It’s interesting to people watch at a conference.  You get to appreciate the reach and depth of EMC’s product portfolio which is represented best by the customers and employees that both use and create this technology.  Sometimes, it’s hard to segment the two.  But, at the end of the day, it’s incredible to be able to put faces with names, voices with the inevitable typing foibles and prose that we’ve all come to know and love.

So, why is this a cultural shift?
In some of my conversations with both old guards and new, it’s amazing to see the diversity of opinion on how EMC is approaching the social media scene.  We, of course, embrace technology and it’s inherent capabilities for promoting a message (look at our recent Symmetrix V-Max launch for an exemplar), but in the same sense, we’re oftentimes afraid of what the end result can be.  Does more customer engagement necessitate an openness that requires us to “bare all” or do we evaluate and control the message that we’re sending?  These type of questions are inevitably answered by trial and error.  We try process A, we determine its failure and time of death, and move on to process B.  At EMC World, we’ve actually brought a new vigor to Process A (i.e. the Blogger’s Lounge) and to be honest, it’s a HIT.  Rubbing elbows with some of the “internal greats” like Chuck Hollis, Barry Burke, David Spencer, Len Devanna, Stu Miniman, Jeff Browning is an awesome opportunity, to say the least.  Learning at the collective “feet of the masters” in this regard is an opportunity seldom gained.

It’s also a blessing to meet with our partners and customers.  People like Chris Evans, Joe Kelly, Ed Saipetch, Devang, etc.  as well as some of the analyst folks like Dave Vellante, Greg Schulz, and others. (sorry if I’ve missed your name….there have been a LOT of people ripping through here.) At EMC, we learn a lot from the folks that are in the trenches daily using our product and providing feedback based on their usage (or mis-usage which oftentimes allows us to develop new integration points )

Anyhow, I’ll end this for now but if you’re around, drop by the Blogger’s Lounge @ EMC World.  would love to meet you!