But I’m happy to be able to post good news: now MT is doing the right thing. I just got this email:
Dear John,
Our records indicate that you recently opened up a support request related to an open incident, wide-spread problem, or known issue relating to (mt) Media Temple’s new (gs) Grid-Server system. We want to apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you.
We are compensating you 3 months of service as a concession for the troubles we may have caused you and your site. No action is required on your part. In the next 24 hours this will appear in your account in the form of a credit.
We will be announcing GRID MASTER RELEASE (v.1.1), and version upgrade which fixed hundreds of bugs and will dramatically improve your overall experience with this system.
(mt) Media Temple wishes to thank you sincerely for your patience during the course of these incidents. We believe the (gs) Grid-Server is an amazing system with new technology that has only begun to reach its real potential. Please look forward to announcements in the next few days relating to our new master release.
Thank you again.
Best Regards,
(mt) Media Temple
Hosting Operations
Good move, Mediatemple. Stuff happens, errors occur: that’s reality. I’m looking forward to good continued service from MT.
[tags] MT, mediatemple, customer, service, john koetsier [/tags]
I never in a million years would have thought that the design of a laptop would ever matter to me at all. It’s not about the aesthetics of a machine. It’s what it does for you right? Well, maybe. But this machine is damn sexy. I love the way that the keyboard is lit at night so that I can work in the dark. I love that glassy screen. There is something about the feel of the polished aluminum as I hold, no caress, the thing in my hands. It types perfectly. I love how I can use two fingers on the touch pad to move my screen down. I love how it has a hidden built in microphone and a small little video camera in the screen so that I can do video phone stuff through Skype super easily. I love how the little power supply has a magnet built into it and just kind of plugs itself in. And yes, I even love that glowing little Apple logo on the back of the case that I’ve scoffed at in the past at the various conferences and tech meetups that I’ve gone to.
(Every time I see some crappy Dell laptop or an IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad I look at all the sharp angles, notches, odd bulges, and unsimple lids and just shake my head.)
That aside, however, here’s the point: how extravagantly wonderful is it when people rave like this about a product, service, or tool that you’ve create? I passionately want people who use the stuff I build or contribute to to passionately love them.
(And yes, I am building something. Still pre-alpha, though.)
As I saw recently on a design site: design like you give a damn.
[tags] design, mac, thomas hawk, john koetsier [/tags]
Even now, this afternoon (4:20 PST), access to my blog, email, associated sites, and services is intermittent and slow. Not impressive. Not impressive at all.
I feel for the techs behind the service – I’ve been there, in that nasty, awful place where things just keep horribly going wrong. But the bottom line is: it needs to work, and it needs to work now.
Perhaps only a language geek like me appreciates it, but I love the idiocy of the error message above.
First of all, is there an actual error, or is maintenance being conducted? We all know the answer, but the error message is attempting to suggest the opposite. Secondly, is the control panel unavailable for use due to maintenance … or unavailable to be maintained? Again, the answer is obvious, but the wording is ridiculous.
[tags] MT, mediatemple, grid, gridserver, bizhack, john koetsier, buggy [/tags]
Peter Field, a friend and business associate of mine, sent me the following email a couple of weeks ago. I thought I’d post it here, with his permission:
Hi all my people,
Something really neat happened tonight but I have to preface my story with a little detail dating back to the summer.
We were so busy in the summer around the time of JJ’s birthday that we could not plan him a “friends party”, we just had a family dinner and celebrated his young life.
It is Jordy’s birthday today and the 14 of us that all live together (temporarily)… me and my 5, Sharon’s brother Paul and his 4, Mom & Dad and James (plus Auntie Joan a visitor not a resident!)… all joined us for dinner tonight to celebrate. Jordy wanted to have friends over but we wanted to keep things fair between the boys.
But this is what was so neat…
We had dinner and while everyone was around the table… a thought came to me. I grabbed Jordy and I stood with him in my arms before our whole family and announced that I wanted to say a few words… I told everyone how proud I am of my boy and drew attention to all his good qualities and focused on what I see God doing in him.
Then I asked if we, as a family, could spend some time praying for Jordy, thanking God for Jordy and pray blessings on him. I did not know where this would go so I suggested short sentence prayers for the kids and any adults that wanted to pray. I started and from there we spent a good 15mins as a group blessing this young lad.
Something interesting began to happen as we prayed for and blessed this young man… I felt his heart racing in my hands… like really pounding… I was wondering what was going on so I peeked… as I looked down upon my son I saw tears streaming down his face…not little guys… I’m talking gushers!
When we finished praying I asked Jordo why are you crying? He looked up at me and said “Dad I Am Soooo Happy!” He said as he heard the words of his family praying for him, blessing him and praising God his heart was filled to overflowing. He said that this is the best gift he has ever received and that this was the best birthday ever.
Now let’s keep things in perspective folks… prior to us praying he was given FIFA World Cup Soccer for the XBOX… and only a few moments later that meant nothing to him. As a father, I can’t imagine a better feeling, I was so happy to hear these sentiments from my 9 year old son. Praise God!
I looked at Sharon…Sharon looked at Paul…Paul looked at Mom…Mom looked at Joan…Joan looked at Dad…Dad looked at me…I looked at James…James looked at JJ… JJ looked at Jeni and you can only imagine the tears of joy that flowed. Praise you Jesus our God and King! I love the little moments in life that carry such impact… I am eternally different today. AMEN.
We’ve all been on the phone to the cable/satellite/electric company, furiously navigating endless voice menus, endlessly pressing 0 for a real live human being.
When is automation a good customer service strategy? That’s the question Leo Bottary, a Hill & Knowlton VP, asked today.
Since I hate to write (or do) something and only use it once, here was my comment:
Knowing what to automate and how to automate is the key.
That’s a simple statement, but what does it mean? Here’s a simple rubric: are you automating to meet your needs or to meet your client’s needs?
If the former, you’re almost certain to negatively impact customer service and customer perception of your company. If the latter – and truly the latter – you run the risk of being a truly great, customer-friendly company.
Example: I’m always getting a new computer or having a hard drive crap out, which means I’m always transfering apps to my new computer.
It’s always a pain to deal with software licensing, which I never keep good track of because it’s boring and tedious and detail-oriented, all of which I hate.
But one company, Ambrosia Software (from whom I purchase Snapz Pro – a video screen capture utility) offers an email license code service. Simply send an email from the address with which you purchased your software and they’ll send you a new license code, having looked you up in their database.
Simple and extremely fast – almost instant – meaning great customer service.
Note that this is right for them – a technology company. It may not be right for a cappacino machine manufacturer.
Just speaking personally, I hate phoning for customer service. I wish all companies had great online customer service – which should include live chat.
[tags] customer, service, technology, automation, leo bottary, john koetsier [/tags]
I’m considering getting an entirely new home theatre set-up, and this is where I’m saving my research/exploration findings.
Television
I’m thinking of a 42″ Panasonic Plasma (at JR.com): TH-42PX60U. It’s extremely high-rated, great looking, and fits in the space I have. Price: $1299 US, $1500 CAD
Receiver
Panasonic SA-XR57S (also at JR). I’ll be able to run everything into here and then run 1 HDMI cable into the TV. I’ll use my existing 5.1 speaker system. Price: $279 US, $315 CAD
Upconverting DVD player
Panasonic DVD-S52S (JR). I figure I might as well pick up everything from one company – hopefully everything will play nicer together. This DVD player does the 720p output to make my current DVDs look great. Price: $89 US, $100 CAD
TV programming
No point having an HD TV and standard definition signal, so I’ve got to ante up for the HD receiver, and I’m thinking StarChoice is a good choice. StarChoice PVR system. I could cheap out and just get the receiver without the PVR, saving $500, but then I’d have to get a VCR anyways and have an extra piece hanging around. Price: $700
Other costs
Shipping: $200
Tax for taking into Canada: $140-280
Assorted cables, HDMI etc.: $200 (if I can get a good deal somewhere)
I said no, it’s too scary for 3-year olds. He disagreed, saying that he would not be scared. “I’m tough!” he declared. Teresa backed me up, telling Aidan that there were lots of parts in LOTR that she was even scared by.
He thought for a second. “But I could wear sunglasses!”
Yesterday I met Joe Laudenbach, a Bellingham, WA realtor who is wondering how blogging might be something he could use in his business. As I prepped for the meeting, I jotted down some thoughts on how blogging will fit into his business.
Note: my goal was not to get him blogging, but to give him information that will help him make an informed decision whether or not he wants to start.
Why to blog
Better SEO
Because blogs are more frequently updated, they’re a major benefit to your site’s search engine optimization … the factors that help you rank higher in search engine results pages.
More interesting site
A blog is usually much more interesting than a website … it’s not corporate, it delivers content in quick hits, it’s more accessible …
More human face to potential clients
Building on the “not corporate” theme, a blog is where your personality comes through – which is attractive (unless you’re Attila the Hun)
Learn and develop more as a person and as a realtor
I learn more from blogging than just about anything else. Simply the process of thinking and writing and writing and listening and linking makes me much more consciously aware of trends and opportunities. The same is true for realtors or virtually any occupation, I believe.
Creative outlet
People who blog regularly come to love blogging as a creative outlet. And I don’t believe there’s a single person alive who isn’t creative to some degree, in some way. Feeding this impulse has personal and professional benefits.
Contacts, conversations, communication
Through blogging I’ve had email contact with Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and many other major, well-known technology, business, and marketing leaders. They’ve made me smarter. Plus, I’ve had many more contacts with many more people who aren’t so well known … and that’s had even greater benefits. The same can be true for real estate agents or any professional/business people. Jobs, work contacts, and just plain interesting people: blogging can bring all that. It has for me.
Why not to blog
If you can’t write
Don’t get me wrong. You don’t have to be Hemmingway. But if you absolutely cannot string 2 words together intelligibly, forget it. Find some other way to engage your clients.
If you won’t keep it up
Don’t start if you won’t keep it up. Few things are more pathetic than an orphaned blog. However, don’t get too worried, either. One post a week is not ideal, but it’s perfectly fine for many, many professionals.
If you’re just marketing yourself
If your blog is only going to be about how your company and you are incredibly, stunningly great (not to mention handsome and wealthy) forget it. No-one’s going to read it – one Paris Hilton is enough, thank you very much.
If you’re looking for a quick fix marketing hit
Blogging isn’t a quick fix solution. It’s about telling stories and developing relationships, and those don’t form overnight. Even the blogosphere success stories such as Thomas Mahon blogged for months and months without seeing major results. The good news: all your work is always paying dividends. Old blog posts never die, they just keep attracting hits.
If you’re not comfortable being authentic, real, and non-corporate
Don’t be a stuffed shirt – let your hair down and be real. If you can’t tolerate the slightest mistake, if you can’t speak with anything other than the traditional marcom voice: forget it. It’s boring. It’s just advertising … and people are more adblind now than they’ve ever been.
What to blog about Note: these are tailored for Joe, who’s a real estate agent. But they’re adaptable to different situations.
Why people move to Bellingham/Whatcom county
There’s probably 10 or 15 blog posts right here … as many as there are reasons.
What areas are great for kids|seniors|adults
Another 5-7 posts …
Things to do in Bellingham
Seasonal events
If you do to a harvest festival, blog it. Christmas candlelight parade? Blog it.
House-hunting tips
Keep it to one tip per blog posts … there’s probably an indefinite number of tips here. Organize them in a category so that visitors can see them all.
Top ten house-hunting gotchas
I know I’d love to know what to watch out for when moving … and I’m probably searching for this type of information when I’m about to move, too.
Things you realize AFTER you move in
Wouldn’t we all like to have known this – about a month before moving in.
Stressless moving
How to blog
Intentional keywords
Be intentional about the keywords you use. Know what people will be searching for when they’re looking to find a home in Whatcom County, WA. Niche it out to the max if you want to rank in search engines, and make sure you use those keywords in titles and posts.
Regularly (at least once a week)
As mentioned above, don’t make an orphan out of your blog.
Naturally
When you’re blogging, you’re a person. Not a company. Talk to people who are also persons as you would talk to someone on the street. Anything else is disrespectful, stuffy, and annoying.
Interview people
Interview key people in your community. This is a great way to expand your circle of contacts, blog about interesting valuable topics, and grow your readership.
Talk to clients
Clients will give you all the blog fodder you need, if you just ask.
Other things to consider
Other social media
Over time, as you become established in your blog and comfortable with the technology, why not explore other forms of social media? Upload a house video or a neighborhood drive-through to YouTube. Then post it to your blog. Or …
Podcasts
Create a couple of podcasts so that people can hear your voice. This can really give people a sense of who you are and that they know you.
These are a few of the suggestions I had for Joe. I hope that they’re applicable to whatever situations you’re in, whether you’re a small business blogger, a corporate blogger, or a social media consultant. I’d love any feedback you might have, positive or negative.
Questions/opportunties? Looking for help in your social media adventure? Let me know.
PhotoStamps is a cool company that makes wonderful custom stamps with pix of your kid, your dog, or your college on them, but if they keep spamming me I am tempted to go postal on them:
They’ve now sent me 7 identical emails today. Not extremely clueful.
[tags] spam, photostamps, john koetsier, bizhack [/tags]
Been surfing the last hour or so listening to Jason Calacanis’goodbye podcast – a little mix of reflection, sentiment, prognostication, consulting.
What a cool way to leave a job.
BTW, good advice to the poor founder of Gizbuzz, who sent a voice email to Jason kind of complaining about working hard blogging and not getting results. (Not like we’ve never heard that story before!)
Jason sorta gently tore a strip off him … the blog is not targeted enough, the entire business is not focused enough, and the “reblogging” thing is just not going to take you to the top. (However, he did like they guy’s youmakemedia blog … which does look like it has prospects to be very cool.)
The reality is that focus and targeting are important things for all of us to consider, myself included … perhaps, myself especially. Some thought-provoking things in that advice.
[tags] calacanis, gizbuzz, podcast, john koetsier [/tags]
Welcome to Sparkplug 9, John Koetsier's blog on technology and social media.
I'm a software exec who cares about UX and UI, scours web & social media, lives in Canada, plays hockey, uses a Mac (mostly). Oh, and I blog and speak at conferences.
I love the way some companies’ emailers talk.
Welcome to Sparkplug 9, John Koetsier's blog on technology and social media.
