On behalf or John Frazier (Borland):
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Greetings! It's time again for the annual Borland Online Picnic, and
you're invited!
Every year Borland hosts a picnic and fun fest for Borlanders, TeamB,
and our online community. (If you don't know what TeamB is, keep
reading.) The picnic will be held on Saturday October 12th, 2002 from
11am - 3pm at DeLaveaga Park in Santa Cruz, California. We will provide
food and drink. Space to play frisbee, softball and other outdoor games
will be available.
Everyone is welcome. If you would like to attend please RSVP to
jfraz...@borland.com _no later than_ October 5th. Be certain to use a
subject line "Online Picnic" and the total number (including yourself)
of {*word*62}s and children attending.
What is Team Borland? (a.k.a. TeamB)
"We'll Do Anything So Long As You Don't Pay Us!"
Team Borland was created more than 10 years ago as an experiment in
utilizing advanced users of Borland products to answer other user's
technical support questions. The goal was two-fold: easing the load on
Borland's Technical Support staff and improving the quality of
information made available to developers and users of Borland's
products.
The original plan was deceptively simple. Step 1: Identify your most
knowledgeable users. Step 2: Find the ones among them who most enjoy
sharing their know-how and experience with others. Step 3: Organize
them into a team. Step 4: Offer them freebies and benefits in return
for their time, but don't pay them a dime in hard cash. Step 5: Let
them loose on other users' questions.
Ten years ago such a concept would been the laughingstock of the
boardroom meeting. In practice, however, the program has been extremely
successful, to the point where many companies in the computer industry
have copied the concept and created their own teams of volunteers. In
virtually all cases, the programs have allowed the companies the freedom
to 1) reduce technical support costs, 2) focus their existing staff on a
higher level of support, and 3) establish premium support programs
without having to significantly increase staffing levels.
Today, the team is composed of a mixed group of people from backgrounds
as varied as the industry itself -- from former university professors
and project managers to hotshot developers and consultants. More than
ever, Borland's community of users depends and relies on TeamB to
receive timely and accurate answers to their questions, without having
to disburse large chunks of cash for the privilege. It is not uncommon
to read a message in the newsgroups thanking TeamB for solving a problem
that was threatening to delay an important project or task.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing you there.
John M. Frazier
(Borland Newsgroup Administrator)
