Shield Analytics shut down yesterday. And two competitors responded:
AuthoredUp - Ivana Todorovic posted a note acknowledging Shield's work, gave users practical next steps, and said outright they wouldn't be dropping promo codes to capitalise on the moment.
Then I got an email from Scripe.
A meme. A gravestone with Shield's logo on it. "RIPSHIELD" as the discount code. A line about being "literally the safest tool on the market right now."
I get that it was meant to be funny.
It wasn't.
And beyond the cringe, it missed something: when a competitor shuts down, real people lose a tool they relied on. That's not a content opportunity - that's a moment to be useful.
One of them figured that out.
AuthoredUp - Ivana Todorovic posted a note acknowledging Shield's work, gave users practical next steps, and said outright they wouldn't be dropping promo codes to capitalise on the moment.
Then I got an email from Scripe.
A meme. A gravestone with Shield's logo on it. "RIPSHIELD" as the discount code. A line about being "literally the safest tool on the market right now."
I get that it was meant to be funny.
It wasn't.
And beyond the cringe, it missed something: when a competitor shuts down, real people lose a tool they relied on. That's not a content opportunity - that's a moment to be useful.
One of them figured that out.