[noelpolar]

I once ran a $80m or so "unique business unit" within a $4B company...... there was a user forum not disimilar to this one ...... I use to browse it from time to time. I wouldn't post or comment though. Info I gleaned would just be part of a broader series of market insights one needs to run an effective business.

I would expect Pentax to be doing the same (I also ensured no employees were active on the forum).

[clackers]

Of all the people who work for Ricoh and including the Pentax divison, don't you think there are several lurkers?

Ah, you've rumbled me, LeDave.

The lousy FF sample shots? Mine. The giant K-S1 girl? Me again with Photoshop. SDM lenses? Me filling in for another guy in the lens design office when he took leave. Very p!ssed when he got back.

Don't know why they keep me around, TBH. ☺

[LensBeginner]

A simple employee with a desk or assembly line job, reading about, seeing or touching cameras the whole day... the last thing I'd do is join a photography-related forum after the commute home...

[baldeagle21b]

I doubt they monitor on a regular basis as part of responsibility. Perhaps on a personal level. Certainly not actively. Pentax USA tried once to be different and put a corporate face on one of the
forum sites and were quickly driven off by inconsiderate forum members. Never again.

[Rondec]

I think they may keep their eyes on the forum -- probably mainly to try to see if their are any fires that need to be put out. Hopefully it is that sort of thing that will drive them not to renew the contract with Precision for warranty work.

I certainly don't see them infiltrating the forum with photographers selling the newest lenses or putting a bunch of positive spin on things. Most negative threads seem to stay negative and even Kenspo, who is up front that he is an ambassador for Pentax, is honest about his likes and dislikes of Pentax gear.

[honey bo bo]

I found in the past that when there is a chance of LURKERS either Earth born or Celestial that worries me I form a Helmet out of TIN FOIL making sure it is large enough to cover my ears. That way if I keep my mouth shut there is no Orifices open to which said LURKERS can enter the Main Frame. I hope that this has been helpful.

[boriscleto]

They certainly do monitor the forum.

I wasn't aware that they even monitored their own forum...

[c.a.m]

Don't know why they keep me around, TBH. ☺

They have plans for you - set up, manage and run Precision's Australian repair facility. (One-person shop, I hear). Good luck.

[rangercarp]

They really don't have the time.

Any company that does not have the time to pay attention to their user base, is not long for this world. Whether monitoring this particular forum is a good way to do that is open to debate. But I think I will trust Adam on this one.

They certainly do monitor the forum.

As mentioned above, removing "Ricoh" from the back of the camera and going back to green rings on the lenses are certainly examples of listening to user feedback. Was this forum one source of the feedback? It is certainly possible.

[virusn3t]

Dont tell anyone but i think kenspo is one of those....

[Rupert]

I've heard from a reliable source that they only come here to view the squirrels.

[ffking]

I've heard from a reliable source that they only come here to view the squirrels.

was it a mole who told you?

[boriscleto]

was it a mole who told you?

I think it was a squirrel...

Don't believe anything Otis tells you, he's a liar...

[jswilson64]

I think you hold a very optimistic view of what it is like to be an employee of a large multinational corporation.

This. I work for a large, multi-state corporation, the fourth-largest company in our industry in the US. My job is NOT social media. I hardly ever visit online venues where our business might be discussed by our customers and users of our product. I do, often, visit forums, message boards, blogs and so forth that deal with my own personal interests. Like this one.

I'd guess if there are Ricoh/Pentax employees (whose job isn't social media) visiting message boards, they're looking at stuff they like, like deep-sea fishing or hand-rearing rare walking-stick bugs or something.

[bertwert]

Of all the people who work for Ricoh and including the Pentax divison, don't you think there are several lurkers? Or may some people on this forum work for Ricoh and pretend not by not talking. Maybe there is a whole gang of them, a band full of secrets that only they share to each other. I mean seriously, there must be thousands upon thousands of workers who work for Ricoh, no way there wouldn't be a lurker or even a member.

Why else did they have a squirrel in the sample shots?