BEHIND THE SCENES

摘要

Every contemporary consumer knows it: There's a fine balance between the convenience that comes with seamless online access and the privacy one can expect to retain in a networked world. Perhaps nowhere is that balance more graphically expressed than in the world of Dell computers. Post a comment on a blog about a negative experience with a Dell product, and you can expect that the company will contact you personally in an attempt to resolve your problem and turn you from "ranter" to "raver." Each day, from a facility in Round Rock, Texas, Dell tracks 25,000 online conversations that mention the company. Dell's strategy, implemented after an infamous "Dell Hell" incident - involving well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis, who in 2005 posted how the company refused to replace or fix his broken computer -has succeeded in converting one in three negative posters. But, for some, who anticipated their comments wouldn't go beyond their regular followers, Dell's outreach might seem as welcome as a call from a stalker.