Comments on: Interview With Richard(atDell) Binhammer

By: Twitter practical tip – Mixing business and pleasure – RAAK

Twitter practical tip – Mixing business and pleasure – RAAK — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:21:32 +0000

[...] People that run Twitter accounts on behalf of brands often use their own usernames. Or a combination of both, like the pioneering RichardatDell, who was one of the first people worldwide to start using Twitter for his job. [...]

By: mypharmalife

mypharmalife — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:29:39 +0000

Agreed
WBR,
Alex
http://world-pharma.pillsfm.com
My favourite pharma supermarket

By: RichardatDELL

RichardatDELL — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:30:22 +0000

Tony, thanks for holding us up. You are right the good with the bad is crucial. Our view is respond and face the negative…and sometimes even offer alternative viewpoints versus trying to ignore or cover it up. We are not perfect. Who is?
Elaine, I truly believe the “control” issue is a canard. More on that soon I think on my blog. When were free markets ever about control. Only monopolies are controlling and they get regulated.
Nettie, I like Toby’s interview style too. My favorite part is hearing from all of you

By: RichardatDELL

RichardatDELL — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:30:16 +0000

By: Nettie Hartsock

Nettie Hartsock — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:36:41 +0000

Toby,
Fantastic interview. My favorite part is your “Let’s cut to the chase…” and also Richard’s honest, authentic and insightful answers.
Great read!
Nettie

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:03:44 +0000

Hi, Toby and Richard. The one thing that resonates with me is this comment:
“Be honest, transparent, your self, and don’t worry about this control BS you hear about – how can participation with people who are interested in you, your products and services or business be wrong? And some people will never like you, so get over it.”
There are so many organizations that are hesitant to jump into the blogosphere for fear of losing control of the message. Your advice, Richard, is excellent.

By: Tony Eyles

Tony Eyles — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:16:18 +0000

Thanks Toby and RichardatDELL. I often hold Dell up as an example of how to do this – so I join the applause. A key ingredient I see is taking the good with the bad and being honest. This also enables prospective customers to make up their mind about the Dell brand – powerful for lead generation. By contrast, I see many businesses keep user groups closed and edit out any negative comments. This smacks of old world corporate commnications; an anathema to cluetrain-savvy web audiences.

By: RichardatDELL

RichardatDELL — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:52:32 +0000

Toby, this was a surprise and we keep working hard to listen and converse more and more.
Connie, you know us/me too well
Hi Bill and Paul, appreciate the feedback and reinforcement to keep going. It helps reinforce the progress to date and our need to keep forging forward, even with our miscues — and we do.
Anne, it’s not about friendship its about connecting with customers and building real online relationships …not saying you are not a friend, but jump in where ever we need to.
Again, thanks for perspectives and feedback

By: Toby

Toby — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:39:50 +0000

@Paul, @Ann, @Connie – Thanks. Yes, “toss of a pink boa” to Dell for not shying away when they got burnt by the bloggers .. and for tapping Richard (one can’t get much more real than RichardatDell). I do think Dell is setting a standard for corp “participating” in the conversations. Shout out to the brands: Social media is not like any other type of marketing strategy. You might be listening in(and that’s a great first step) but unless you jump into the game and talk to us we’ll never know.
@Bill – love your term “build mud dams” I just might borrow it

By: Connie Reece

Connie Reece — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:21:55 +0000

Thanks for this interview, Toby. I have enjoyed getting to know Richard and a number of the Dell team who are active in social media. It impresses me that they’re open about the mistakes they’ve made and genuinely eager to participate in social networking as well as face to face interaction with bloggers and customers.
Besides all that, Richard looks pretty darn good in a cowboy hat. /grin/

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:54:23 +0000

Toby — Great interview with one of my favorite people in this space.
Richard is the real deal. When I had a problem with my Dell months ago, he put me in touch with the right people to help resolve the issue. But what’s really impressive — he FOLLOWED UP to be sure I was getting advice I needed. Yes, I’m a friend — but really, I’m not THAT good a friend! (LOL)
I know we all like to think we’d do the same for a customer, but sometimes our intentions are better than our actions. (And I put myself in this category, at times.) I give Richard (and Dell) major kudos for responsiveness and accessibility.

By: Bill Gammell

Bill Gammell — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:43:06 +0000

Very interesting. I think many companies that first dive into the social media pool try to (at least initially) defend their positions to the death, force change of dissenting opinions and try to shape the direction of the conversations. When they realize they are only building small mud dams to try and coax the mighty Mississippi to go where they think it should go, they either leave the social media space or take Dell’s approach of listening and learning. I applaud Dell for their approach. I think it takes humility and dedication.

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:29:39 +0000

Toby, fantastic interview. Thanks for capturing.