I posted Web 2.0 Democratizing Social Interaction about how Web 2.0 really allows access to and links people you might not normally have access.
I received an email from Jeremiah Owyang today, with a link to the following post from Connie Bensen, Microsoft becomes human thru Facebook. This is a perfect example of the type of interaction that I was referring to in my post. Connie documents the problems she was having with WLW. From her post:
I need to do a shout out to Microsoft for their AWESOME support! & explain how Facebook was integral in the connection. Facebook has provided me with incredible networking over the past month & 1/2. I had registered last May, but not really gotten involved until I noticed Jeremiah making Web Strategy groups & I played along for a couple of hours answering questions as he posted them. Sean O’Driscoll joined in the conversation & I disagreed with him on a point. (How was I to know that he was Microsoft’s GM of Marketing? If I had, I probably would’ve quietly moved on.) The random power of Facebook is here: Sean befriended me & saw a recent blog post that I had written on MS Live Writer which was a culmination of feedback from our readers. He messaged me saying that he would forward it to the development team. Since that time Sean & I have had our virtual paths cross many times.
So what does this have to do with support? Well, this past week I woke to a Facebook message from Joe Cheng, a Live Writer Developer letting me know that not only was the latest version of Live Writer available, but that they had fixed the bugs we had identified & he thought my readers would like to know! What a great personal touch.
This is the power of Web 2.0. Without Web 2.0 Connie would have had a much more difficult time getting in touch with Microsoft Support and getting her issues resolved. Without these types of tools, I think that Connie’s chances of contacting a developer would probably have been slim. Using Facebook Connie was able to access a Microsoft Developer directly to get her issues resolved. If you read her whole post, you will note that Joe, the Microsoft Developer helped her fix another issue she was having with her blog.
It is really nice to know that Microsoft as a company is listening, and is effectively using Web 2.0 to reach out to our customers to ensure that their needs are being met.
Technorati Tags: Jeremiah Owyang , Web Strategist , Connie Benson , Facebook , Windows Live Writer , Microsoft , Web 2.0
Thomas - Technical Blogger 
September 13, 2007 at 8:32 am
Hi Thomas,
It’s nice to meet someone else from Microsoft! And thank you for linking to my post. Jeremiah is such a great connector & has the perfect touch! He truly has harnessed the power of web 2.0. Your points here are well taken. I live in rural Minn. and am far removed from the tech hub of the Silicon Valley & SF. Yet in using social media tools, I’m able to be involved as much as I choose to be!
You mention about submitting a support ticket. I wouldn’t have simply because I didn’t realize that MS offers such great customer service! My perception was that MS is so huge, that the little problems our Digital Scrapbooking Community had experienced wouldn’t matter & I blogged to let my readers know of it’s limitations. My readers are image intensive bloggers as they share their passion for photography & memory keeping. I had never intended on submitting a support ticket.
That’s why I’m spreading the news – to help change that perception. Web 2.0 certainly is opening up the field for more customer input! On Sept. 24th I will begin my new role as Community Mgr for a company that is proud to offer Microsoft Certified products! So, I’m quite appreciative of everyone’s efforts at MS! 🙂
September 13, 2007 at 9:45 am
Connie – Thanks for stopping by and commenting. As I mentioned in my post about Democratizing Social Interaction, Web 2.0 really levels the field when it comes to accessing other people. You have the ability to interact with people that you would have been more difficult to access before these interactive conversational type services and tools.
I am very happy to hear that your issues were succesfully addressed.
September 13, 2007 at 10:13 am
[…] Connie’s post about connecting with people via Facebook this morning, and I clicked out to Thomas’s post, which is really a more rounded expansion on the thoughts I dropped in Connie’s comments […]
September 13, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Thanks for posting this. I joined three Apple groups. I figured they had to be on FaceBook since they made a deal with them. I was correct. I haven’t had too many problems with my computer,and the ones I have had wee addressed via phone call, talking to live person via their website, and in one case going into a local store but it’s nice to know that I can use Facebook to connect with other Mac users.
September 13, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Opal – I am a firm believer that you don’t need to know all the answers, but it is good to have a good set of resources to be able to use.
September 14, 2007 at 5:26 am
I agree! They do have a Final Cut Express HD on there but it’s dead. I’ll hunt around to see if I can find a more active community somewhere else. Thanks for writing this. It made me check to see what is on my social networks.
September 14, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Opal – I agree that we sometimes get complacent with the tools that we have. If they aren’t too bad, and suit our needs most of the time we tend to stick with them. Even when there are tools that fit our needs better. Every once in a while, we need to take stock and ensure that the tools we use still meet our needs.
September 15, 2007 at 1:31 pm
For the record, I didn’t find Connie through Sean or Facebook–I found her blog, and yours, through my saved Technorati search of “live writer”. So you don’t need to stumble onto a friend of a friend, you just need to blog about it!
September 15, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Joe – Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate hearing how people gain access to their information. Jeremiah made the comment that ‘there is no small voice on the Internet, because you never know what will go viral’ and it is interesting to see this statement reinforced by the actions of others.
It is actions like your connection with Connie that makes me proud to be a Microsoft employee, knowing that there are others out there doing their best to enhance the customer experience.
September 23, 2007 at 10:07 am
ahh – now I know Joe’s secrets! 🙂 I’m using Google Alerts to nab conversations about ACDSee products. I haven’t tried Technorati’s.
And Thomas, all of you should be proud to be MS employees making great products & better yet for providing great service! Tomorrow I’ll be joining ACDSee as their Community Manager. I know that ACDSee is proud to offer Vista certified products!
September 23, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Connie – It is always good to hear how the successful people are doing things. I have had varied results using Google Alerts. Jeremiah Owyang swears by it, and I have seen turn around time from him to be 30 minutes from time to post, until he comments. Maybe since Jeremiah has more juice than I do, his name gets pushed through alerts more quickly 😉
I am really happy to hear that you have had such positive experiences with MS. I know that we have an image of a huge company, but it is made up of really smart people that truely want to make things better.
Good luck with the ACDSee Community Manager position. I will have to check out the site to see what you do.