Dear Adobe - Your Customers are Talking
August 27, 2008
Early this week, a couple of web designers, frustrated by persistent problems with their most-utilized productivity applications, Adobe Photoshop CS3, decided to start a conversation with the company. After securing the domain name, dearadobe.com, they set out to create a public forum where anyone could say whatever they wanted about the company and its products. These two designers are in no way affiliated with the company other than as users.
I’ve had some serious issues with Adobe. Their products are mind-blowing in complexity and feature functionality (good, amazing), but at the same time are mind-numbing when it comes to support, version control, and licensing (bad, frustrating). I have tracked over 20 hours of unbilled time to Adobe customer support, trying to deal with rudimentary problems that should have easy fixes.
The social web makes it easy to initiate discussions and rant about products or services. And the reach of the internet means that if the rant resonates with a broader group than yourself, amplification occurs that makes a Metallica concert sound subtle. Remember the whole “Dell Hell” thing? Starbucks even got on board with their own feedback site in an attempt to collect thoughts about what they probably already know - the coffee tastes different, it’s expensive, and the company lost its focus.
What resonated with me about the “Dear Adobe” site is the company’s response to a site they had no part in creating and that largely criticizes the company: we’re listening. In just over a day, the company, through an employee blog post, acknowledged the site and even responded, one by one, to several recent rants. No PR firm. No war room to craft an “official” response. No denying it was there. No silence. Just an awareness to users that feedback is processed by those that make the decisions on how software is designed, coded, sold, and supported.
In addition, the authors of dearadobe.com realized they may actually receive a response from Adobe if they kept their cool. The site is not called f***adobe.com, or anything close. It doesn’t attempt to antagonize. And it doesn’t filter. Some of the content is posted clearly out of frustration. Some out of admiration. Some, even clever. Which makes it fun.
And I’m writing about it, which means positive feedback has amplified, however minutely, as the result of a site created largely to criticize the company. Smart move on the part of these two designers - and smart response by Adobe.
Strata8 Named One of NetworkWorld’s 9 Wireless Companies to Watch
August 14, 2008
Congratulations to OMV client Strata8 Networks, who were named as one of Network World’s 9 Wireless Companies to Watch in the publication’s August 14 issue.
From the article…
Why is it worth watching? In effect, it’s like a personal cellular service for the enterprise, which means potentially big savings on per-minute costs. Strata8 estimates that many companies can cut their cellular bills by half. The PBX integration links what is often two separate worlds. And you don’t need to deploy and manage VoIP Wi-Fi/cellular convergence products from vendors like Agito, DiVitas, Siemens.
The entire article can be read here.
Strata8’s Vice President of Marketing, Andrew Wilson, has been pivotal in positioning the company in their market for enterprise-grade cellular services - and the media and Strata8’s potential customer base have been quick to take notice. Congratulations Strata8 on this well-deserved recognition.
Mobile Internet World 2008 Announces Conference Program
August 14, 2008
BOSTON, MA - Thursday, August 14, 2008 - Mobile Internet World 2008, the leading conference and expo for connecting the people, technologies and trends that will shape the future of the mobile Internet, has announced its program, educational, and speaker details for the October 21-23 conference and expo, to be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Building on the success of the Mobile Internet World Conference and Expo series, the Boston event has secured keynote and networking sessions with a broad array of industry thought leaders, including:
• Anthony Lewis, VP of Open Development, Verizon Wireless
• Rich Miner, EVP of Mobile, Google
• Steve Elfman, President of Network Operations and Wholesale, Sprint Nextel
• Bruce Stewart, VP & GM, Connected Life Americas, Yahoo!
…and many more.
The three-day program addresses several major industry and market topics, including enhancing the mobile end-user experience to drive adoption and revenues, monetizing mobile internet applications, as well as the much-publicized debate on open platform standards initiatives.
“Enterprises as well as consumers have anxiously awaited the arrival of open platforms to maximize the potential of the mobile internet,” said Eliot Weinman, Conference Founder and Chair and President of the events and publishing division of Yankee Group. “Mobile Internet World 2008 will offer the industry’s major players an opportunity to showcase their progress on open platform initiatives, and provide a world-class forum for attendees and media to experience first-hand a vast array of mobile Internet technology and services that will be launched in the coming months,” he said.
Conference tracks and special programs offer attendees and media an in-depth analysis of service and technology trends for the coming year, as well as a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-industry. including:
• 4G World Executive Summit - Focusing on the evolution of mobile internet devices and monetizing 4G mobile internet services.
• Mobile Applications and Developers Summit - Featuring best practice workshops for designing apps for mCommerce, as well as the most effective methods for developing online advertising.
• Location Based Services - Featuring discussions on the potential for services beyond basic navigation as well as how enterprises can leverage the power of location-based technologies to improve efficiency.
Educational tracks will focus on such topics as mobile payments and transactions, the market and competitive potential of Google’s Android platform and the future of mobile internet devices. Over three days, operators, application developers, service providers, content providers and enterprise decision makers will have direct access to over 150 industry thought leaders who are shaping the devices, content and applications consumers and businesses will be using in the future.
Qualified members of the press may register for no fee HERE.
Attendees can take advantage of Early Bird pricing and save $200 by registering before August 31, 2008. More information can be found at www.mobilenetx.com, and by subscribing to the Mobile Internet World 2008 Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/mobileinternet.
About Trendsmedia
Trendsmedia is the events and publishing division of Yankee Group Research, Inc. Trendsmedia showcases and analyzes major technology trends and their impact on consumers and enterprises. Trendsmedia provides clients with independently produced media products targeting emerging technology markets, including focused conferences, online media, and in-depth newsletters. For more information, visit www.trendsmedia.com.
Mobile Internet World 2008 proudly welcomes the following sponsors to the Boston event: Corporate Hosts: Access, and Intel; Premiere Sponsors: Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments; Platinum Sponsors: Call Genie, ChangingWorlds, IBM, Novarra, and Opera Software; Gold Sponsors: NaviKite, Numobiq, Openwave, and ThirdScreenMedia; Special Program Sponsors: Google and Yahoo! Contributing Sponsors: Azuki Systems, Buongiorno, Celltrust, DeviceAnywhere, Miyowa and Quattro Wireless; Lead Sponsor Developers Summit: Netbiscuits; New England Mobile Summit Premier Sponsors: Charles River Ventures and SnapMyLife; Press Room Sponsor: Numbiq; A limited number of Sponsor and Exhibitor opportunities remain available.
Media Contact (Press Only):
Leigh Fatzinger
OMV Ltd.
miw_press@omvltd.com
+1 206 792 9400
Exhibitor/Sponsor Contact:
Kate Walsh
Trendsmedia
katew@trendsmedia.com
(705) 728-3074
Trendsmedia Selects OMV to Execute Social Media, Outreach Campaign
August 14, 2008
OMV is proud to have been selected by Trendsmedia, the events and publishing arm of the Yankee Group, to execute the firm’s social media and outreach campaign for the upcoming Mobile Internet World 2008 Conference & Expo to be held at the Boston Convention Center October 21-23, 2008.
Trendsmedia showcases and analyzes major technology trends and their impact on consumers and enterprises. Trendsmedia provides clients with independently produced media products targeting emerging technology markets, including focused conferences, online media, and in-depth newsletters.
The three-day Conference and Expo addresses several major industry and market topics, including enhancing the mobile end-user experience to drive adoption and revenues, monetizing mobile internet applications, as well as the much-publicized debate on open platform standards initiatives.
OMV Welcomes Yankee Group to Client Roster
August 6, 2008
The technology events business is more competitive than ever. But Yankee Group, and their events subsidiary, TrendsMedia, are staying ahead of the curve with compelling events focused on delivering fresh content, best practices, and leading keynote speakers to their wordwide telecom events.
OMV was selected by Yankee Group to develop a new site for their Mobile Internet World 2008 conference, to be held in Boston October 21-23, 2008. The new site focuses on the terrific content and sponsor commitments Yankee Group has assembled for the conference. In addition, the site allows all program and sponsor managers to make their own updates to the site without any coding experience.
Mobile Internet World 2008 - Click to see full size.