CompuServe Messages

If I were running a large company like Autodesk, I'm not sure I'd want to let my marketing and and PR departments mingle with the customers in such a forum. Info-super-hype-way aside, online conversation is not a substitute for a reasoned, well-written press release or marketing plan. Too much contact with online denizens leads to "we've gotta have X" myopia. You must realize that people who are smart enough to telecommunicate and spend hundreds of dollars a month on CompuServe are probably not a typical customer. I don't think the people online are a representative sample of all customers or all potential customers. If someone starts wasting an hour a day talking with the easily accessible users here, it means an hour away from the users that are much harder to find… "Why not use it to its fullest?" Because any truly official company representative might be drawn into non-productive, public flame wars with any yahoo with a modem. It's not as if there's an intelligence test required when you buy a modem. Most corporate events and communiques are very tightly controlled. Normal business etiquette prevails a minimum. But online, it's much more "anything goes." I wouldn't want to subject my employees to that… perhaps only a few well-chosen volunteers 🙂 who have proven their ability to deal with the public with diplomacy. And I didn't make ten calls to Autodesk to get an answer to my question. I made one call, and was bounced between eight-ten people before I got the answer I wanted. Very different beast.