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As you probably learned from my previous posts, I recently started collaborating with Artinsoft's Research Division as Tech Evangelist for their first new born called Aggiorno.
Technology Evangelists have been around for quite some time now in the industry: guys like Guy Kawasaki started out in the business and proved companies like Apple that their role played a key part in getting the word out.
Today we live and praise their work, we might not agree with them and we might not even think like them, but companies put them in the front as people who can understand their audience and potentially drive momentum to their products.
Welcome PR 2.0
Proved tactics by characters like Robert Scoble, who helped shape the promise of transparency in the way Microsoft developed their products, has taken over the modern world of software as we used to know it.
In the market of modern software, at a glance, I see 3 types of evangelists - in order of quantity out there:
- those who are independent to the company who produces products, yet they used them and want to spread the word - lets call this kind Community Influencers.
- those who actually get paid by the same company that does the product for doing such a task - or Platform Evangelists; and
- those who talk about what 1 and 2 are doing - here is where guys like Mike Arrington and Guy Kawasaki's Alltop fill the blanks.
Number 2 has a significant amount of people in their payrolls, they probably are the fore most responsible for the product's awareness, field-related work and product perception - after the product itself and other marketing artifacts put in place, of course.
They are PR 2.0 yet sometimes companies lack the sense of importance of such positions and neglect the fact of its role in the overall process.
In this post I would like to touch a bit on number 2, those who actually get paid - hence have responsibility - for the product or family of technologies they represent; and who own the task to push Number 1s into action.
I will address Microsoft and Adobe's side of their Evangelism teams. Both of whom I know a bit, and both of which are very different in their performing executing.
Macromedia's culture is in the house
Adobe could have acquired Macromedia, but somehow it feels like Macromedia's culture took over Adobe's.
Macromedia was always known for their great support to the community: by constantly publishing tutorials, books, tools, white papers. They would do anything to get the community started in any new cool thing they would release, and empower them to show the world their creations - which most of the times where stoning pieces of art.
The community felt part of the company, they felt part of the product. I was one of them. I was doing cool things!
With Adobe's new wave of Macromedia-original products (Flex, Flash, Cold Fusion, Fireworks) they wanted to keep such tradition yet taking it to the next level. They now were backed up by a big corporation with a similar thought process, with similar audiences. It was just a matter of executing in great!
They recruited voices from the community and made them part of the company, they brought them in and gave them an official voice with the product teams, with the community, a voice with responsibility if you will.
Adobe gave guys like Mike Chambers, Ted Patrick, Ryan Stewart and Lee Brimelow the resources and the power to make cheer of Adobe's products what they are; to create the awareness needed to succeed in an already cluttered business and to maintain a face of openness with the community. Make them feel like they still cared about you, about me.
They brought life and style to the life of an Evangelist. They made of themselves rock stars in a world of passionate technologists and the community supported them.
But there is one important thing they do: THEY EXECUTE AS A TEAM!
Where do you go for the latest RIA news, takes and opinions? Why Mr. Ryan Stewart, he has always something to say about Rich Internet Applications technologies, not only Adobe's but all of them out there. Chambers? he is the one playing with the latest bits of Adobe's greatest and making his findings available for others to try out, sometimes even creating controversy on how he does it. He is a geek and as such is always testing himself on different technologies.
This guys look like friends, like team mates, yet they all have a role, a persona that they play and they do it right. They are the voice of the Adobe team's and they are the point to come when needed.
And they had the On AIR Bus and AIR Train tour events... which by the way totally rocked!
On Microsoft's 1000s voices and its jungle
On the other side of the fence we have a jungle... a jungle with thousand crickets, elephants and monkeys, ... but with few lions!
Even though Microsoft has had a policy of openness or at least has had at certain levels, they have too many voices but too few to actually listen to. Each one of them has a certain level of opinion, a certain level of approach... but in a way there are just a few the ones that are leaders in the conversations... that sparkle actions from the community, any!. Yet they're not a joint effort!
One of the arguments could be that they have tons of product lines, tons of technologies, tons of everything... that is true, but take Silverlight as an example, even though there are official voices there is not an specific one who could sparkle conversations and lead them -ok, Scott I know you try and do your best... but we need more of you! - when new stuff goes out, where do you go for information?
These official voices at Microsoft have all a mission of their own, they lead at their own peril (or at least that's what it looks like) when IMHO they could get a better result if they'd come as a coordinated effort... as part of the same body... as part of the community!
Sometimes, as I have commented to some folks in DPE, it looks like they don't know each other, the left hand doesn't knowing what the right hand is doing, yet both hands go for different directions... alone. You guys should make it look as things are planned yet natural... You have to lead the community if you want the leads to turn into success cases.
The Gu comes, leaves the news and then go silent until the next big announcement; but who's in for the time in between?
There are guys like Adam Kinney, Scott Barnes, Tim Heuer, Jesse Liberty... they all are doing their jobs... but they are doing it alone!
It's a matter of organizing
Somebody told me the RIA world lost a great voice when Ryan joined Adobe, because now he would only go for Adobe's - I think Ryan has kept it the best he has been able to. But where is Microsoft's respond to this?
I'm not saying MSDN blogs are not needed, they are just as needed and useful as Adobe's News Aggregator. What I'm saying is that we really need some rock stars coming from both sides that could help lead the conversations, to be sources of knowledge from where people can learn, communicate to and relate. Where we the community can feel listened and lead. A team of visionaries.
Today I found a great blog from one of the residents designers at Microsoft, Corrina, which I found it via Nikhil Kothari's blog. No where to be seen elsewhere Started to be seen in some of the blogs of the guys above and I must say putting herself as a perfect fit to become a great source of leadership for a designer-oriented communication. Something that few others than Chris Bernard had focused on doing.
This is where big companies or big technologies have to be careful. Don't drop the ball while it's in your hands, make use of it. Play alone the lines of what it is in the drawing board. We need you!
At last...
Been a Tech Evangelist is not easy, yet to say is not simple either, but if you are up for the position you better make it yours and be part of it as a team member as part of a whole.
For startup companies is a bit easier in the orchestrating but it's quite difficult getting the audience to listen. Getting companies like Microsoft and Adobe to orchestrate is not an easy task but a most! You need to be near the community listening and empowering them to create the best of the experiences with your technology.
Sometimes I feel like I take the softies a big hard with my comments respecting this topic and I have felt like not putting my words in writing like this. But it is because of the opportunity I see you guys missing that I rant about these matters.You guys have a potential take advantage of it!
The Adobe guys? They are not perfect and still there are room for improvement as they have recognized themselves. But the strategy they are playing seems like one to study carefully.
We as evangelists are the public face of a bigger set of teams behind us working together to accomplish a vision. It's our responsibility to take these words out into the wild and make sure that the vision executes.
Tech Evangelists are here, they tell the world what they think, how they use their products, how should you do it and better yet, they help shape the future of stuff... they in an essence are shapers of the future...
So here is the a question I let you with:
Are you a shaper of the future?
