Dov: Interesting Reaction

[Jeff Nailen <jeffnailen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Since your comments were made on the user lists, I am responding here.

Are your comments Adobe's official reaction, or your personal opinion?

It seems that Adobe would welcome a voluntary campaign among loyal Adobe
customers to elevate the status of one of its applications to a 'key' Mac
application by perhaps the most respected and popular Mac publication, thus
increasing the number of Adobe apps defined as 'essential' from 9 to 10.

Thanks for your reiteration of the technical difficulties involved with this
upgrade, which help to clarify the issues and none of which I dispute.

Now let me reiterate to you a few basic principles of communication and
marketing: 

1) Dov, in response to Dennis Hays' question: "NO! No one from Adobe ever
said that all of their next whole number versions (x.0) are going to be
"Carbonized". What we have said, quite consistently since the first version
of MacOS X was "released" a few months back can be found at . . ."

Look, obviously Adobe's 'quite consistent' message is not getting through.
There is considerable confusion and controversy in the Mac market regarding
Adobe's plans for the future due to Adobe's own actions, inactions, and
statements. This means Adobe's message is either flawed, or it is not being
communicated effectively. One of the basic principles of communication is
that the communicator takes responsibility for seeing to it that the
communication is heard and understood by those being communicated to; you
don't blame those to whom the message is intended for not receiving it. Most
people in the market you are trying to communicate to are not mind readers.
Most of us still rely on traditional human communications for understanding
others' thoughts. Blaming 'stupid' customers and the self-interested
motivation of the media because they don't get your message is an easy way
to try to avoid this basic responsibility, but ultimately, is irresponsible
and quite ineffective.

If Adobe does not like the way its message is being received in the market,
it needs to take the responsibility of either changing its message or
communicating it more effectively rather than simply whining about it.

2) Dov: "I might further add that "campaigns" of the type urged below with a
"Mac fan magazine" will not have any positive effect other [than] to start
stupid rumors again."

'Stupid' rumors? Wow. Your comments provide a clue to your and/or Adobe's
thinking: What incredible disdain for customers' legitimate concerns
regarding the future of the primary tool used for their livelihood. Is this
Adobe's official reaction or your personal opinion? I wonder what Adobe
stockholders would think about this particular variety of public relations?

Regarding rumors in general, stupid or not, the fact is that *more*
information, *more* dialogue, *more* light on a subject, and *more*
clarification (such as yours on this mailing list) do not 'start'
rumors‹that is what kills rumors! Nature abhors a vacuum: it is secrecy,
*less* information, and *less* communication that fuels speculation and
invites rumors. Again, if you don't like the rumors, adjust your message
accordingly‹it is another sign that Adobe is not communicating effectively.

By the way, this "Mac fan magazine", as you call it, is where I learned
about Frame to begin with and consequently, the reason I decided to purchase
it; I did not learn about Frame through Adobe's marketing‹another sign that
Adobe is not communicating effectively.

3) Dov: "And both users of FrameMaker and your friends within Adobe need
such rumors and media pressure like we need a third head."

You are getting bogged down in lower-level tactical issues and losing sight
of the larger strategic context. This 'campaign' is just one part of a
larger effort regarding the most effective marketing strategy known: it is
called EVANGELISM. (It is what drives sales in my company‹my prospects
listen more to what my clients say about me than what *I* say about me.) I
have been actively involved in a word-of-mouth user-to-user market campaign
promoting Frame as a superior high-end alternative to MS Word, especially
for long-document creation, on the Macworld 'business' forum, the MacAddict
'commercial software' forum, and the Version Tracker user reviews as well as
with my clients and others.

Check out all the positive things being said about your work and your
product. The last time I checked the 'Adobe Frame on Road to OSX' topic,
there were 27 replies, all of them singing the praises of Frame as the best
thing since sliced bread‹not one of them bashing Adobe (some MS Word
bashing) or spawning new rumors (and overshadowing the negative 'I Question
Adobe' topic, I might add). This benefits everyone in the Frame community.
Adobe obviously benefits directly through increased sales and profits, Adobe
stockholders benefit, Adobe Frame employees benefit, companies selling
products & services around Frame benefit from a larger market, and Frame
users benefit through the expansion of the user community base. Adobes'
competitors are the only ones who don't benefit from this.

You should take pride in all this praise and adulation of YOUR work and YOUR
product coming from loyal Adobe customers who care enough to take time out
of their busy schedules (you are not the only one who's busy) to publicly
extol the virtues of Frame to those not very familiar with it.

When evangelism happens you don't discourage it. In fact, you don't have to
do anything‹just sit back, relax, enjoy the praise and the higher sales it
generates, and be happy you don't work for a company whose own customers
continually bash the quality of its products. There's really no reason to
get defensive over tactical timing disagreements among friends and to hurl
personal insults. It is unbecoming of a great company like Adobe.

4) Dov: "So please, do Lee Richardson and team (as well as myself and other
Adobe employees who monitor these lists) a big favor and "cool your jets"
on this issue. . . Given the timing and resources for the next version of
FrameMaker AND the amount of work required to get carbonization "right" once
Apple supplies a working carbonlib and OS, getting the next version of
FrameMaker carbonized is just not in the cards."

A successful market expansion campaign increases sales of a product, driving
up revenues to the company, thereby providing more resources that can be
devoted toward this kind of work, which is preferable to taking its current
resources as a static given. If this is accomplished through evangelism,
that's even better because it is free to the company. This is my approach.

5) Dov: "The author of those articles clearly does not understand
technically what is going on underneath the "covers" of MacOS X.
By claiming that MacOS X and Quartz are built on "Adobe technology"
he demonstrates that lack of knowledge." . . . "Remember that the press
makes its mark by reporting on controversy, either real or synthesized. In
this case, it is synthesized."

Again, blaming everyone else ('stupid' customers and the media) because they
don't share in Adobe's apparent monopoly of understanding, wisdom, and good
motives is not good marketing my friend.

6) Regarding proper spheres of competition and cooperation: Stop fighting
with your own customers! You might win your arguments when you are right,
but you will lose your customers in the process. This kind of arrogant
attitude is what is driving people away from Adobe. Save your competitive
spirit and energy for your competitors. With your customers try more
effective modes of interaction such as communication, cooperation, and
collaboration‹they are much more effective. Adobe customers (some of whom
are also shareholders) don't need or want scolding insults from Adobe
employees. 

7) Regarding civil discourse: In dialogue with those you disagree with, it's
much more effective to stick to the objective facts (such as your accurate
account of the technical difficulties of this upgrade, with which I have no
dispute‹who can argue with these facts?) rather than resorting to cheap ad
hominem attacks (such as questioning one's motives, insulting one's
cognitive abilities, denigrating those with high moral standards as
irrational 'conspiracy theorists', and your general tone of intolerance
toward anyone who disagrees with you, etc.).

Let's raise the tone of discourse a bit to a higher-minded, rational,
non-personal level worthy of readers' time and respectful of their
intelligence. I can understand your frustration at some of the hyperbole
coming from others on my side of the argument, whose tactics I equally
criticize, but let's not try to out-insult each other; why don't we try to
out-class each other? I'm sure you have good motives and do good work, and
afterall, we're all on the same side here aren't we?
  
I don't have time to have a back-and-forth over this, but I would like
clarification on whether you are speaking officially for Adobe or whether
these are your personal opinions (that you are certainly entitled to).

Thank you.


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