[IAEP] EduJAM day 1.

[David Farning]

We finished EduJam day 1. There were two track which I will call technical and
boundary. The technical track included a series of talk about developing and
maintaining Sugar followed by a talk on advanced Etoys by Bert Freudenberg. If
you get a chance, please attend a future EduJam just to meet Bert. In email, all
we see is his German efficiency. In person he is one of the nicest and most
thoughtful people I have ever met!

The other track was the boundary track. It explored the boundaries of the tech
side project. The morning was social boundaries as the panels explored tools for
engaging a broader community, how to effectively build a community, and how to
engage in conversation between technical people and educators.

The afternoon was an exploration of the boundaries of the technology. The talks
and panels were exploring the questions, "Where will sugar go and where will the
XO go?"

As is often the case the hallway track is the unsung hero conferences. It was
great to see Pablo and Christoph with their heads together discussing the role
and importance and moderation in this type of event.

Another small cluster included Martin Langhoff, Bernie, and Tch discussing patch
flow. Bernie was waving his hands wildly. Langhoff was adjusting his glasses
with great intensity. Tch was quietly listening with his (frequently used)
expression of, "Ok, now how in the heck am I supposed to make this work." :)

Carlos Rabassa triggered my "Ahh Ha" moment in the hallway. He made a comment
about the sales principle that is it more effective to keep you current
customers happy than it is to reach new customers.

While "customer" might not be the correct term. The general principle of
focusing on making the most of current relationships with developers, educators
and deployments before trying to establish new relationships seems to apply
rather well.

Over the past week we have met many people who have the potential to become key
contributors to the ecosystem and tomorrow's community leaders.

Now we have to identify, engage, enable, and empower them.   

david

-- ten key ideas of customer satisfaction.
1. Do you realize the value of your current customers? These are your best
accounts. They are quicker to buy and require fewer "special deals." Never take
your customers for granted!
2. Do you communicate to all your customers that they are important?
3. Do you encourage customers to return to your business?
4. Do you tailor your services to your customers' particular needs?
5. Do your customers call you when they have a tough problem?
6. Do you provide unique services that your customers would find difficult to
duplicate somewhere else?
7. Do your customers feel that you are concerned about their interests and
welfare?
8. Do you attempt to learn as much about each customer as possible?
9. Do you follow up to make sure orders are filled quickly and accurately?
10. Do you follow up on complaints to make sure the resolution was satisfactory
to the customer?