The job of a technology evangelist is to sell dreams. Dreams that the products they represent will work for you the way it magically works for them. Dreams that the product functions in a way that brings joy and happiness to everyone in the world, whether everyone believes in the company’s mission or not.
However, like most fantasies, the evangelist’s dreams are unattainable, regardless of how credible they are. Companies are breeding a new generation of saggy, blinded, and useless cheerleaders (think of how cheerleaders are used traditionally). These roles are absurd, regardless of how talented the evangelists might be in other areas.
I had a recent experience with a technology evangelist from Microsoft. For half of his presentation, he demonstrated innovative Microsoft collaboration technologies that seemed like mediocre copies of existing open source solutions. When questions were asked extending the capabilities of the Microsoft based solutions to accommodate for issues not addressed by the open source alternative, the evangelist simply suggested the feature inquiries were irrelevant to the goal of the product. I stopped giving him questions.
He continued for 20 minutes demonstrating technologies that are a few years behind open source. Then came the punchline. An audience member asked about the complexity and unreliability of a product (let’s call it Product A) from Microsoft. The evangelist couldn’t wait to denounce this myth.
For the next 25 minutes, he struggled to get the product working on three separate computers. Finally, when it came up, we gazed blankly at its stodginess. Well, he’s right in that it’s not complex.
I also had a conversation with an Apple representative regarding .mac. I told him that as fancy as .Mac displays your email, photos, and files, there is no comparison when it comes to the encompassing reach of Google. He chuckled and proceeded to show me a gallery of his photo gallery, made on a Mac. Limited.
When did the product evangelist stop listening?
Salesmen need to close deals, that’s why I don’t ask them questions outside of “how much?”
Technology evangelists need to do more than preach, their roles must require them to relax their pride and take note of suggestions. They might be the most personal connection to a firm’s customers.
One reason why technology evangelists for large firms feel the need to push the technology is the disconnect between salesmen and developers. If you’re a technology firm, the best salesmen are your product managers. They tend to be busy. The best alternative would be to pay project managers who could sell to be the evangelists. These people, aside from engineers, know the product inside and out, they are ready to answer any questions, regardless of the depth. They are ready to communicate their findings to the development team.
One of the externalities of this disconnect is the flood of new companies, each one trying to reinvent the wheel in order to solve a minor problem. The problem could have easily been addressed by the firm if it had any idea such features were lacking.
We need to communicate to our users that we are listening intently. We can implement your ideas for your benefit. We will take consideration of alternatives to our products and their strengths. In doing so, we, as engineers, can meet our customers’ demands.
