Social media is noisy. All those blogs, tweets, videos, photos, friends, reviews, and everything else create a real ruckus. And waves of spam, astroturf, and plain-old marketing prove that not everyone is trustworthy. So how can one learn from social media without getting taken for a ride? It's All About Credibility When it comes to social media, your credibility is … [Read more...] about Preserving Your Credibility Is Your Prime Directive
PR
How to Get Me to Write about Your Company or Product
Blog posts are really, really important for PR and awareness these days. And posts on independent sites like this one are critical to get awareness and search engine ranking. I get dozens of requests every week from companies wanting me to write about them. So I thought it would be a good idea to lay out exactly what it takes! You Can't Buy Posts or Links Here This blog is … [Read more...] about How to Get Me to Write about Your Company or Product
EMC Taunts NetApp: Counting Coup or Poor Sportsmanship?
Today was a big one for EMC, with the company launching or updating 41 storage products, including the new VNX storage system. EMC's press and analyst event was equally notable, with a large crowd of insiders (including me) brought to New York City to watch a sideshow of world records set. Although Wall Street noticed all the fuss and rewarded the company with a decade-high … [Read more...] about EMC Taunts NetApp: Counting Coup or Poor Sportsmanship?
My Stance on Embargoes
A few weeks ago, I was briefed on a new RAID storage system. While discussing the (embargoed) announcement, I was puzzled that there didn't seem to be any new content in the release. Everything we discussed was already listed on their web site, even though it wasn't supposed to "go live" for a week. The company was embarrassed - they had broken their own embargo! See my … [Read more...] about My Stance on Embargoes
Consulting Is A Perilous Business But Credibility Is What Matters
I've called myself a "vendor-independent storage consultant" for more than a decade now, but my good friend, Greg Schultz, recently challenged me on that statement. Sure, I haven't worked for a vendor of tin boxes and spinning rust, or the software that runs the stuff, but I'm firmly rooted in the supply side of things. As a provider of consulting services, I just happen to be … [Read more...] about Consulting Is A Perilous Business But Credibility Is What Matters