Dell

I spent a few hours yesterday slogging through the search engines looking at posts people made about their experience with Dell tech support for this post at the Blog Business Summit Website. There’s a more or less universal bad experience with Dell Support in recent days, but there’s a “Dell Support Group” (pun definitely intended) regardless.

The argument throughout the blogoshpere centers around whether or not influential bloggers should get “special treatment.” Ideally, everyone should get equal and good treatment from Dell—but this isn’t an ideal world. And speaking strictly from the standpoint of “what’s good for Dell?” They damn well better give preferential treatment to high-profile people.

It’s the same idea as a sponsorship. Nike doesn’t pay me to wear their tennis shoes. They paid both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi to wear them, though. That’s preferential treatment. Why does it work? Because they get high-profile good-image PR. It’s the same concept with a blogger like Jeff Jarvis, just in a new world of celebrity.

So figure it out, Dell. Keep the popular people happy. They’re cheaper than the masses.