While talking with people at CES about HDXPRT and the upcoming touch benchmark, I encountered the same question a few times—Who are the current members of the Development Community? My answer was something along the lines of “About 10 PC hardware vendors, about the same number of press people, and a few other folks from companies around the world.” I was, however, itching to name the companies because the list is really pretty impressive. We haven’t asked for permission from the Development Community members, though, so I left my answer vague.
Given our goal of expanding the Development Community, I find myself weighing two possible outcomes if we were to make public the names of the companies represented. On the one hand, it could encourage others to join us (“All the other cool kids are doing it, I guess I will too!”). On the other hand, it could discourage others from joining us (“Not sure how my company would feel about this. Should I ask Legal? I’m too busy, never mind.”)
My best plan for now is to email each member individually and ask where he or she stands on company anonymity. And to give all new members the option of keeping their affiliation off the record. Rest assured that we will definitely not reveal this information without your permission.
We’d like to know what you think. Would you have joined the Development Community if doing so required identifying your company and allowing us to share it? Would you now be willing to let us say that someone from your company is a member?
Bill
