There is pretty much only one thing that Schrag and I agree on, and it’s that IT survey conclusions are worthless because they draw data from unemployed people. Look at the email I just got:

Subject: First 100 survey respondents receive a $10 gift certificate

If you would like to influence the way technology vendors support channel partners serving the government market, please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey.
Everything Channel’s Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED), the professional services division of the Everything Channel (publishers of CRN & VARBusiness) is conducting an important research project to better understand the requirements of solution providers in the government marketplace to help influence the direction of the partner programs.
Click your personal URL below to complete the survey:

Ok, let’s review: this organization makes money selling conclusions they draw from rapid-fire unemployed IT people that are racing through a survey to make sure they get their $10 as one of the first 100. What sort of legitimate goal can this survey produce with that kind of bait?

I hope the survey’s goal is to figure out how people fail at IT business so horribly that they have the time to enter surveys in the middle of the day for $10.

Maybe IPED is trying to figure out which marketing strategies are failing?

Which markets do you target, with your unemployed ass, so we can tell our readers that those markets are not investing in IT?

I’m familiar with IPED and have met and talked to enough people on their side that I know they are not fools.. but with the incentives like the one above I hope IPED is producing a report: “Fu..ed in IT: Top 100 ways to assure your doom.”

Otherwise, IPED does not have an ounce of credibility to hang on to.

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