RE: Follow-up to question about getting feedback from users

[Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

You see, to me, communicating through online means like Facebook and things like that aren't really communicating directly with the customer. By that I mean in person. My feelings are that using things like IM and Twitter and suchlike are no more personal than sending snail mail. More personal than creating an online help system yes, but still not direct contact in my book. (Yes, I am *old* - accident of nature.)

Second curmudgeonly thought of the day: what Robert wrote about seems to me to smack of having a tech writer trying to carry out two functions. It sounds like expecting him to not only turn out technical documentation, but also to act as tech support. I've been seeing more job opening listings like this recently - companies wanting tech writers who will also confer with users to provide help on using the products. To my mind, that is not an enhancement of the tech writer's position but rather an attempt by the company to find ways to cut the personnel roster even further, by forcing one employee to perform two functions.

>  
>  Robert_Johnson -at- percussion -dot- com
> noted: 
> [snip]
> > 
> > I don't think the issues of business etiquette and the
> art of 
> > schmoozing 
> > customers are quite as important in an online
> community as 
> > they are in the 
> > executive suit.  The online environment is much
> more 
> > free-wheeling.  


      
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