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Subject:RE: Why should I be worried about the merger? NOT From:topsidefarm -at- mva -dot- net To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 22 Apr 2005 09:14:11 -0600
> Sitting back and talking about the "marketplace" is great. But let's
> not forget, WE are the Marketplace. As Truman said, "The buck stops
> here!" If we don't care about the tools forced upon us to do our job,
> then we deserve what we get. I believe that we are the professionals
> that live on the cutting edge of technology, compared to many of our
> contemporaries. To not be the guides and advocates for the best that
> can be offered will diminish our role within the greater workplace
> environment.
>
> Change is inevitable, but WE are the change agents!
>
> Judd Spitzer
I have to agree with Judd on this. It's time that we stop accepting what
is thrown at us and start asserting our demands. Companies like Adobe
respond only to market forces (whether real or perceived), and we are a
market force if we act collectively. If TWs make their demands known, as a
group, Adobe will respond.
So how do we make those demands known in a way that will get Adobe?s
attention? Simple, we make them aware of the lost revenue their decisions
are costing them right now, and will cost them in the future. Given the
size of the membership of this list, and of our profession as a whole, a
letter-writing campaign would get their attention. Since I have already
written my letter, so I?ll tell the group what I told Adobe marketing
department.
?Dear Adobe, since you will not keep me and my employer, an Adobe
customer, informed of your future plans, we have decided not to make any
upgrades of any Adobe products we own until further notice. In addition,
we have started research on replacements for each and every Adobe product
we presently use. That means no upgrade from Acrobat 5 ($159), Photoshop 6
($149), Illustrator 9 ($169), or Framemaker 5.5 ($199). And those are just
on my system. In addition, there are multiple additional licenses for
Acrobat, Photoshop, and Illustrator throughout the plant (estimated
$5724).?
?In addition, I personally will not be upgrading any of the Adobe products
on my personal computer. These include the above-mentioned four
applications ($676) plus Pagemaker 6 ($79).?
?As you can see, decisions I am making and influencing right now are
costing Adobe upwards of $7155, and will continue to cost until such time
as Adobe starts sharing information regarding the future of Framemaker, as
well as what you intend to do with the MacroMedia product line. Either
Adobe is going to start to support their existing customer base, or we are
going to stop supporting Adobe. Trust me, if you ignore us long enough, we
will go away, and we will take our dollars with us.?
As you can see, if Adobe does not provide the information that I, as a
customer, need to plan my future, I intend to cease ALL business with
them, because every product they sell has competitors. I will also use
whatever influence I have to get others to do the same.
Now I admit that one letter won?t do a thing to change Adobe?s mind, even
when talking the number of dollars involved here. However, if Adobe were
to start receiving hundreds, or even thousands of such itemized letters,
we would have their undivided attention. Even if my case does yield a
somewhat high figure, some quick math reveals that even a thousand letters
times half this dollar amount equals $3,577,500. Remember, Adobe is not
Microsoft, they do not have unlimited financial resources. The fact that
they are buying MM shows that they know that they are in trouble. A large
volume of letters like this would just serve to remind them of that fact.
Finally, the RH crowd can start communicating with Madcap. Let them know
what was liked and disliked about RH. Since they are in the very early
stages of product development, there may still be a lot of room for
accommodation.
As Judd said, we can accept what the market throws at us, or we can
attempt to steer the market toward our needs. WE have the power to force
accountability and change, but we must make our voices heard!
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