Like most of you, I'm sure, I hate when things screw up...particularly when Internet things screw up.
But even the worst of hassles are mitigated and smoothed when handled the way Technorati deals with a service blip:
For those of you with failing eyesight, the text reads:
D'oh! The Technorati Monster escaped again.
We're scouring the blogosphere attempting to find it.
Back in a flash.
Incidentally, the message in the nav bar read: Technorati is borked right now. Hysterical. And soothing. And utterly Surprising.
Compare this to the much-despised Blue Screen of Death and you realize the power of the right words, the necessity to speak to people as human beings in a language that connects.
Technorati have been doing this right since their inception, and while some may quibble with their rating formula, you can't beat the way they communicate.
I had an issue with the Technofolks a few months back, and not only did they respond in record time, but actually fixed the problem (I know those two SHOULD BE interconnected, but many times are mutually exclusive).
Things screw up. That's a way of life. How we deal with the screw ups is the opportunity to Surprise. Both positively and negatively.
Your choice.
(For more on this, see what Mark Goren has to say about the subject at his Transmission Marketing blog.)