Dell embraced Web 2.0 with IdeaStorm, an interactive brainstorming forum in which the public can suggest improvements they'd like to see made to Dell computers. They can then discuss and rate their peers’ ideas. Dell offers to look at the most popular ideas and keep the site updated with their research and development on the viable ones.

The site shows the public that Dell isn’t just a monolith that churns out computers – it’s looking to put the ‘personal’ back into personal computer. The fact that someone is listening instils a certain amount of trust in the Dell brand (and they need this after the fallout caused by Dell Hell).

Does it work?
IdeaStorm was launched on February 16, 2007. What initially came to light was that there was an overwhelming demand for Dells that were preloaded with Linux. Within a week of IdeaStorm’s launch, Dell announced to the public that it was going to launch computers with Linux as the operating system. Needless to say, Dell was praised for their fast response by numerous tech sites for the fact that they are actually paying attention to potential customers in such an interactive way.

Part of me thinks that IdeaStorm may have actually been the strategically placed launch pad for the computers with Linux on them. It should have come as no surprise to Dell that there was such a demand for these computers in the first place. And it makes sense as a marketing strategy – create the hype, get people talking, swoop down and cater to what effectively became a call to attention, win hearts and minds. This is far more effective than if Dell were to just launch the computers with Linux on them and there were a number of grumbles that “it’s about time”.

Personally, I find the site itself to be quite messy. Whilst there are over 5000 ideas, most of them seem to be duplicates of each other. There also seems to only be a small community of users on the site, one user noting that there are only approximately 10 who are regulars. For such a high profile brand like Dell, I was quite surprised by that figure.

Whether IdeaStorm is a legitimate long-term means for Dell to encourage customer input, or merely a launch pad for their computers with pre-installed Linux, the lack of enthusiasm by users towards IdeaStorm can teach us that a user-friendly concept does not offer a user-friendly site.