The VAR Guy

By now, you know all about the social media hype: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. But if you examine how some IT vendors promote their partner programs across social media, you’ll discover some vendors are very late to the game.

Dell has revamped its channel blog with more community features, including familiar Web 2.0 capabilities that allow you to see who else is logged into the site. Of course, The VAR Guy was pleased to see MSPmentor — his sister site — mentioned in a post about the managed services industry.

A few weeks ago, Dell gave The VAR Guy an open invitation to write a guest entry on the Dell Channel Blog. The VAR Guy has been a bit distracted — and perhaps a bit perplexed — so he never took Dell up on the offer. Now, Dell is extending the offer far more broadly — inviting partners to submit a guest post on the Dell Channel Blog. Wow. This could get interesting. Here’s why.

After a slight delay, Dell has launched its channel blog. The company now has a Web 2.0 platform that will be both a blessing and a burden. The VAR Guy cautions most companies against launching corporate blogs. But in this case, Dell has made a smart move. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy has to tip his hat (and he doesn’t do that often). Dell insiders say the company plans to launch its channel blog on May 16. Smart move. Here’s why.