DISQUS

Thanks for the positive mention of our social media journey. Companies that don't take advantage of Web 2.0 tools, or are on the fence about doing so, need to ask themselves one question: "Why wouldn't we want to have a two-way dialogue with our customers." Of course, it helps immeasurably to have the air cover of a CEO who gets the potential of social media. :-)

I think it's important to point out that Dell and others on the Blog Council are already listening and participating in conversations. We view this new organization as an additional forum to meet with peers, and to hopefully provide additional focus for those of us who want to engage, learn and improve. Time will tell as to impact, but in the interim let's give it a chance to evolve into something uniquely positive.

Hi Andy,

I work in digital media at Dell and thought I'd share some of our own data ... In August 2006, the tonality of blog conversations involving Dell was 48 percent negative. Today, it is 23 percent. This is a big step in the right direction, but as we listen, engage, learn and do more in social media, it brings into focus just how much, much more needs to be done. Our goal is to use Web 2.0 capabilities to converse with customers 7/24 in all major languages.

Thanks for posting a link to our survey. If anyone has had issues completing the survey, please try again – we’ve beefed up resources to handle the overwhelming response. We're taking positive steps toward Linux on Dell desktops and notebooks and look forward to giving the community an update in the coming weeks.

Hi Brett,

Thanks for your perspective on the Dell blog, www.direct2dell, and your suggestions for improving the big blue button. I'll pass on the latter to our Web design team to see if we can do better.

The decline in Dell's customer service, or more accurately our U.S. consumer segment, is actually starting to turn around thanks to an incremental $150 million investment that included hiring thousands of additional support staff, more training for existing staff, new facilities and innovative remote diagnostic tools.

We agree there is still a lot of room for improvement, but listening to people like you and 3.1 customers every day will go a long way toward getting where we and our customers want Dell to be.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for taking note of Dell 2.0 and sharing your perspective. We understand that results, not rhetoric, are needed to overcome skepticism such as yours.

The strategy to reinvigorate our business is in its early stages. We have a lot of work to do but we're on it and we're already seeing traction, from reduced on-hold times to the broadest product line in our history. That said, it may be helpful to understand that many of the the decisions being made today are for the long-term -- as in no quick, superficial fixes -- and we know that progress will not necessarily be linear.

Also, having a No. 1 share worldwide at any given time has its merits but there are other considerations -- not the least of which are taking opportunities to improve margins. Such decisions benefit the company and ultimately all of its stakeholders.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide context.

Mathew, your friend is currect. This video was the lead-in for Michael Dell's keynote address at Oracle Open world, a gathering of 41,000 tech types in San Francisco earlier this week. Good, bad or middlin', one must admit a lot of people have seen and/or blogged about it.