Spent the day at work with CNN's homepage open... finally something good came up: "Study: Teens protecting their profiles"
Basically, a Pew survey shows that 2/3 of teens don't post their personal information online or use privacy controls to limit public access to their profiles. All I can really say is IT'S ABOUT TIME!!
Even if all these teens think that they're just preventing Internet predators and perverts from getting to them, that's great. Let the fall-out help prevent these same teenagers from getting screwed over by potential employers.
Now, if only Facebook and other SNS would change their privacy structure from an opt-out to an opt-in structure. Instead of having to select each "friend" individually to put on a limited profile access, the system should automatically place friends on limited access and then allow the user to grant more access to specific friends. It would take a bit more work for the users but would provide significantly improved privacy controls. (It may also limit the "fun" of Facebook stalking... but I guess that's the price you pay for privacy and getting a job!)
EDIT: Two YouTube videos of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Think Before You Post TV commercial series.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Using SNS to Get a Job? Really?!
I may just be acting simple-minded but I really can't see myself getting a job through Facebook or even LinkedIn. I can see its usefulness in maintaining or rekindling contacts with former business associates and coworkers but I don't see it getting me a job. However, I'm not looking for business jobs that are filled by 40+ weekly hour computer users. Something about criminal justice system jobs and Facebook seem unlikely to mesh. Maybe because many of my friends in the law enforcement and corrections fields aren't too comfortable with computers, let alone the Internet!
Things are changing but even over the next few years those face-to-face connections will remain the key to success. Which reminds me, I need to send a note (paper!) to someone I met at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on a field trip last week... gotta solidify that connection with him, make him remember my name. And I can't just add him as a friend on Facebook. :)
Things are changing but even over the next few years those face-to-face connections will remain the key to success. Which reminds me, I need to send a note (paper!) to someone I met at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on a field trip last week... gotta solidify that connection with him, make him remember my name. And I can't just add him as a friend on Facebook. :)
SNS & Virginia Tech
To second Jordan's thoughts on SNS and the Virginia Tech tragedy, I also noticed the quick rise of groups, events and changed profile pictures on Facebook. What I noticed in particular was the power Facebook offered to people seeking information on their friends. The group "I'm ok at VT" was created within a few hours of the shootings for people who survived the attacks to let others know that they were okay. It has evolved into a message board for people still seeking information on loved ones, a list of the confirmed victims and as a general posting board of condolences offered from other, non-Virginia Tech Facebook users.
Another VT connection with this class' topic is the earlier post I'd written on main-stream media "blogs" versus "amateur" bloggers. Virginia Tech's Collegiate Times student newspaper maintained a constantly updated information list on its website about the shootings while the attack was occurring. The site is still being updated with information as it becomes available and has been a source widely used by the mainstream news outlets seeking information. And these obviously aren't journalists with degrees (yet).
Another VT connection with this class' topic is the earlier post I'd written on main-stream media "blogs" versus "amateur" bloggers. Virginia Tech's Collegiate Times student newspaper maintained a constantly updated information list on its website about the shootings while the attack was occurring. The site is still being updated with information as it becomes available and has been a source widely used by the mainstream news outlets seeking information. And these obviously aren't journalists with degrees (yet).
Thursday, April 12, 2007
How many bloggers does it take to plug in a president?
So I heard a quick reference on the radio this morning about the Ford CEO apologizing for making a joke about President Bush almost blowing up a hybrid car. Sounded interesting enough and I did a quick Google News search. Then I found this article about how the joke didn't actually match any of the actual events of the day and bloggers had simply blown the joke out of proportion. The author (Todd Lassa) wrote on the MotorTrend magazine's editorial (blog?) that "the media, including car magazines, are being led around by small-time bloggers who have never signed up for a journalism class, let alone stayed awake during one. And they're running every stupid little rumor extant without checking up on them."
Seems like he doesn't take bloggers too seriously. Just because many of the "famous" ones lost their day jobs because of blogging. Or because blogs are often used as electronic diaries by teenagers. Maybe he should take our class, learn a little about the benefits of social networking tools and business. But Todd might figure it out himself since some of those bloggers he's talking down on left comments pointing out how the auto blog websites are competitive with MotorTrend and (possibly) have larger user bases.
And I never would have cared about this issue until I took this class... I guess now I'm a blogger. :)
Seems like he doesn't take bloggers too seriously. Just because many of the "famous" ones lost their day jobs because of blogging. Or because blogs are often used as electronic diaries by teenagers. Maybe he should take our class, learn a little about the benefits of social networking tools and business. But Todd might figure it out himself since some of those bloggers he's talking down on left comments pointing out how the auto blog websites are competitive with MotorTrend and (possibly) have larger user bases.
And I never would have cared about this issue until I took this class... I guess now I'm a blogger. :)
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Just in case that last blog post doesn't make sense, I was also thinking about the LinkedIn assignment we just completed (or are quickly finishing). This morning, I imported my Gmail contacts into the website and found an old high school teacher on LinkedIn. I requested a connection with her and personalized the request with a short explanation that I'd joined as a class assignment.
She accepted me and wrote me back this evening. She'd looked over my previous employers and pointed out a non-LinkedIn connection we had, other than my being a former student of hers. She was my high school's mock trial teacher and for the past few years the professional advisers had come from the Public Defender's office--where I worked last summer and am returning this summer. Without using LinkedIn as a form of quick resume and "life summary", I never would have realised that we knew some of the same people from those different contexts.
Also, I was wondering what was up with Professor Melander not my connection...?
She accepted me and wrote me back this evening. She'd looked over my previous employers and pointed out a non-LinkedIn connection we had, other than my being a former student of hers. She was my high school's mock trial teacher and for the past few years the professional advisers had come from the Public Defender's office--where I worked last summer and am returning this summer. Without using LinkedIn as a form of quick resume and "life summary", I never would have realised that we knew some of the same people from those different contexts.
Also, I was wondering what was up with Professor Melander not my connection...?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
XM Customer Support Sucks
I've got a great story on how great customer management systems can't save other bad business practices. Read on:
Disclaimer: I'm still a little angry about this one but I do have a point at the end.
***Rant Alert***
I got an XM satellite radio for my car as a gift back in January. After installing it in my car, I thought it was wonderful.
About a week ago, my radio broke. After trying for a few days and deciding it really was broken, I called XM's customer support line. After 20 minutes, I got my first human. I spoke with her for about 5 minutes until she agreed the radio was broken. She then needed to transfer me to someone else to get me a replacement.
5 more minutes on hold.
New guy picks up (in the Cancellation department, haha). He takes about 10 minutes to explain to me that they can replace my radio with the same one. But they're out of stock. He has no idea when it'll be in. But there's a different model that uses the same base as my current model/accessories. Pause. Out of stock.
Well, for $49 plus tax and shipping I can get a different model. But it won't work with my current installation and accessories. And it's $49. Oh, I didn't understand, they would replace my current broken radio (that is only 2 months old) for $29 plus tax and shipping.
Did I think this was a warranty issue? Well I'll just need to call the manufacturer. Yes, they understand the radio says XM and the box says XM and the service is XM. But they can't do a warranty replacement.
I called the manufacturer (Audiovox, by the way). They only dealt with warranty issues during standard business hours--9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
I called XM back to just cancel the service since I saw no sense in paying to replace a radio with a warranty issue. I hadn't paid for the radio in the first place, so no loss for me. After 10 minutes, I reached a human in the Cancellation department (again). After briefly explaining my issue and asking to cancel my service, the woman offered me two months of service for free. I didn't see the point in getting free service for a non-working radio and declined. She upped it to three free months of service and explained that even if it took a month to get the radio replaced, I'd still have two months of free service. That logic worked for me and I accepted, vowing to take the warranty issue to Audiovox on my next free day...
By the way, I understand XM didn't make my radio but I simply assumed they would handle problems with it. Similar to cell phone providers--mine phone is made by Sanyo but has very limited functionality and usefulness without Sprint's service. Similarly, my Audiovox XM radio doesn't do much if I don't have an XM subscription. When my phone is broken, I call Sprint; I thought the same applied with XM.
***End of Rant***
After my experience with XM, I remembered hearing how XM and Sirius weren't doing well financially because they were having difficulties retaining subscribers. They were doing very well reaching new subscribers through offers of free service with radio purchases or with new car purchases after working deals with car manufacturers. However, after the new subscribers trial periods ended, people weren't signing up for extended service. I found one (admittedly old) article in a quick Google search that described XM's financial difficulties last summer.
I couldn't find much newer information on XM's difficulties and they may have solved this issue but wondered if their customer support system shared any of the blame. I think great things about XM's actual radio service and had become someone who turned up his nose at pedestrian "terrestrial" radio... until I had a problem. When I called, XM's CRM system and caller ID correctly identified me and provided that information to the first human I spoke with. She was able to tell me my billing address, cell phone number, the last four digits of my billing credit card and how long I'd been a subscriber. I was a little unnerved by her quick access and recitation of that information but glad I didn't have to provide it all to her after submitting it online when I joined XM. That made my initial contact very easy. But even with that wealth of information, XM wasn't able to provide basic support for an obviously angered customer.
My point: Even with the powerful technology XM employs to quickly identify which customer is contacting them, the customer may still leave that contact situation unsatisfied. The only reason I didn't cancel my service when I called was because the last person I spoke with listened to my complaints and offered me a reason to accept her offer. Great technology won't replace good customer service reps.
Disclaimer: I'm still a little angry about this one but I do have a point at the end.
***Rant Alert***
I got an XM satellite radio for my car as a gift back in January. After installing it in my car, I thought it was wonderful.
About a week ago, my radio broke. After trying for a few days and deciding it really was broken, I called XM's customer support line. After 20 minutes, I got my first human. I spoke with her for about 5 minutes until she agreed the radio was broken. She then needed to transfer me to someone else to get me a replacement.
5 more minutes on hold.
New guy picks up (in the Cancellation department, haha). He takes about 10 minutes to explain to me that they can replace my radio with the same one. But they're out of stock. He has no idea when it'll be in. But there's a different model that uses the same base as my current model/accessories. Pause. Out of stock.
Well, for $49 plus tax and shipping I can get a different model. But it won't work with my current installation and accessories. And it's $49. Oh, I didn't understand, they would replace my current broken radio (that is only 2 months old) for $29 plus tax and shipping.
Did I think this was a warranty issue? Well I'll just need to call the manufacturer. Yes, they understand the radio says XM and the box says XM and the service is XM. But they can't do a warranty replacement.
I called the manufacturer (Audiovox, by the way). They only dealt with warranty issues during standard business hours--9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
I called XM back to just cancel the service since I saw no sense in paying to replace a radio with a warranty issue. I hadn't paid for the radio in the first place, so no loss for me. After 10 minutes, I reached a human in the Cancellation department (again). After briefly explaining my issue and asking to cancel my service, the woman offered me two months of service for free. I didn't see the point in getting free service for a non-working radio and declined. She upped it to three free months of service and explained that even if it took a month to get the radio replaced, I'd still have two months of free service. That logic worked for me and I accepted, vowing to take the warranty issue to Audiovox on my next free day...
By the way, I understand XM didn't make my radio but I simply assumed they would handle problems with it. Similar to cell phone providers--mine phone is made by Sanyo but has very limited functionality and usefulness without Sprint's service. Similarly, my Audiovox XM radio doesn't do much if I don't have an XM subscription. When my phone is broken, I call Sprint; I thought the same applied with XM.
***End of Rant***
After my experience with XM, I remembered hearing how XM and Sirius weren't doing well financially because they were having difficulties retaining subscribers. They were doing very well reaching new subscribers through offers of free service with radio purchases or with new car purchases after working deals with car manufacturers. However, after the new subscribers trial periods ended, people weren't signing up for extended service. I found one (admittedly old) article in a quick Google search that described XM's financial difficulties last summer.
I couldn't find much newer information on XM's difficulties and they may have solved this issue but wondered if their customer support system shared any of the blame. I think great things about XM's actual radio service and had become someone who turned up his nose at pedestrian "terrestrial" radio... until I had a problem. When I called, XM's CRM system and caller ID correctly identified me and provided that information to the first human I spoke with. She was able to tell me my billing address, cell phone number, the last four digits of my billing credit card and how long I'd been a subscriber. I was a little unnerved by her quick access and recitation of that information but glad I didn't have to provide it all to her after submitting it online when I joined XM. That made my initial contact very easy. But even with that wealth of information, XM wasn't able to provide basic support for an obviously angered customer.
My point: Even with the powerful technology XM employs to quickly identify which customer is contacting them, the customer may still leave that contact situation unsatisfied. The only reason I didn't cancel my service when I called was because the last person I spoke with listened to my complaints and offered me a reason to accept her offer. Great technology won't replace good customer service reps.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Yeah, Of Course
The main thing I've gotten from the posted readings that I've done is a sense of "of course, isn't that obvious?" But I'm not feeling that way because I thought of the ideas, I'm saying it after reading about the military's use of collaboration software to link commanders together and with front-line soldiers. That just makes sense. So a bunch of generals can make better command decisions than a wet-behind-the-ears lieutenant, okay. But the general doesn't get the battlefield perspective... until now. And doesn't that just make sense? Sure "back in the day" the generals were on the battlefields, but no one today would allow General Petraeus to walk down a Baghdad street. Why not allow technology to walk those streets with the troops? Much better perspective without any stretch of the imagination.
Or what about Business Week's article about using collaboration software to link consultants and clients hundreds of miles apart as if they're just in the next room. Duh, that also just makes sense. Use the Internet and PDFs (among other tools) to make sure the project turns out the way the clients want. Even if your client is on another continent. Why not? That just makes sense, right?
I guess one of the only things holding back the implementation or "invention" of these uses of technology was the deployment of high-speed Internet. While the military's system does allow low-bandwidth uses, both systems rely on high-speed Internet connections. I wonder what other common sense products will be unveiled in the future... maybe we'll be the ones thinking it up...
Or what about Business Week's article about using collaboration software to link consultants and clients hundreds of miles apart as if they're just in the next room. Duh, that also just makes sense. Use the Internet and PDFs (among other tools) to make sure the project turns out the way the clients want. Even if your client is on another continent. Why not? That just makes sense, right?
I guess one of the only things holding back the implementation or "invention" of these uses of technology was the deployment of high-speed Internet. While the military's system does allow low-bandwidth uses, both systems rely on high-speed Internet connections. I wonder what other common sense products will be unveiled in the future... maybe we'll be the ones thinking it up...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
