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May 31, 2006
Most days, I really love my job. Today I don't so much. I keep having to berate people inside Marqui for taking liberties with our brand, with our graphics, etc. It's happened three times so far this morning, and I've not been here even three hours. I'm the b*&ch with the big "NO" today, and I really don't like it.
Not that a job needs to be fun every day. It's just that when it usually is, the negative change is startling.
May 26, 2006
I really did -- twice, actually. The first time was about a month ago when we issued our Microsoft certification release. I jumped on PRWeb's site all ready to sign up for an account and wire away.... but I found the site and the wiring process to be a little confusing.
So I just used PR Newswire, figuring I'd come back to PRWeb at a later date.
Then I ran into David McInnis (PRWeb's CEO and Founder) and Mick Jolly (PRWeb's Executive Vice President) at Syndicate New York. David and Mick were both extremely friendly, and Mick was even kind enough to show me a demo on how the service works. (He also gave me a little credit on my account so I could test drive it in style.)
I have to say I was impressed with what I saw, particularly from an SEO perspective. It seemed pretty slick, so I decided to use PRWeb for Marqui's Cruise West announcement.
However, when it came time to actually wire my release, the process wasn't quite so smooth. Unlike other wire services, PRWeb requires users to cut and paste pieces of release content into various parts of the interface.... and sometimes it wasn't clear what was supposed to go where. (For example, I couldn't for the life of me figure out where I was supposed to stick my press release's subhead.)
But I kept with it and finally managed to get everything filled out. Alas, when I pressed the submit button, I received a big red error message saying the date I wanted to issue my release wasn't available; in fact, it informed me that I needed to give PRWeb advance notice for any release.... in the amount of two business days.
Are you kidding me?
Maybe I wasn't paying attention during this part of the demonstration, since I don't remember Mick saying anything about two days notice. Maybe it's my fault for waiting until the last minute to wire my press release, but then I (and probably most other PR people) always wait until the afternoon right before the announcement date just in case someone decides to make a few final "adjustments" to the release.
Regardless, the whole thing was very frustrating. I ended up logging out of PRWeb's site and popping over to PR Newswire where I was able to submit my release in about 30 seconds. (Granted, I paid around $600 for the PR Newswire distribution; PRWeb would have been significantly cheaper.)
I haven't given up on PRWeb and will probably try it for our next press release. At least, the next press release that I am absolutely certain is 100 percent final two business days in advance.
May 24, 2006
I can't resist commenting on the Press Release 2.0 template "thing" floating around in the blogosphere right now. In case you haven't heard about it, a PR firm called Shift Communications is touting a new Social Media Press Release. If you are so inclined, you can read more about it here.
On the one hand, I like anyone who seeks to "kickstart thinking about how we can evolve the PR sector"...since we all know it needs a little kick in the rear.
But a "Social Media Press Release"?
I couldn't help but laugh (at first) as I reviewed the template and its helpful suggestions for podcast links, video, boilerplate statements, etc. I mean, we all know how much journalists love this type of pre-cooked content, right? So, instead of just giving them the usual assortment of Barney-esque executive quotes, let's blast them with Barney multimedia!
That being said, I do like that Shift is encouraging folks in the industry to embrace tools like Technorati, Digg and del.icio.us, since it gets more to the root of the "press release problem."
Press releases rub people the wrong way because they are no longer a legitimate tool for the press, but simply another piece of sales collateral. If you look at almost any press release these days, the company issuing it is a "leader" and the executives quoted are "pleased" and/or "honored" about something. It's at least 3 pages long and has about 50 buzzwords. They all look the same...and the content isn't exactly objective.
Now, I'm not trying to throw stones from a glass house here. I've certainly written my share of Barney releases. Frankly, it's what a lot of people want -- and I'm not talking about just PR people here, folks. PR professionals catch a lot of the heat for this, but let's face it: how many top executives really want to sign off on a press release that describes their company as anything other than the leader in its market?
Shift's "newfangled" press release format certainly won't change this, but using some of the tools it endorses might. That's where the real PR evolution needs to take place. For us PR types, it means accepting -- and helping our clients/executives accept -- that conversation and transparency are okay, and that not everyone can be a leader in everything all of the time.
It's a novel concept, I know.
May 24, 2006
Q. It seems that blogging is one tool in an overall communications strategy - how/where do i find resources that help to build a client communication strategy?
A. One of the beauties of this brave new world of marketing is that we're all in discovery phase together. And one of the beautiful things about people is that we have an innate desire to help others. As I noted in an earlier post, there is power in community, or shared space.
So, in the spirit of collaboration and sharing information, I often turn to the blogosphere for help. Here are some marketing blogs that we like (and a couple extra, just for fun):
If you are lucky enough to have a local AMA or PRSA chapter in your city, check their meetings out for ideas.Most marketers have friends (school mates, ex-coworkers, etc.) in the business. Ask them what they're doing that's working. One of the nicest things that ever happened to me was to be asked for feedback and advice on a program a friend was about to launch. In turn, I've been able to rely on friends for truthful (often brutal) honesty around campaigns, messaging, etc.
Heck, comment on this blog post with your questions or ideas, and we'll open it up for a larger discussion. Or, if you prefer to stay in stealth mode, send us an e-mail and we'll blog our thoughts. Or you can check out some of our marketing whitepapers here.
May 23, 2006
Shel Israel, one of our Business Blogging seminar participants, is embarking on an around the world trip in August. He and Rick Segal - a well known VC here at Marqui - are going around the world (in 23 days) to find interesting people, technologists, technology and collaborations that will fuel Shel's new book, and Rick's new investments.
Bon voyage, gents. May you have smooth sailing - and may you share your findings with the rest of us while you're out trotting the globe.
May 22, 2006
It's always interesting to see the kinds of questions that will come up during a live seminar on business blogging. Some of the questions are ubiquitous, some are unique to what the speakers are saying.
If you'd like to view/listen to the recorded seminar that generated these questions, feel free to do so here.
On to the questions and answers:
Q. What happened with WalMart?
A. Tara adroitly talked about that the other day. Check out the controversy here.
Q. I work for an online publisher who already publishes blog-type editorial/opinion content in a traditional article format. Are there compelling reasons to change that format to a blog?
A. Open up the content to conversations. Engage your readers in discussing the news with you. As in any dialogue, you'll find yourselves speaking with thoughtful, opinionated, enthusiastic (and yes, sometimes fanatic) people. And you just might learn something from them/about them/ or with them.
In addition, if you are looking to interact or engage with a more youthful, technically-savvy audience, the folks who are living in that space today expect to have online conversations where they can debate, discuss, question and qualify... I'd be compelled by that...
If you want a better perspective than mine, check out some coverage of the Wall Street Journal's interview with Richard Edelman here at the Blog Business Summit site. (Read some of their other posts, too, they're great people.)
Q. I'm a publisher of a B2B magazine company and I'm interested in a blog for the community we serve> How do I make money from a blog?
A. That's the most oft-asked question I have seen at seminars covering blogging. And for a publisher, my answer would be that if you continue to deliver compelling, relevant, thoughtful content, you'll drive additional advertising revenue - no matter what the communication channel. Be it a blog, a web site, an RSS feed or a newsletter, good content will drive subscribers which, in turn, will drive advertising.
And speaking of subscribers, blog readers trend to the technically savvy (which means they're likely to be male, in the 18-34 age group, and generally in the higher income and education groups). Unless I'm mistaken, many advertisers are looking to reach exactly that demographic.
Q. We are a non-profit professional assoc. that sets standards for the equipment and operations in a worldwide industry. Do you have any additional recommendations for blogging/responding to blogs?
A. At the risk of sounding trite, do it! If you belong to a standard-setting body, it's your job to know what's going on in your industry, to shape trends, make recommendations, and anticipate needs. If I were you, I'd be combing the blogosphere for information about your industry every day. Type in a few key phrases to Technorati for starters. Find out who's discussing your industry. Then find whom they link to in order to extend your sphere of influence. It can take some time, but do it. Then comment on their blogs. At minimum. If you want more interaction, blog about their posts and track back to them.
If you want to learn more about these terms, download Marqui's Gross Blog Anatomy whitepaper here. It'll give you a nice, simple overview of how all these things work to further connect you in the blogosphere.
Q. How often should an executive blog be updated?
A. Blogs should be updated regularly - I think the rule of thumb for an executive blog should be to produce fresh content once or twice a week. Share the love (and writing) among a couple of executives and blog more often if you're going to really commit to this new communications channel. When I see a corporate blog that sits for more than a week without a post, I question the intent of the company. Are they committed, or are they just trying to jump on the bandwagon?
Of course, there are many, many strategic questions that need to be answered before you open your organization to a blog. We hope to continue to provide wisdom and advice as you consider your blog strategy. And we happen to provide a tool to help you actually manage your blog when you're ready to go.
If any of us can help you as you negotiate these waters, we'd love to. Just send us a note, and we'll give it a shot.
May 22, 2006
I found a couple of posts recently mentioning Marqui's "Paybloggers" program from 2004 and early 2005 - in which we paid 20 bloggers to post about Marqui once a week for three months, no matter what they said. (You can still read some of the controversy leading up to the program here.)
It seems that Tris Hussey (a consultant who admits freely his blog is sponsored by Blogware/Tucows) and Mark Evans (a journalist and blogger who displays ads on his blog) are discussing the debate around ethics and being paid for blogging.
More and more, people are attending seminars and exploring blogging on their own and for business, and the question ALWAYS comes up:
How do I make money from blogging?
There are a myriad of ways (sponsorships, display ads, etc.) to make a little here and there. Marqui's pay to post approach was one of the first touch off the ethical debate around being paid to blog.
Tris has a quotable quote in his post:
"Just because you pay me, doesn't mean you've bought me."
Believe me, none of Marqui's bloggers were bought by us or sold out to us. Because we demanded their complete transparency and honesty, and behaved that way ourselves. And we posted every negative word they (and others who entered into the conversation) wrote about us personally, our program, our software, and our idea to pay bloggers.
Sometimes it hurt like hell to read and respond to personal attacks and negative posts, especially since it was my entry into the blogosphere. But here, 17 months later, I'm still participating in the conversations, and a firm believer in business blogging and the power of the blogosphere.
Why? It is self-cleansing. Inauthentic, non-transparent posts are outed in seconds. Because someone, somewhere will always know (and expose) the truth behind any situation.
And as long as this debate continues, I will continue to be very proud of our part in it.
May 22, 2006
Here is some more Q&A from attendees of the BtoB Magazine webcast on business blogging that Marqui sponsored last week.
Q. How could B2B (business to business) marketers leverage blogs for lead generation?
A. Blogs are great for building online communities - people who are interested in a specific subject are increasingly likely to search online for information on the subject, and (more and more) searches will include results that link to blogs as reference points. (There's the joke that blog stands for Better Listing On Google, and it's true!)
Because blogs are great for improving organic search results. Search engines love fresh content and lots of links. So blogs fit the bill. If you're not satisfied with your organic (non-paid) search results, consider blogging about your business' subject of expertise to help get you better results. At Marqui, we've been able to direct more of our search engine marketing dollars toward pay per click (PPC) lead generation campaigns, and away from more general search engine optimization (SEO) activities because we're consistently better at search rankings than we used to be.
You may have heard buzz about Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing. That's the premise that people trust people (rather than a company's marketing department) to refer them to good products and services. Crowds talking to crowds about your product - even if it's a small, niche crowd (there's an oxymoron!) talking - will carry more weight than press releases or testimonials. Provide an online forum and engage your customers through your blog, and they'll turn into public advocates for you. Blogs are increasingly the forum for word of mouth online.
Marqui is a BtoB software company. We've found that our blog is consistently one of the highest referring sites to our web site - month after month. We've added a profile question to our download forms that allows us to find out when people have found out about the company through our blog, and have closed deals that have come from our blog.
The keys are to be smart about how you write your blog, how you capture information from your blog, and how you measure results of your blogging activities.
(JJ hopes for extra credit here....) Another, less glamorous, but more important benefit of blogging is the opportunity for market research that exists in the blogosphere. You'll learn a ton from your customers and prospects when you give them the opportunity to share information with you and each other around your blog. When we engaged in our paybloggers campaign in early 2005, we got some amazing advice from our bloggers. And if you listen, you'll gain a lot.
Q. How effective are company-run blogs to build a company's brand?
A. A blog should have a clear purpose if you're going to bother to have one for your company. At Marqui, the purpose of our blog is to be a "Center of Marketing Excellence," a resource for marketers - who are ultimately our customers. We blog about business blogging, public relations, brand, technology for marketers, etc. here. And we hope our readers and subscribers look more favorably on Marqui - the software company - as a result.
Figure out where a blog can help your organization. Do you need to improve your community relations? Do you have a customer-first initiative you can feed with a blog? Are you implementing 'green' business practices you can share through a blog? Take action around a strategic initiative to ensure longevity and success.
What better boost for your brand than to have your readers feel good about the company behind the bloggers?
May 22, 2006
I have a new friend, Nora Ganim Barnes, PhD., who's the Director of UMD Center for Marketing Research (CMR). She is conducting a survey of business bloggers who author or co-author blogs. I'd suggest those of you whom are blogging please take the time to participate in her survey. It'll only take a moment of your time, and the information you give will be invaluable to all of us.
In talking to her about the survey last week, she said she's been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response of even the most visible, prominent bloggers to her questions. She said in all her years of research, she's met- and learned more from- the nicest group of people through this blog study.
I call her a friend because we've had some great converstations online and on the phone. She's a strong believer in sharing information, and we've passed a couple of presentations on blogging back and forth. I hope to meet her some day in person. Meanwhile, I hope you'll join me in supporting her research. I will share the results of it here.
May 22, 2006
In case you missed it last week, an archived version of our latest Web seminar on business blogging is now available.
As a quick reminder, this seminar featured Shel Israel, Lynann Bradbury and Marqui's very own Michael O'Connor Clarke.
Participants asked a lot of great questions during the event; we will try to post responses to everything this week...
May 19, 2006
One of our attendees to yesterday's seminar on business blogging commented:
"In our survey of F1000 companies, conducted by Harris Interactive, zero percent of F1000 director-level and above execs thought corporate blogging is growing in credibility as a sales or lead generation tool. (22% said "moderately" growing in credibility; 40% said "not at all".)"
-Robbin Goodman, Makovsky + Co.
Any of our panelists want to comment on this, or anyone else?
May 19, 2006
Our Marqui-sponsored web presentation on business blogging yesterday generated a ton of good questions, and (as always) we promised to blog the answers. Here's a start on them. More will follow.
Some of the questions attendees asked were similar to the Gross Blog Anatomy questions we blogged answers to last year. So I'm linking to them for reference - there's some good information there.
If you want to profile your own company's readiness to enter the blogosphere, take Waggener Edstrom's WEBlogging Index. It's an excellent tool to help you enter into the conversation in a manner that's most appropriate for your situation.
Q. What's the minimal amount of time that should be dedicated to blogging? The fear seems to be around how many resources/how much time it will take out of existing resources.
A. I think you nailed the biggest concern that companies face when assessing the cost of blogging - the time it will take. At Marqui, we spread the love of blogging among a few (two or three seems perfect for a small to medium organization) people. Tara and I each spend a couple of hours a week blogging, checking the blogosphere for conversations (tracking issues) etc.
Of course, if issues or controversy erupts, you're likely to a) spend more time, but b) know about it and be able to respond more quickly.
Q. What are the surefire blog killers? Things that will cause your blog to not hit its mark or to fail?
A. I think the panel answered this well yesterday... Lying, being inauthentic or trying to "spin" information are three surefire things that will make your blog roadkill.
I'd also add that ignoring geniuine comments or concerns will also cause you to lose credibility. If you're engaging in a conversation, have a conversation. Don't ignore your readers.
Proper attribution is also a must. As we've noted before, it's important to give credit where credit is due.
Q. Have blogs taken the place of online "bulletin boards," which used to be the place where communities gathered online?
A. One key difference between bulleting boards (or newsgroups) and blogs is ownership. Each ISP's system administrator decides which newsgroups will be carried on their systems. Since newsgroups take up hard drive space and transmission bandwidth, administrators choose what they will carry, and what they won't.
But I guess the other would be that newsgroups (click here to go to Learn the Net for more information on newsgroups) were originally set up for people to ask- and answer- questions.
A blog is more journalistic in style - people commenting on their lives, their industries, their interests. And if others want to comment on their musings, so be it.
Q. How do you RSS-enable your press documents?
A. (With thanks to Michael O'Connor Clarke for this answer...) RSS-enabling your press documents can be a fairly simple matter. RSS is, essentially, a specialized form of XML file designed to be read by properly configured browsers, email systems, and RSS readers (sometimes called “aggregators” or, appropriately, "News readers"). There’s no magic to it, but it does require the use of some additional software to automatically format your press materials for RSS.
In order for you to specifically tell how to make RSS work for your website, you need to know a little bit about how it works 'behind the scenes.' (i.e. ask your technical folks if you're like me!)
We're happy to walk anyone through some options for RSS-enabling their press documents. Send us a note if you're interested.
May 17, 2006
I'm a big fan of Starbucks. It may not be politically correct, depending on where your sensitivities lie. I don't drink their coffee, but I absolutely love their chai tea. This morning, while on the train into the office, I read the side of my cup (written by Michael Schrage, MIT design researcher and author of Serious Play):
"The Way I See It #90
If we really want to understand innovation and collaboration, we have to explore shared space. Consider Watson & Crick: How many experiments did they do to confirm DNA's double helix? Zero. Not one. They built models based on other people's data. These models were their shared space. Their collaboration in that shared space powered their Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough. If you don't have shared space, you're not collaborating."
It made me think of the blogosphere, and how this space is intentionally shared - publicly or privately - and how those who participate win. I'm such a relative newbie to this kind of public collaboration, but have had the help and support of very smart people along the way, and have benefited greatly.
If you're interested in hearing a few of them speak on this new shared space, consider joining Marqui for our web seminar on business blogging. It's in conjunction with BtoB Magazine, and Shel Israel, Lynann Bradbury and Michael O'Connor-Clark will be imparting pearls of wisdom and practical advice - as only they can. It's tomorrow (Thursday, May 18), and you can register here. (We'll record it and post it if you have to miss the live presentation.)
May 15, 2006
In the post 9/11 world, security is more important than ever, especially online. With the recent flaps about privacy, phone call databases, etc., I was pleased to find an excellent blog dedicated to Security Awareness "for Ma, Pa, and the Corporate Clueless." It's an award-winning blog, and I can see why. It's written in plain English (as Apple used to say) 'for the rest of us.' Check it out.
And, while we're on the subject of security...
As I mentioned, we moved a couple of weeks ago. We dutifully completed our address change through the US Postal Service as well as the Oregon DMV, where I was able to fill out an online form (a luxury compared to past trips into the DMV).
The shocker? When we went to our new neighborhood post office, we were able to get keys to our new mailbox by walking in and saying "Hi, I just moved into XXXXXX, and need the keys to my new mailbox." The dutiful US Postal Service employee returned with the keys and asked for nothing more.
We didn't have to show ID, give our names, nothing.
Armed with brand new keys, we went to the box to check our mail. Upon opening it, there was a different address listed inside the box from ours, and it was empty. Fearing we'd been given the wrong key (why wouldn't I?), I ambushed the mail lady on Saturday, asking why there was a different address inside.
Turns out, there was a mirror image of the box on the other side, and our box was there, full of mail. So our keys - given to us without verification - open not only our mailbox, but a random neighbor's mailbox.
This may not feel like a big deal, but I've been the victim of ID theft. Some meth-head had a great time at a casino for the weekend on my brand new debit card (stolen from a locked mail box). The bank was great, but it took hours on the phone to protect my credit and repair problems with rental car agencies (yep, she took a rental car to the casino and never returned it), etc. as a result.
Seems like common sense should be more tightly linked to security. I know (in addition to our new alarm system) that would make me sleep a little more soundly at night.
May 15, 2006
...at least, I am trying to get to Syndicate New York. My flight has been delayed by about three hours. Thank goodness for the free WiFi at PDX!
I'll be on booth duty for most of the show but if I can sneak out to any sessions, I will blog about them.
In other event news, don't forget that the BtoB Webcast on Business Blogging is this Thursday (May 18). It's free and you can register for it here.
Also, I will be attending the Market to the Max conference in Seattle next Tuesday (May 23) and Janet will be at the PRSA San Francisco breakfast on Managing Your Digital Reputation next Thursday (May 25).
We'll try to provide recaps of both events.
May 12, 2006
Janet and I have frequently recommended that bloggers use Ping-o-matic in order to drive traffic to their blogs...but it doesn't seem to be working these days. I've noticed off and on that the site is slow to load, and now I can't get it to load at all.
Anyone else having this issue?
I'm going to try using Pingoat for a while instead...
May 12, 2006
I don't cry. But I did at work this morning. Robert Scoble is chronicling his mom's precious last days in this world. His posts are awesome, and beautiful. And painful. Thank you, Robert, for sharing your most personal experiences with your extended friends and family.
My thoughts are with you and your family. And with mine. Even more so, thanks to you.
May 10, 2006
Not sure
how I missed it last month but now that I've stumbled upon it, I can't resist
commenting on Paul Gillin's April BtoB Magazine article, "New Channels: The Foggy Ethics of Blogging."
In
it, Gillin discusses Wal-Mart's recent blogger program…yes, the one where
Wal-Mart tried to influence bloggers by feeding them little pre-cooked stories.
Interestingly enough, Gillin praises both Wal-Mart and PR firm Edelman for
their innovation and transparency in the program.
But
were they really transparent? Some say yes, some say no. Wal-Mart certainly
didn't deny the program once the story got out (which is admirable), but if you
read some of the accounts of the initiative, it doesn't seem like Wal-Mart was
really going out of its way to encourage folks to disclose the source of the
information either.
Is
that considered transparency?
That
being said, the Wal-Mart story has already been discussed to death in the
blogosphere so I won't dwell on it further. What
really caught my eye was the manner in which Gillin described the Marqui
program. After praising Wal-Mart, he makes a point of saying we were "roasted"
in the media and the blogosphere, and takes a couple of jabs at the whole
pay-for-play concept. He also says he wouldn't recommend our strategy.
Fair
enough; this type of approach isn't for everyone. But I'd like to point out three things:
- Marqui
was completely transparent about the whole program. We announced it in advance,
disclosed the names of the folks participating, required them to disclose their
participation on their blogs, and said they could post whatever comments they
wanted about us – good or bad.
- While
we did take a few hits in the press, we also received an amazing amount of
excellent coverage -- coverage that praised us for our creativity,
transparency, etc. We didn't just get "roasted."
- Finally,
as Gillin mentions, Marqui's program kicked off 18 months ago. So, in late
2004, Marqui was already actively engaging with bloggers…and Wal-Mart started
when? In 2006?
May 8, 2006
Apple has a pretty solid track record for coming up with some of the most clever/catchy ad campaigns, and the most recent one is no exception. If you haven't already seen the Mac vs. PC ads, check out the full series here.
I miss my Mac.
Sigh.
May 8, 2006
At Marqui, our two mantras are simplicity and integrity. And I believe we do a pretty good job (within the company and out) of upholding those two ideals. That’s pretty cool, I think, for a software company that helps marketers manage all the moving parts of their increasingly complex worlds.
I am terribly spoiled.
Why? I moved recently. And I’ve been challenged every step of the way (for almost two weeks) to get things to work like they did in our old place.
It’s easy to buy nice, new, brand name items. It’s even pretty simple (with your receipt and a decent attitude) to return them to reputable vendors.
What’s hard is getting them to work.
Our brand new Cuisinart coffee maker leaked all over the counter and floor when I ran it the first time with water (recommended by the manufacturer 'just to get the dust out'). I tried it once more time, with coffee, feeling lucky. It was harder to clean up off the counter and floors with grounds scattered about. Back into the box it went (15 minutes), and the return at Williams-Sonoma was easy (they have a great return policy, and it was just 60 minutes door to door).
We’ve been successfully using a French press since.
I’ve calculated I’ve spent probably 3 ½ hours on the phone and another 3 hours in person with various Comcast representatives, trying to get televisions and internet access to work like they used to.
After one particularly poor exchange at 10:00 p.m. one evening, I actually hung up on a Comcast representative (a man with a very heavy accent) when told I’d have to contact “the manufacturer of my Outlook software” to figure out why my mail wouldn’t send. It simply wasn’t their fault.
On the other hand, a Standard TV and Appliance delivery driver rammed our brand new deck so hard that he knocked a foot-long piece of concrete off. He immediately admitted fault (hard not to, when we were watching it happen - I was actually on the phone with Comcast at the time saying, oh my god, a truck is about to hit my house!), took photos of the damage, and was surprisingly nonchalant about the whole thing. My bet is it’ll cost them thousands of dollars to repair it - far more than they made from my purchase. But they had the integrity to accept the responsibility for the damage.
Turns out the Sony television he delivered doesn’t always work with the Comcast cable box or the $119 HDMI (?) cable we were forced to purchase on-site as it was being installed. (Otherwise the installer couldn’t guarantee it would work. This was at 9:00 p.m., when said installer and our dinner guests were all in our new place together - the installer had run so late for our 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. “call window” that he didn’t show up to our house until 7:00 p.m.) I wish he could have tried it with the cable box that night, but Comcast wasn’t scheduled to deliver that cable box until the next morning.
Comcast (in their third visit to my home that week) blames it on the cable or the TV. Sony (45 minutes on the phone) blames it on Comcast or the cable, and the installer (about 30 minutes on the phone, playing with software settings) blames it on Comcast or Sony. And we’re stuck smack dab in the middle with a brand new, expensive TV that you have to turn off in order to have an HD picture show up when changing from a regular to an HD channel. Sometimes.
A bright spot in the week? Geek Squad. Double Agent Brandon M. didn’t make his first appointment with us (they called early in the morning letting us know he would not make his 4:00 p.m. appointment on Wednesday) and offered us another appointment in the middle of the day Friday, which I grabbed. (A little lesson – always take an early appointment. Never be the last appointment of the day, or you’ll have some random guy crashing your dinner party charging you for cables and such.)
He showed up on time on Friday and quickly discerned (after I had spent hours on the phone with Comcast) that my Internet and mail issues were caused by McAfee and Norton fighting each other to protect our laptop from potential software issues. Funny, they’d both been on that laptop for months, and hadn’t caused an issue until we moved. When I mentioned that, he didn’t point fingers or sound exasperated at all. He simply fixed the problem.
What a concept.
May 5, 2006
Just a heads up that Marqui's Michael O'Connor Clarke will be presenting alongside Shel Israel (who co-authored Naked Conversations with Robert Scoble) and Lynann Bradbury (a senior vice president at Waggener Edstrom) at BtoB Magazine's upcoming Webcast, "Your Blog Strategy -- Road Trip or Road Kill? -- You Decide."
This Webcast, which is scheduled for May 18 at 11 AM Pacific, is designed to help organizations:
- Profile their place in the blogosphere
- Understand how blogging can impact their business
- Comprehend the spectrum of blogging activities in which they can engage
- Implement practical advice tailored to their company's readiness and needs
To sign up, click here.
Janet and I will be listening in, so we promise to post a recap afterwards...
May 1, 2006
Did you know that the American Marketing Association actually offers a certification program for marketers?
Yeah, I didn't either.
According to the American Marketing Association's Web site, the Professional Certified Marketer program gives marketers a "tangible and convenient way…to continually enhance their skills and highlight their accomplishments."
I did a quick Google search and found a few references to this designation in the usual assortment of press releases, etc., but I have to wonder about its value…particularly since it appears all one has to do to become a Professional Certified Marketer is take a test.
Oh, and pay $375-$535 in fees.
I'd love to talk to anyone who has gone through this program to get some feedback. So, if you are a Professional Certified Marketer, please drop me a line or post a comment…
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