PTC Launches "Warm & Fuzzy" Blog

PTC's new blog is named "Social Product Development." I don't quite get it, but then it has just one posting, so far. (It's being written by two veeps of marketing at PTC.) Perhaps the blog will answer the question that its first entry ends off with:

Does social computing have its place in product development?

I would answer, "Yes, and it is called 'email'." I suspect, however, that that's not the answer they're thinking of -- maybe it's more along the lines of a PTC-branded version of Twitter, maybe.

Link.

Comments

[Tony]

The same Robin Saitz just sent out an e-mail asking for participation in a survey on social media:

"PTC is conducting research to understand your usage of social media tools, participation in online communities, and opinions on PTC's potential involvement in these activities."

so the blog is probably related to that.

My preferred "social media" is e-mail lists (such as Yahoo! Groups) -- it's a push technology and works well (better than any forum I've seen), especially using the combo of Gmail (for its search abilities) and IMAP4 (so I can check on all my mail lists in one place: portable Thunderbird).

[Kenneth]

I wouldn't dismiss the justifiable appeal of sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. In fact, there are instances where I find that a status update on my profile page in Facebook is more effective than an email blast to a group of friends.

I'd say social computing has a place in product development, but not in marketing.

People who are savvy at social networking can easily see through PR folks who befriend you on Facebook or Twitter only to distribute product news disguised as status updates or "Tweets."

[robin saitz]

We launched this site because we are hearing from our customers that they are interested in how social computing technologies can be leveraged in product development. In fact, they are telling us that with or without a company strategy, employees are beginning to use widely available social media tools in their day-to-day work activities, and they have concerns about the potential outcomes and risk associated. At the same time, they are intrigued by the opportunities presented by these technologies to improve the way they develop products. I believe it’s a great topic for discussion and we have plans to add more information to the site over the coming days, weeks, and months. We’d love to have an active conversation with you and your WorldCAD Access readers on this subject.

[Chris]

Do you really think email is the solution to social product development or do you just think that is the common tool in use? Certainly you cannot be fouled into believing that it works... Yes it is the tool most in use, but that is due to there be no other solution, yet available.