On Educated Consumers

Scoble points out 12 reasons that people may not go with Microsoft products. There, of course, are more – but on many accounts he hits the nail right on the head. So why is a Microsoft employee listing these things out? He wants educated consumers. That's something everyone should want. In the end, it really is best for everyone. Unfortunately, many reps (be it at Microsoft or at VAR's) do not feel this way. They want to make a sale regardless of what is best for the client. Let's face it – Microsoft is not always the best solution, but either is Linux. The right tool for the right job. Anything else and it's everyone but the sales guy who gets his commission that suffers. If everyone at Microsoft thought like Scoble, they'd clearly not have the reputation that they have. Unfortunately for everyone, that's not the case. The Scoble post was sparked by this post by Socialtext CEO Ross Mayfield, whose post was sparked by this post by Steve Gillmor. You should read all three posts.
Microsoft, Linux, Open Source
–jeremy