Mon Feb 13
I’m only a couple of chapters into Naked Conversations and it’s already confirmed what I have been realising over the last 6 months or so; that most people are like me in that they don’t trust companies.
The answer is not press releases, corporate spiel or keeping the customer at arms length through faceless marketing diatribe. The answer is to reconnect with customers, to rehumanise the company. And that is best done, at the moment, through blogs.
Wish me luck as I start to prepare a report that will attempt to promote a revolution in the entire way that the company I work for relates to its customers.
Update: And as if I needed any more encouragement to go with my convictions, Kem Meyer talks about 10 Things You Should Know About People if you want them to hear what you?re saying. Fantastic. (via CMS)
Mon Feb 13
Nearly the most costly mistake ever: getting off the train without Valentines day items. So close to certain doom, yet rescued in the nick of time. Phew!
Mon Feb 13
It’s probably been done before, but everyone should have one anyway.
(From my products gallery)
Sat Feb 11
I'm currently doing my bit for the future; introducing the next generation to the pleasures of a lazy afternoon in a coffee shop. He's a natural!
Fri Feb 10
Yes, I was a Scout, so I have had my fair share of campfires. But none of them was as pretty as this.
In case I’ve lost you, here’s some history. Once upon a time a company called 37Signals made a big splash on the web by creating fantastically useful yet gorgeously simple web applications. Then one day they announced a new chat applications. Thay were a bit coy about the whole thing, but they had done great stuff in the past, and we trusted them.
But now, mere mortals such as you and I who haven’t managed to have a play on it yet can at least have a quick look.
So, what’s different about this? Bear in mind this is just what I’ve gleaned from the sceenshot.
Firstly, in keeping with the “business community” ethos of all the 37Signals products, it’s not just a chat program. Inline images and sharable files - presumably all modern JavaScriptified. Fantastic, people will be copying this within days.
Secondly, lots of whitespace. Yes, I know it’s been said many times before (too many to find a definitive link, unfortunately), but it bears repeating: Users Like Their Own Space. And the 37Signals boys are pretty much the masters of showing loads of information without it looking like they are showing loads of information. The highlighting of your own posts is a nice touch as well.
Thirdly, guest logins. Presumably this is going to be another subscription application, but we all know that giving a little bit of something away for free can often lead to much greater sales. People like to have their worries put to rest, and having a play with something is the best way to make it more friendly.
Fourthly, individual URLs. Clever and useful.
Anyway, there’s probably lots more, but I’m too tired to think straight. There’s one last thing I want to say, specifically to the 37Signals guys: give us a job :0)
del.cio.us,
Digg,
Yahoo!,
Google
Mummy, can I have some credit crunch for breakfast
The Real Me: How I Learned To Embrace my True Inner Self
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