gridserver.com, while this site returns mixergy.com.
It's some kind of dedicated hosting, likely a (dv) ;)
July 9th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I've used Media Temple (gs) for a month or so but as I'm based in the Netherlands I had some issues with slow FTP connections, and the site itself didn't load as fast as I'd hope either. Also I needed a specific MySQL feature which wasn't supported by MT, and they did nothing to help me with that. Luckily I'm now running a dedicated server (at XLSHosting.com) which is way better for the same money.
I guess experiences differ…
July 9th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Andrew,
Thank you for the kudos! I HAVE to absolutely say that while i'm personally passionate about service and building real relationships with clients, I'm worthless without the incredible technical staff at (mt). They are the company as we are a service company.
Our VP of Customer Service, Andrew Won coaches our team to produce “Wow” experiences for clients, and I think they nail it most of the time.
Thanks again Andrew!
Cheers,
Jason McVearry
(mt) Media Temple
July 9th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Um, did you ask why exactly someone was able to access your files or database and install a 'virus'? Er, the reason MT is being so nice to you is because its THEIR FAULT. They allowed your servers to be compromised with shoddy security tactics. WordPress doesn't just 'pick up' viruses, someone needs to have access to your files or database and install them.
9 times out of 10 its because the host exposed that data somewhere, or was hacked and allowed multiple accounts to be compromised. So instead of MT actually telling you that they majorly f'd up and allowed your site to get compromised they let it slide until you found it and said 'oh my i have a virus' and then play it off as if they're giving you freebies.
MT recently reset the DB passwords on every account on their GridService because for years they were stored in highly-insecure unencrypted plain text. Chances are your DB password was exposed from the GS, and even if you moved the server, as long as your db kept the same passwords you're still vulnerable.
I guarantee you that 'virus' is the result of MT's awful security practices. You shouldn't have written this blog post in praise, you should have asked for your money back. They are shifty, sneaky bastards selling crappy hardware at exorbitant prices while hiding behind glossy graphics and clever community outreach programs.
Sorry I've just had so many horrific problems with MT over the years I just can't sit idly by and see an endorsement like this for something that is very likely a PR spin on a really big problem.
July 9th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Yeah. I kind of feel like a jerk for not including a few other people's names. But if I started listing everybody it would feel like one of those boring Oscar speeches.
Plus there are a lot of people whose names I don't know. I'm trying to instal a plugin and it keeps knocking my site down. Earlier today, someone @ mt spent over 1/2 hour helping me. I was too shaken to even ask his name.
July 10th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I wonder if somebody unknown would have gotten such support :|
July 10th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
The answer is yes :)
July 11th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
thnx
http://www.mjk2.com/vb
July 12th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
It seems to be Jason turn now, because there seems to be a virus on http://tinystartups.com/
July 12th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Like you said, experiences differ. Thanks.
July 12th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
The Zappos of web hosting would be my description too.
July 12th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Really? I don't see it: http://bit.ly/9NUnY2
July 12th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
I have had a good experience with them, but I'm glad you posted your opinion. I don't want this post to sound like a fawn-fest. I'm just telling you my experience, and from what I've heard, it's pretty typical.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
That does seem to be a case and is a pretty valuable lesson, keep your sites(or pay an administrator) updated and secured. This is an old project i haven't tended to in ages..