(2010-10-19) Social Software Grassroots Myth

MichaelIdinopulos of SocialText "debunks" the Social Software Enterprise GrassRoots Adoption Life Cycle myth. Here’s one way to put it: Content grassroots good, technology grassroots bad. I Commented: The Joe story is less harmful than the “don’t bother Joe, IT will get to it eventually” story. If no Joe ever tries to get something going, than it will probably be that much longer before IT considers the possibility. If no Joe ever tries and fails, then when IT gets around to selecting a system, the decision will come down to the colors in the brochure (or, rather, the quality of the steaks and hookers). Yay Joe!

Nov'2010 update: Ben Horowitz confirms that the Enterprise customer hasn't changed much. Often these processes are so complex that almost nobody inside the company knows how they work. Excellent enterprise sales reps will guide a company through their own purchasing processes. Without an enterprise sales rep, many companies literally do not know how to buy new technology products. A top notch enterprise sales person not only knows her customer’s process better than the customer, but will be skilled at characterizing the value of her product to each decision maker independently. This will involve product demonstrations, proof of concepts, complete return on investment analysis and even competitive positioning. The sales rep will work with the various constituents to help characterize the value proposition their management teams. (Selling)

• Dan Woods has issues with Ben's attitude.