Ran into this interesting article about the decline in user groups.  In
today's climate, manufacturers want to tell the users what users need.  In
this scenario strong user advocacy becomes annoyingly superfluous.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,427075,00.asp

Excerpt: "I blame the industry itself. Chip and computer makers should do a
better job of keeping magazines viable and user groups active. In the early
days of computing, all these companies were involved in the user-group
movement. One of the key figures in today's scene is former IBMer Dave
Whittle, who told me that today the company working most closely with user
groups is Microsoft. Gee, and you wonder why it's so successful."

End Excerpt

Occasionally our industry parallels the auto industry.  Awhile back I
pointed out: "However, there are many examples of a quality product market
coexisting with a commoditized one.  For example, many automobiles command
a higher price for higher quality.  NO ONE would confuse a Mercedes with a
Geo.  It is the responsibility of the vendor to differentiate its product
from the herd."

I'm also reminded about how the innovative Tucker Car Company was crushed
because it dared to raise the expectations of the customer.

Regards,

Frank Gribbin

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