"hey, if you can't take their money, drink their booze and then vote against them, you don't belong in this business"
- Alan Alda's character in the "West Wing" On 1/29/07, Matt Voerman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hey Guys, > I just thought i'd chuck in my 2 cents worth here... > > For a start, I don't think this is about Microsoft bashing. I think > the main issue here is, that whilst i'm sure Scott has the best of > (personal) intentions in educating the masses about "the best tools > for the job'. At the end of the day (or is that sales chain) what he's > ultimately offering, amounts to nothing more than a Microsoft sales > pitch (targeted towards Adobe customers (hence it appearing in this CF > forum)). Having said that (Mike), I don't think anyone is against > hearing sales pitches per se' - but lets be up front about them. Don't > wrap them up in rhetoric about 'best tool for the job' or 'show and > tell' sessions. > > Scott also mentions that he couldn't care one way or another if we > bought into what he's talking about - but i'd hazard a guess his > employer definitely does! And i'm sorry to be the one to break the > news to you mate, but Microsoft didn't employ you for your whit, charm > and good looks ;-) Your official mandate as Microsoft Developer > Evangelist is to 'increase product awareness" (primarily to Adobe > customers *he coughs under his breath*). So whether you want to admit > it or not, the ultimate result of this increased (product) awareness, > is to increase sales (and maybe make a few conversions along the way). > > For what its worth, I personally think your 'compare and contrast' > approach to an 'information session' definitely has its merits - so > long as the sessions are totally balanced and unbiased. Unfortunately, > your position with Microsoft ultimately means that this can't be the > case. I hardly think Microsoft are going to endorse you pimping a > competitor's solution/product at an event they're funding/sponsoring - > even if the solution/product is better than theirs! Combined with > this, you run the very real risk of alienating Abobe product users > (supporters) by having these (compare-and-contrast) sessions > ultimately ending up on the Microsoft side of the fence - essentially > resulting in them being nothing more than Adobe bagging sessions. > > If I could make a few suggestions regarding how to best tackle/promote > these sessions... > > 1. If you want to do compare-and-contrast sessions (read sales > pitches) please don't hide them under the guise of 'show-and-tell' > sessions. Granted you might actually be demo'ing some Microsoft's > latest and greatest offerings, but lets get real and call a spade a > spade (or at the very least acknowledge what they really are!) > > 2. Unfortunately, your current position doesn't afford you the luxury > of being a 'tools' fence sitter (I said tools not tool ;-) As such, > don't hide the fact you work for Microsoft (as you've had a tendency > to do in the past). Transparency is the key. > > 3. I'm not really sure that promoting Microsoft tools/solutions in a > ColdFusion forum is the right place to be doing this. Sure, there may > be some CF'ers out there who are keen to see what offerings MS have up > their sleeves. But i'd hazard a guess if that were the case, I don't > think a CF forum would but the first place I would come looking for > info on MS solutions. > > > > > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "cfaussie" group. To post to this group, send email to cfaussie@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cfaussie?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
