Yesterday I talked about how much user requests led to the new features in Accordance 8.2.3. Meanwhile, a discussion has started on our user forum in which people are simultaneously praising the new changes and asking for further enhancements! You, our users, expect Accordance to work the way you do, and you constantly encourage us to improve.
Not only are you a force for us to reckon with, you are also a force to be reckoned with when someone asks for purchasing advice. The other day, someone on Twitter asked us and a competing Bible software developer, “why should I buy your software?” Both we and the other developer then asked our followers on Twitter to respond to the individual with their own recommendations. Not that I’m keeping score or anything, but the response was overwhelmingly in favor of Accordance. My personal favorite was “@accordancebible users are smarter, more attractive, and drive nicer cars.” Maybe we should make that a company slogan! (Of course, then I might have to buy a nicer car!)
While all this was going on, someone else on Twitter asked for opinions about the two programs. Once again the Accordance users came out in force.
Then there are those who ask these kinds of questions on our own user forums. The users there are always quick to offer ringing endorsements as well as practical advice on which packages to buy. We’ll chime in with our answers too, but we rarely have to, because you our users are our best salespeople.
Finally, our users are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to encouraging publishers to make their materials available for Accordance. It is not unusual for us to have book publishers approach us and begin licensing discussions by saying, “We’re getting a lot of requests to release this book for use with Accordance.”
Even those few publishers who have been reticent about working with Accordance have been known to be swayed by repeated requests from our users. Now there may be an opportunity for you to do that again.
Concordia Publishing House, which publishes excellent Lutheran resources such as the works of Martin Luther, the Tappert edition of the Book of Concord, and the soon-to-be-released Lutheran Study Bible, is currently asking for feedback on their electronic offerings. When one of our users posted a link to this survey on our forums, an executive from Concordia expressed his willingness to hear from Accordance users. In the past, Concordia has responded simply that they intend to work exclusively with their current electronic publisher, so any willingness to hear from Accordance users is an encouraging sign. If you would like to see Concordia’s offerings made available in Accordance, I would encourage you to take the survey and let your voice be heard. If you feel that having that material in another electronic format is simply not good enough, be sure to give your reasons why.
Whether or not Accordance users actually carry the day with Concordia, you are indeed a force to be reckoned with. Your enthusiasm and support are a constant source of encouragement to us, and we can’t thank you enough for it.