X-Message-Number: 8739
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 00:19:09 -0800
From: Tim Freeman <>
Subject: Clouding Our Minds (was Re: CryoNet #8706 - #8707)

From: Steve Jackson <>
>the "round-table" was a pretext for a sales pitch, pushing
>Alcor's lifetime memberships.

I agree with Steve, with regard to the facts of the matter.  I dealt
with the phone call too; after the questions about how Alcor is doing
it was a sales pitch; I wouldn't want to do it again within a year
or two; and I too am willing to give them an amount of money
comparable to a lifetime membership.

But I didn't feel angry.  Given the number of prominent lifetime
members in the flyer promoting the call, I was expecting the sales
pitch and presumed it was the main purpose of the call.  Given that
Fred was going to speak, I expected him to ramble (but he didn't.
Maybe your call was before mine, and he learned to curb the tendency a
bit?)  I presume that the opportunity to give feedback was valid, not
merely a lead-in to the sales call.

It is important to have compassion for marketing guys.  Their purpose
in life is to prepare spiels that appeal to a broad majority of the
group that they are marketing to.  Sometimes they miss, sometimes they
hit, and no matter what they do they'll offend somebody that they
didn't want to offend.  Their unique (and to a technical guy, bizarre)
personalities are what is necessary to drive them to appeal to the
broad majority while ignoring the loud offended minority.  Any
successful product must be marketed to some group of people, so
marketing guys are necessary.  (This doesn't lead to a conclusion
about whether Cloud was doing a good job; one could only judge that by
looking at the results, or by being certain that you're in the broad
majority that should have found his approach appealing.)

Hmm, I'm telling this to Steve Jackson, who has successfully marketed
far more things than I have.  My apologies for being presumptuous.  Oh
well.
-- 
Tim Freeman       
            http://www.infoscreen.com/resume.html
Web-centered Java and Perl programming in Silicon Valley or offsite

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