I think there's a lot of confusion as to exactly what it means when someone is a Nero MVP. Hopefully I can clarify our position here to some extent.

Let me start by giving a brief history of my involvement with the program. Earlier this year, shortly after I accepted my current job as a staff writer at Afterdawn.com, I saw a post on that site's Nero forum looking for Nero power users to participate in what I interpreted as an effort to connect Nero's development and marketing teams with knowledgeable users who could help improve the product and generally provide useful feedback from a customer's point of view. As part of the MVP program, I'm also asked to participate in the My Nero community regularly.

Not A Nero Employee  

Let's address the biggest misconception first. MVP does not mean Nero representative. In fact it means just the opposite. MVPs are here to be advocates for the user. When we see issues crop up here (or other places) that can't be resolved satisfactorily we mention it to a contact within the company. Since he also reads the messages here this would be somewhat redundant, except that it often means we have a frank discussion about whatever the issue us, which then helps inform Nero developers about legitimate user concerns and suggestions to address them.

No Church of Nero

MVPs also aren't Nero zealots expected to "sell " the product to the public. Obviously we have to be using the program in order to be of any use to Nero. That doesn't mean we don't feel there are improvements to be made. In fact each of us has suggested changes to improve various aspects of Nero. When I applied for the program I made it clear that I didn't use the software for several years, and had started using it again fairly recently. I was honest that I thought there were improvements that could be made. Having had some conversations with pretty much all the other MVPs I feel that the entire group was selected because we have the requisite understanding of the software and what it can/should do to help the company move in the right direction. There's also a lot of expertise in software other than Nero, which I feel provides the company with relatively balanced and informed opinions. Since becoming an MVP I've never been discouraged from voicing criticism of the software. I've never been directed to discuss or avoid discussing any subject outside of the standard rules here.

Having said that, we are encouraged to use our own judgment, and we're not required to reply to anyone or make particular blog entries. Clearly a desire to help out must be an important qualification to become an MVP, but none of us is an expert in every available Nero feature. In fact, due to complications from the wide variety of hardware and software that might be involved there are some problems we can't help solve at all. And frankly, sometimes the person who could help may not see a post. If you have suggestions for improving My Nero in order to make getting help easier, speak up and you may see them implemented.

If you've had a bad experience with Nero support, and obviously more than one person here has, I can understand how you might deem the MVP program a failure, however I feel it's an honest effort on Nero's part to improve customer relations and the software at the same time. It's too early to call it a success or failure. Rather it's a work in progress, and if I weren't optimistic about its chances of enabling substantive change for the better in Nero I wouldn't be involved.

Of course these are just my observations of what it means to be an MVP. If you decide to take whatever I say as an official company statement that's your call, but I can assure you that's not a view shared by Nero. It's also not the point of view my posts are written from.

Rich Fiscus

Nero MVP

Staff Writer - Afterdawn.com  

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The future's here right now if you're willing to pay the cost  

 -Rob Tyner